Pay policy

Pay Policy Statement 2026/27

Introduction & Purpose

1. Under Section 112 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council has the power to appoint officers on such reasonable terms and conditions as the Authority thinks fit, subject to Section 41 of the Localism Act 2011. This Pay Policy Statement (the “Statement”) sets out the Council’s approach to pay policy in accordance with the requirements of Sections 38 to 43 of the Localism Act 2011.
2. The purpose of the Statement is to provide transparency and accountability regarding the Council’s approach to setting the pay of its employees. It excludes teaching and other school staff working for the Local Authority under the scope of a School Governing Body. It identifies:
   • the methods by which salaries of employees are determined;
   • the detail and level of remuneration of its most senior staff, i.e. chief officers, as defined by the relevant legislation; and
   • the committee(s) responsible for ensuring the provisions set out in this statement are applied consistently throughout the Council and for recommending any amendments to Full Council.

Publication

3. This statement will be reviewed and prepared for each financial year, then approved by Full Council, usually by the end of March each year, or at the earliest Council in the financial year for which it applies. It will be published on the Council’s website as soon as reasonably practical following any amendment and approval. For 2026/27 the approval will be at the Budget Council meeting in March 2026.
4. Alongside this statement are details of all senior employees of the Council (excluding teachers and school-based staff) that have a salary over the threshold outlined in the Localism Act 2011 and any associated Codes of Practice, including the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. This Statement is linked to the Council’s Annual Statement of Accounts where full-time equivalent salaries of at least £50,000 per annum must be published. An updated version of the appendices attached to this statement may be published during 2026/27 to allow for any pay award agreed at national level, and therefore other roles across the organisation may be subject to inclusion at a later stage.

Other Legislation Relevant to Pay & Remuneration

5. In determining the pay and remuneration for all employees, the Council will comply with all relevant employment legislation. This includes the Equality Act 2010, the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, the Part Time Employment (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, and where relevant, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).
6. The Council is committed to the principles of equal pay for all employees and to ensuring consistency and fairness within its pay structures. Differentials in grades can be objectively justified using analytical job evaluation mechanisms, which determine the relativities between posts according to the requirements, demands, skills and responsibilities of the role.

Pay Structure

7. The Council uses nationally negotiated pay spines with a defined list of salary points as the basis for its local pay structure. These salary scales determine the salaries of the majority of its non-schools workforce, together with the use of locally determined grades where these do not apply.
8. The Council adopts the national pay bargaining arrangements in respect of the establishment and revision of the national pay spines. All other pay related allowances are subject to either nationally or locally negotiated rates, determined in accordance with collective bargaining machinery.
9. Most staff at Oldham Council are employed under the National Joint Council (NJC) terms and conditions (“Green Book”), and salaries for job roles are determined by the points score associated with the job role through the appropriate job evaluation scheme. For employees within Grades 1 to 10, the NJC Job Evaluation Scheme is used. Employees on senior management grades are evaluated through the HAY Scheme. Single Status was implemented by the Council on 1 January 2011.
10. In determining its grading structure and setting remuneration levels for any posts which fall outside this scope, the Council takes account of the need to ensure value for money in respect of public expenditure, balanced against the need to recruit and retain employees who can provide high quality services effectively and efficiently.
11. In line with the Council’s Starting Salary Policy, new appointments will normally be made at the minimum of the grade for the relevant pay scale, although this can be varied where the successful candidate is currently on a salary higher than the minimum for the job being recruited to.
12. From time to time, it may be necessary to take account of external pay levels in the labour market in order to attract and retain employees with particular experience, skills and capability. Where necessary, the Council will ensure the requirement is objectively justified by clear and transparent evidence of relevant market comparators and benchmark information.

Pension Contributions

13. Where employees have exercised their statutory right to membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, the Council is required to contribute a percentage of pensionable remuneration due under the contract of employment. The rate is set by actuaries advising the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and reviewed on a triennial basis. As at January 2026, employee contribution rates are banded at 5.5% to 12.5%, depending on annual salary.
14. Oldham Council has a flexible retirement scheme which is run in accordance with the Local Government Pension Scheme and Regulation 18 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations 2007, as amended.
15. Other pension schemes are also in operation at the Council, including separate schemes for teachers and for transferred NHS staff who remain on their TUPE terms and conditions.

