Public sector pay: behind the headlines

The Belfast Telegraph has been looking at Civil Service pay again. Behind the headline of a 3% increase in average Civil Service pay between 2013 and 2014 lie a few more facts. The first one is that almost uniquely in the public sector, the Northern Ireland Civil Service treats the annual increment paid to all staff who have not reached the top of their payscale as part of the payrise.  In the police, for example, you would move up the …

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Independent Panel finds problems with MLA Staff Recruitment.

Quick scan through the report…. The Independent Financial Review Panel report today said that MLAs have 84 different job titles for their staff. But, what was more bizarre was that the pay rates for some levels of staff ranged from £6.35-£33.75 per hour. The report was also critical about the recruitment process for members of staff complaining about the lack of a recognisable process for recruitment of members of staff. On family members the report argues that anybody employing relatives …

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