The Authority’s Definition of ‘Lowest-Paid’ Employees
The Authority regards its lowest-paid employees to be those employed on its Green Book conditions of employment. These are employees who do not wear a uniform and who work in administrative and corporate function areas. Employees can be employed on grades which range from 2 to 12. The Authority currently does not have any Grade 2 posts in its establishment, but it does have a few Grade 3 posts, which are support and administrative roles which have a minimal level of responsibility. This means that the Authority recognises that the necessary training and development can be provided in-house over a relatively short period and therefore specific skills or experience are not specified as essential at the recruitment stage. The salary range that applies to grade 3 is £18,128 - £20,437. The hourly rate for a grade 3 role is £9.40 per hour, which is greater than the current National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (£7.83 per hour as at 31 October 2018).
As at 31 October 2018 there were 16 apprentices working within the support functions of IT, HR, Business Support, Fleet, Property, Control, Operational Planning and Health & Safety.
The apprentices are currently paid £5.61 per hour with the view that after six months, if they are performing well, they will be placed on the national living wage dependent on age, which is greater than the current national apprenticeship wage.
The Authority has recently recruited 22 new trainee firefighters and as part of their two year development plan they have been placed on the firefighter apprenticeship standard.
The Authority has met the requirements under the Apprenticeship levy.