19. PAY PROTECTION
19.1 Following a fundamental review of the pay structure in 1998, staff who were assimilated to a pay range which had a lower range maximum than their previous range, qualified for pay protection. Pay protection was also available to former Scottish Homes staff who transferred to SGM in 2003. Where the SGM pay range had a lower maximum than the Scottish Homes' range, the individual qualified for pay protection.
19.2 The pay protection rules ensured that no member of staff had their salary reduced on assimilation to the SGM pay system. The rules also allowed the individual to continue to receive consolidated pay awards up to the protected maximum.
19.3 The pay protection rules apply for a period of 14 years:
- During the first 10 years an individual's protected maximum is increased by whatever level of revalorisation applies in pay settlements;
- For the following 4 years, a taper applies which brings the individual's protected maximum closer to maximum of their actual range.
19.4 As at 31 October 2006, 287 staff were subject to these pay protection arrangements (203 as a result of the 1998 pay review and 84 who qualified on transfer from Scottish Homes).
Analysis
19.5 The analysis examined those pay protected staff who receive salaries above the standard range maximum. It revealed that more females than males benefit from Pay Protection in Band A, while more males than females benefit in Band B. No ethnic minority staff are subject to Pay Protection. More disabled staff benefit from Pay Protection than would be expected compared with the overall number of disabled staff in the office. Pay Protection is also of most benefit to staff aged 51 and over.
Table 30: Analysis of Pay Protection
Table 31: Age Profile of Staff Subject to Pay Protection
Recommendation
19.6 The Steering Group expressed concern about the duration of the pay protection arrangements. It is recommended that further work is done to (i) investigate the risks associated with the current arrangements and (ii) look at possible alternative options.