Managing Directors bold claims to persuade councillors not to look upwards for savings leaves the public howling, after she claims pay cuts at the councils "top table" “ would damage staff morale”....
Thurs 8th Dec 2022 06:00am
In what's been said to have been the most desperate & outrageous bid by any director of any corporation, Hartlepool Borough Councils head of paid service has reportedly pleaded with local councillors ahead of next weeks Finance & Policy Meeting to ask that councillors don't “look upwards” when seeking cutbacks to senior officer pay, claiming it would damage staff morale.....
Denise McGuckin's pleas for councillors not to chop senior pay leaves the public both "laughing" & also angry
The HBC chief who currently earns with pension contributions a whopping £174k a year made the bold statement in a plea which was slid into the agenda for councillors to mull over next week, following the Labour Groups previous claims that senior salary payments made to the councils top brass needed to be looked into if the public was ever to feel like they were “all in it together” in terms of the cuts to local services being wielded down upon them.....
Councillors will mull over proposals to review senior salary pay next week, but its claimed it will go no further than actual "discussion" for fear senior managers could "walk away" to other roles for other councils....
So far, Hartlepool's seen some of the most savage cuts to local council services than any other local council in the region, with services over the last decade being salami sliced away, whilst council taxes continue to rise....
HBC's previous CEO milked the local council so dry, she reportedly took a £70k redundancy Golden Goodbye package out of the local tax payer for good measure
Its claimed that HBC's Managing Director who Hartlepool Matters understands has a partner who works in a senior role for a nearby local authority & earning over £100k a year doesn't want councillors to even consider altering the terms & conditions to senior officers contracts which would include the consideration of pay cuts being introduced because in the words of the HBC director “it could damage their morale”....
Senior Managers do not work a 37 hour week said HBC Chief Denise McGuckin, nor do they expect to do so.
The additional hours worked are not visible as it is work done on an evening and at a weekend.
Senior managers understand this goes with the role and their personal and professional commitment to the roles they perform. This commitment and flexibility may be at risk if pay is reduced
The Managing Director salary grade was £163k to £168k in 2010/11 and reduced to a single point grade of £156.8k in 2022/23.
For the avoidance of doubt neither myself, Directors or Assistant Director have any issue with this position as we all understand previous pay restraint impacted on all staff and accepted the terms and conditions when appointed to our current roles.
Substantial senior pay increases are "damaging" the councils efforts to make real term savings members of the public say....
Many members of the public believe senior salary pay at HBC is "too high" & dont believe the amounts paid to the councils top management reflects the work undertaken
Its claimed members of the public are now becoming increasingly concerned that increases in senior salary pay is eroding all the work undertaken by many councillors to balance the budget sheet, as year on year senior salary pay at Hartlepool Borough Council continues on an upward trend that's poised to see the councils senior salary bill again exceed the one million pounds a year mark by the end of 2023....
Many claim however that for such a small unitary authority, Hartlepool's senior salary wage bill is simply no longer “value for money” & has to come down in order to ensure that savings brought in at the bottom are not eradicated by the pay increases awarded to those at the top..
Desperately trying to justify the councils need to pay such obscene sums to its senior management, HBC's managing director went on to state in the report..
I will not comment in relation to my pay and these comments relate to Directors and Assistant Directors.
The Councils pay for Directors is below the Tees Valley average
Any proposal to reduce existing salaries would increase retention risk at a time when recruitment of experienced senior managers is extremely challenging.
In relation to Assistant Director structures the Council has a lean structure and managers have broad areas of responsibility
The Council’s lean structure highlights the commitment of senior manager in delivering the best possible services.
I have previously reported that in many key areas the Council has external inspection evidence of service quality, which in many areas is the best in the Tees Valley.
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