Bath and North East Somerset Council is proposing salary reductions for several job roles, but its new “pay protection” policy aims to ensure employees do not experience an actual decrease in pay for at least three years.
On May 14, the council’s employment committee will vote on a new pay structure. While 62% of the council’s 3,500 staff stand to receive pay raises, around 106 employees—including about one-third of the IT department—face a reduction in their role’s salary starting June 1.
Under the pay protection policy, anyone affected by a pay cut will have their current salary frozen for three years, preventing any immediate drop on their payslips. Should the new pay scale for their role increase and exceed their frozen wage during this period, they will be paid at the higher rate. The council stated, “At the end of that period it is possible no individual will see an overall reduction in pay.”
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To manage costs, the council caps the pay protection amount at 10% of the new, lower salary. The protection figure will be recalculated each time there is a salary adjustment. The policy clarifies: “Pay is frozen for a maximum of three years unless annual pay rises bring the new salary to match or exceed the old substantive salary. Any pay change prompts a recalculation of the protection amount.”
However, pay protection does not apply to voluntary overtime or to employees who accept a transfer to a different role.
One IT employee facing a pay cut described the situation as “gutting,” expressing frustration despite their efforts to perform well.
Unison, the trade union representing the council’s workers, suggests that the pay reductions may be a strategy to avoid equal pay claims. The council recently transferred certain adult social care contracts in-house, bringing predominantly female, lower-paid staff under its employment. Equal pay claims can arise if men and women are paid unequally for comparable roles.
The departments targeted for pay cuts are largely male-dominated. Unison social worker and activist Toni Mayo commented, “As a woman and a social worker, I don’t want equal pay addressed by reducing men’s pay. We want women to be paid more.”
Council chief executive Will Godfrey emphasized in a recent statement: “Our staff deliver valuable services, and these proposals are fundamentally about fairness. We have carried out extensive consultation and negotiation with trade unions since August 2024.”
Amy Rushton, chair of the B&NES Unison branch, criticized the proposals, saying, “It is astonishing that the council claims this is about fairness while downgrading some of their lowest-paid workers. Even with pay protection, those workers will be worse off.”
The employment committee, comprised of three councillors, will meet at 10 am on May 14 at Bath Guildhall. The meeting coincides with the council’s “values week,” during which employees undergo training on council values. Unison has requested that the decision be referred to the full council for consideration.
If approved, the new pay structure will take effect from June 1. Decisions on possible pay cuts in passenger transport and waste and recycling departments will be made within the next three months.