Agenda item

Paper 5 – Real Living Wage Implications for MSS Pay Levels

• The Board noted the increase in the Real Living Wage rate to £12 per hour, as calculated by the Resolution Foundation and published annually by the Living Wage Foundation. 

• The Board considered options available to them to address the increase of the Real Living Wage.  

Decision:  

• The Board agreed to address this issue as follows:  

-       Provide for a temporary uplift of Band 3 Pay Point 1 to the level of the Real Living Wage from 1 December 2023 to 31 March 2024. This raises Band 3 Pay Point 1 to £23,088. This change will be reflected in December salary payments to those affected.  

-       Provide for a one-off payment to Support Staff who received the Band 3 Pay Point 1 salary in November 2023, calculated individually for each member of staff, equal to the difference between the salary received for November 2023 and the salary that would have been received if the Real Living Wage had been applied from 1 November 2023. This will be included in December’s salary payments. The effect is that staff will receive payments as though they were paid at the Real Living Wage level from 1 November. 

• The Board noted that this would be a temporary arrangement until 1 April 2024, when Band 3 Pay Point 1 will move to the proposed new 2024-25 pay levels (subject to the annual review consultation and decision for 2024-25).  

• The Board agreed that any additional costs relating to the Real Living Wage will be met in 2023-24 through central funds, rather than Members’ current staffing budgets. 

• In accordance with section 14(3) of the 2010 Measure, the Board agreed that there are exceptional circumstances which make it just and reasonable for the restrictions imposed by section 14(2) of the 2010 Measure not to apply. The Board considered the current economic circumstances and in particular that the UK has experienced a period of exceptionally rapid inflation which continues to have a significant impact on the cost of living.  The Explanatory Notes to the 2010 Measure expressly provide that a period of exceptionally rapid inflation is an example of exceptional circumstances.  

• The Board noted that this is the first occasion on which the Real Living Wage has exceeded some support staff salaries, meaning that those on Band 3 Pay Point 1 are receiving a salary below the Real Living Wage. It  was the Board’s opinion that these are exceptional circumstances and a paragraph will be inserted allowing any future Real Living Wage annual increase above the lowest pay point to automatically adjust any salary lower than this in line with the Real Living Wage 

• Following recent engagement with staff and union representatives on related matters and the need to ensure timely payments were made in response to the current financial circumstances, the Board agreed that it would not be appropriate to consult with those affected by the decision. 

• The Board agreed to consult with the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer as required by the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010.

Action:  

• The Board agreed to write to the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer to consult on the above mentioned decisions.  

• Subject to the Accounting Officer’s response, the Board will write to the Llywydd to inform the Commission of the Board’s decision to make an Exceptional Determination and to communicate it to Members and Support Staff before mid-December.   

• The Board’s Secretariat will liaise with the Commission’s Legal Service to confirm the exceptional Determination wording and the wording to be included as part of the Annual Review consultation for future years.