WIREDGOV

An agreement has been reached between local government employers and trade unions on a pay increase for council workers.

The agreement, which covers the period January 1 2015 to 31 March 2016, means staff will receive a pay increase of 2.2 per cent from January. Those on salaries of £14,013 and under will see a slightly bigger pay rise.

Local government employers agreed to the proposals following a consultation carried out by the LGA's National Joint Council.

An LGA spokesman said:

"After a protracted dispute, we are pleased that an agreement with the unions has now been reached.

"Our hardworking employees, who have worked wonders while councils have been tackling the biggest cuts in living memory, have been waiting since April for an agreement. Today's breakthrough is good news for them."

Notes to editors

1. The pay increase covers just over one million local government employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
2. This pay agreement does not apply to council chief executives, senior officers, teachers or firefighters, who are covered by separate national pay arrangements.
3. The National Joint Council negotiates the pay, terms and conditions of staff in local authorities. It agrees an annual uplift to the national pay spine, on which each individual council decides where to place its employees. Each council takes into account a number of factors such as job size and local labour market conditions when deciding an employee's salary. There are no nationally determined jobs or pay grades in local government, unlike in other parts of the public sector.

Pay agreement

The pay offer agreed between the employers and trade unions:

• £1,065 (8.56 per cent) on Spinal Column Point (SCP) 5 with effect from 1 January 2015
• £1,000 (7.93 per cent) on SCP6 with effect from 1 January 2015
• £800 (6.19 per cent) on SCP7 with effect from 1 January 2015
• £550 (4.13 per cent) on SCP8 with effect from 1 January 2015
• £350 (2.55 per cent) on SCP9 with effect from 1 January 2015
• £325 (2.32 per cent) on SCP10 with effect from 1 January 2015
• 2.2 per cent on SCPs 11 and above with effect from 1 January 2015
• Removal of SCP5 with effect from 1 October 2015
• £325 non-consolidated payment on SCPs 5, 6 & 7 to be paid in December 2014 (pro-rated for part-time employees)
• £150 non-consolidated payment on SCPs 8, 9 & 10 to be paid in December 2014 (pro-rated for part-time employees)
• £100 non-consolidated payment on SCPs 11-25 inclusive to be paid in December 2014 (pro-rated for part-time employees)
• 0.45 per cent of proposed new salaries on SCPs 26-49 inclusive, of which £100 to be paid in December 2014 and the remaining balance to be paid in April 2015 (pro-rated for part-time employees).

CONTACT

Simon Ward, Deputy Head of News & Internal Communications
Local Government Association
Telephone: 020 7664 3147
Email: simon.ward@local.gov.uk
Media Office (out-of-hours contact): 020 7664 3333
Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ

www.local.gov.uk