The purpose of our remuneration and benefits policy is to ensure employees are fairly remunerated and recognised for their contribution to the business. As managers we play an important role in ensuring our team is fairly rewarded. Set out below are the key elements of our remuneration system, including information about your role in our various programmes and support to help you deliver on your responsibilities in this area.
Our Remuneration Approach
Pay and Benefits
Our remuneration package includes pay and benefits as follows:
Annual Pay Review Process
All permanent employees are entitled to an annual pay review (usually in July), unless they have less than 6 months' service at the review date. The objective of the review process is to review pay across the business annually against the factors listed below. Note: We guarantee a review, not a guarantee of an increase. Unless there is a job change or an exceptional circumstance; pay is not reviewed or adjusted at any other time of the year. Pay changes are not discussed as part of the performance development process although employees may wish to share their views about remuneration during their annual performance discussion. Confirmation of the outcome of the pay review is a separate conversation.
Factors that drive the pay review:
Handling Requests for Pay Rises
The question of pay rises is dealt with at remuneration review time, but employees sometimes ask for a pay rise between cycles. It’s important to respond promptly and resolve these issues.
Generally remuneration reviews outside the annual cycle will not be available however, you may make a case for a change in remuneration for an employee. The application should be signed by your manager accompanied by evidence and/or justification for the increase.
Your response to a request for a pay rise should depend on the reasons given for wanting a pay rise:
For changes in job content to warrant a pay increase, those changes need to have significantly increased the level of responsibility, complexity, decision making authority, skill or experience required. Simply adding more work of a similar level of complexity, responsibility doesn’t make the job ‘bigger’. For example if the size of the person's team increases from 3 to 4 that probably doesn’t make it a significantly bigger job.
You and your employee should check the accuracy of Position Descriptions at the annual performance discussion. An inaccurate job description wouldn’t justify a pay review unless the job was significantly ‘bigger’ than currently described (see above) and the salary had been set based on the ‘out of date’ information on the size and complexity of the job. It would be highly unusual to review a Position Description mid-year if the job content hadn’t substantively changed.
Occasionally employees say they have an external offer at a higher level of remuneration, and ask if you will match it for them to stay. Discuss these requests with your manager and ask for information from the employee about the role so you can gain some understanding of the position compared to the employee’s current role. Experience shows that these employees often leave soon after, whatever your response.
These should be dealt with at the next annual review.