The Government’s attitude to public sector pay and pensions is a worrying issue. David Cameron seems to be pushing councils awkwardly down a path they are already addressing. A reduction of payment in pensions will have a crippling effect on the economy and further increases in employee contributions will not serve as an effective solution. <\/p>\n
There is a huge misconception about gold-plated pensions. Government is overlooking the fact that the average public sector pension is only \u00a37,000, according to the TUC. <\/p>\n
In terms of pay, progression does need to be managed on performance and contribution rather than length of service (at least for senior managers) rather than all employees being penalised due to poor decisions by government. We are seeing more councils moving towards such a setup in order to manage long-term costs.<\/p>\n
The majority of bonus schemes have been removed in the public sector but further reviews of some elements of pay should be encouraged and managed so councils can move forward sensibly whilst the potential attack on pensions is misguided. <\/p>\n
Geoff Pearce
\nPrincipal reward consultant
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The Government’s attitude to public sector pay and pensions is a worrying issue. David Cameron seems to be pushing councils awkwardly down a path they are already addressing. A reduction of payment in pensions will have a crippling effect on the economy and further increases in employee contributions will not serve as an effective solution. <\/p>\n