MD3112 2023-24 pay award for the GLA’s Mayoral Appointees and Statutory Officers

1.1.    Unison asked the GLA’s Chief Officer to make the first offer in the negotiations for the 2023-24 annual pay award. The GLA started with a proposal to offer a 6 per cent increase to all posts at Grades 1- 15 and spot rates. 

1.2.    A tapered pay award was outlined as Unison’s preference, with clear feedback on prioritising Grade 10 staff and below. It was the Chief Officer’s view that while junior grades should be prioritised for a larger percentage increase in view of current and recent inflation levels, all staff regardless of their grade are impacted by the current financial situation and staff at Grades 11 and above should therefore also receive an appropriate percentage increase.

1.3.    The Chief Officer’s formal offer to Unison for the 2023-24 pay award was made on 28 February 2023. In summary it is:

•    a differentiated pay award: 
    Grades 1-5:             8 per cent
    Grades 6-10:             6.6 per cent
    Grades 11-15 and spot:         4.5 per cent

•    an additional one-off payment of £400 for Grades 1-10 and posts aligned to the London Living Wage

•    making annual leave trade-in easier

•    allowing staff to claim up to £250 every three years for kit to work from home

•    reinstating access to private mammograms.

1.4.    The Chief Officer’s offer was accepted by Unison on behalf of their members on 10 March 2023.

1.5.    The Mayor and the London Assembly were consulted on the Chief Officer’s proposal (Appendix 1).

1.6.    Final agreement on the GLA staff pay award has been confirmed via CO 465 (Appendix 2).

1.7.    The pay award will be implemented in the 17 May 2023 payroll, backdated to 1 April 2023.

1.8.    There are two groups of staff whose pay awards and other benefit changes are not included in the Chief Officer’s decision: the 13 Mayoral appointees whose pay awards and other benefit changes are the decision of the Mayor; and the three statutory officers whose pay awards and other benefit changes are a joint decision of the Mayor and the London Assembly. 
 

2.1.    The Mayor must determine the pay award for the 13 Mayoral appointees under section 70(1) of the GLA Act 1999.

2.2.    The 2023-24 pay award proposed for the Mayoral appointees and statutory officers is an increase of 4.5 per cent, which is the same as that being awarded to all other GLA staff on Grades 11-15 and spot rates. 
 

3.1.    The pay award will apply to the Mayoral appointees and statutory officers based on a standard percentage increase of 4.5 per cent. Therefore, no negative impacts upon any of the recipients are expected. By applying the same percentage increase across the board there is no disproportionate impact on any member of the group with a protected characteristic.

​​​​​​4.1.    The London Assembly and the Mayor, acting jointly, must determine the pay award and other benefit changes for the GLA’s statutory officers in line with sections 72 (Head of Paid Service), 73 (Monitoring Officer) and 127A (Chief Finance Officer) of the GLA Act 1999. The GLA’s Chief Officer holds the post of Head of Paid Service, and the Executive Director, Resources, holds the post of Chief Finance Officer. 

4.2.    The Mayoral appointees and statutory officers will also be able to access the agreed wider benefits changes for other GLA staff, specifically: the changes to arrangements for the annual leave trade-in; claiming up to £250 every three years for kit to work from home; and the reinstated private mammograms.

4.3.    The sponsoring Assistant Director for this decision is the Assistant Director, Financial Services, as the Chief Officer and the Executive Director of Resources have a conflict of interest.

4.4.    Every Mayoral Adviser is impacted by this decision, and therefore has a potential conflict. Accordingly, it has been reviewed by the Chief of Staff based on the instruction of the Mayor.

5.1.    A sum of £6m has been provided for in the GLA’s 2023-24 budget for a pay award. 

5.2.    In addition, one-off non-recurring funding of £870,000 was identified from the GLA’s underspend at quarter 3.

5.3.    The proposals recommended in this paper are contained within this financial envelope. It needs to be noted that the wider benefit changes are costed on assumed rates of take-up that might vary. Should take-up be higher than anticipated, the associated sums are relatively small and there will be sufficient flexibility in the budget set aside to ensure that all eligible staff can access the benefits on offer.
 

6.1.    The Mayor and the London Assembly, acting jointly, have the power to determine remuneration and other benefits for the three statutory officers, as part of their contractual terms and conditions, in accordance with sections 72 (1C), 73 (1C) and 127A(3) of the GLA Act 1999 as stated in section 5.1 of the Statutory Officer Protocol. 

6.2.    By adopting the Statutory Officer Protocol, the Mayor and the London Assembly jointly agreed that, as a matter of principle, the standard terms and conditions that apply to all staff appointed by the Head of Paid Service should normally also apply to the three Statutory Officers.

6.3.    The Mayor has the power to determine the remuneration and benefits of the 13 Mayoral Appointees under section 70(1) of the GLA Act 1999.
 

Appendix 1: GLA Oversight Committee – GLA Pay Award

Appendix 2: Chief Officer Decision Pay Award 2023-24