Chief Officer Remuneration

16. For the purposes of the Pay Policy Statement, Section 43(2) of the Localism Act defines a Chief Officer as:
    • the Authority’s Head of Paid Service;
    • the Authority’s Monitoring Officer;
    • the Authority’s Director of Children’s Services;
    • the Authority’s Director of Social Services;
    • the officer having responsibility for the administration of the Authority’s financial affairs;
    • any officer for whom the Authority’s Head of Paid Service is directly responsible, or who is directly accountable to the Authority, a committee, or a sub-committee of the Authority; and
    • any officer who reports directly or is directly accountable to one or more of the officers listed above, excluding purely secretarial, clerical, or support-service roles.
17. It is the policy of the Council to establish a salary for each chief officer post that is sufficient to attract and retain an employee with the appropriate knowledge, experience, skills and abilities needed by the Council at that time.
18. The level of remuneration does not vary depending on the achievement of defined targets, although progression through the incremental scale of the relevant grade is subject to satisfactory annual performance. Oldham Council does not pay bonus payments.
19. To meet specific operational requirements, it may be necessary for an individual chief officer to temporarily take on additional duties. The Council may authorise additional payments for such duties through the Appointments Committee or another constitutionally approved mechanism.
20. Some chief officer posts may carry additional payments supplementary to basic salary and these may represent a contractual obligation.
21. The Chief Executive’s salary includes payment for local election duties; no additional remuneration is made for those duties. Separate payments are received for returning officer duties arising from parliamentary elections, regional elections and referendums, and these are not funded by the Council.
22. The Chief Executive is employed on JNC Chief Executive Terms and Conditions. Other chief officers are employed on JNC Chief Officer Terms and Conditions, as are other senior management posts within the Council.
23. Following an external benchmarking exercise and subsequent JNC pay award settlements, the current salary banding for the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service post is £180,646 to £197,069.

Recruitment of Chief Officers

24. The Council’s procedure with regard to the recruitment of chief officers is outlined within Part 4H, Officer Employment Procedure Rules within the Council’s Constitution and is undertaken by the Appointments Committee, or other constitutionally approved body.
25. When recruiting to all posts, the Council will take full and proper account of all provisions of relevant employment and equality law and its own Recruitment and Redeployment Policies.
26. When recruiting to a chief officer vacancy, the Council may engage a recruitment agency to provide external objectivity to the process, including market-rate analysis, candidate attraction, longlisting, assessment support, shortlisting and interview facilitation.
27. The selection of a chief officer is made by a panel of elected members operating as the Appointments Committee, except that the appointment of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service must be recommended to and approved by Full Council.
28. Full Council will consider the case for any salary in excess of £100,000 prior to an appointment to a post not within the salary range identified in Table 1.
29. Where the Council is unable to recruit to a Chief Officer position, or interim support is needed, the Council may engage individuals under a contract for services rather than making a temporary appointment, while remaining compliant with IR35 off-payroll working rules.
30. In 2025/26 the Council recruited the following Chief Officers to permanent and substantive roles through its constitutionally approved Appointments Committee:
    • Monitoring Officer
    • Deputy Chief Executive (currently seconded from NHS Greater Manchester)
    • Section 151 Officer
    • Executive Director of Resources
    • Director of Digital
31. A further recruitment process is live for:
    • Director of Growth
    • Director of Education and Early Years

Payments on Termination

32. The Council’s approach to statutory and discretionary payments on termination of employment of chief officers and other employees, prior to reaching normal retirement age, is covered within the Redundancy Policy and relevant Local Government regulations.
33. Payments on termination in relation to a severance package that would exceed £100,000 are subject to approval of Full Council, except where related to the cost of early access to and/or enhancement of a retirement pension due to ill health.
34. Any payments outside these provisions or the relevant contractual notice periods are subject to a rigorous risk assessment and a formal decision by the Chief Executive / Assistant Director of Workforce and Organisational Culture and the Borough Solicitor & Monitoring Officer.

Lowest Paid Employees

35. Oldham Council is committed to tackling positively the socio-economic and health inequalities associated with low pay. The Council has chosen to pay the Living Wage since April 2015 and is accredited as a Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation.
36. Full-time hours at Oldham Council are 36 hours and 40 minutes per week for employees on NJC terms and conditions.
37. The relationship between the rate of pay for the lowest paid and the Chief Executive is expressed as a ratio in Table 2, which also shows the multiple between median full-time equivalent earnings and the earnings of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service post.

Accountability & Decision Making

38. In accordance with the constitution of the Council, the Appointments Committee, or other constitutionally approved mechanism, is responsible for decision making in relation to the recruitment, pay, terms and conditions and severance arrangements of chief officers. Accountability and decision making for all other employees is the responsibility of the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executives, Strategic Directors and Assistant Director of Workforce and Organisational Culture as set out in the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

Re-employment / Re-engagement of Former Employees

39. Oldham Council has an obligation to ensure that it is managing public monies responsibly against any requirements to achieve savings and reductions in posts through voluntary or compulsory redundancy, efficiency release or employer consent retirement which results in a cost to the Council.
40. The Council will not re-engage ex-employees who have left their prime employment with the Council on the grounds of voluntary or compulsory redundancy, efficiency release or employer consent retirement (where there is a cost to the Council) for a period of 12 months from the date of leaving.
41. The Council permits the recruitment of experienced talent who are in receipt of a public service pension, although their total remuneration will be taken into account when determining their individual salary.

Table 1: Senior Management Remuneration

Table 2: Chief Executive’s Salary Expressed as a Ratio of Other Salaries

All figures are based on full-time equivalent (FTE) salaries as at January 2026.

Summary: Staff Earning Over £50k at January 2026