ALACE
Chiefs: Sector can afford senior pay hike
Council chiefs have insisted their pay settlement must match the award for local government staff after years in which senior wage rises have fallen behind.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Local government could face its own Ruth Perry case'
Local government could face a tragedy similar to the case of the headteacher who took her own life, a chief executive sacked after a section 114 has warned.
Legality of severance payment guidance questioned
The Local Government Association (LGA) has questioned the legality of statutory guidance governing councils’ use of special severance payments.
Chiefs reject pay offer
Senior officers have formally rejected the ‘full and final’ pay offer tabled by employers.
Grievance forces Scottish councils to increase pay for chiefs
Scottish councils have been forced to axe the pay cap on chief executives after a successful grievance was raised.
Employers reject request for pay rise link between chiefs and workers
Local government employers have again refused to offer the same pay increase to council chief executives as to the rest of their staff.
Equality matters
There is no financial reason why employers should treat senior officers less generously on pay than other local government staff, says Tracey Lee.
Chiefs match main unions' pay claim
Senior council officers this week joined frontline trade unions in submitting an above-inflation pay claim for 2023-24.
Chiefs reluctantly accept £1,925 pay increase
Town hall chiefs have reluctantly accepted a £1,925 pay increase for 2022 – a lower percentage increase than most staff.
Don’t vilify the people who try to keep children safe
There is a grim reality surrounding children’s social services that, on the whole, we try to avoid admitting: some people are evil – they abuse and kill children, writes editor Heather Jameson.
Sector defends council chiefs after MPs' criticism
Senior local government figures this week defended the chief executives of Solihull MBC and Bradford City Council after MPs criticised their responses to child deaths.
Union questions Government severance pay guidance
Government advice that councils should reduce severance payments to bring them into line with the private sector is not based on any real evidence, according to the trade union for local authority chief executives.
Government dismisses union's payout view
New Government guidance attempting to limit special severance payments (SSPs) contradicts advice Whitehall received from senior council officials and may be ignored, insiders have warned.
Minister wades into flexible working debate
Civil servants have been told to get back to the office even as local government increasingly moves towards flexible working.
Senior management workforce warning
Councils are increasingly struggling to recruit and retain senior managers due to demographic factors and relatively poor remuneration packages, sector workforce experts have warned.
National industrial action prospects over pay fade
A nationally-coordinated wave of industrial action over this year’s pay claim looks increasingly unlikely as the outcome of trade union ballots emerged.
ALACE, the perils of print
Diary is all too familiar with the perils of print.
Why we want chief executives to be treated fairly
The offer of a 1.5% pay increase for chief executives is ‘a move away from arrangements that have successfully operated since 2016’, says Ian Miller.
EXCLUSIVE: Jenrick's exit payment intervention
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick personally intervened to strengthen the Government’s proposed crackdown on councils’ use of exit payments, The MJ has learned.
Storm brewing over exit payment data demands
Government demands for details of senior staff pay-offs have been branded ‘particularly pernicious’ and unfairly aimed at local government.