The Employment Committee of Hertfordshire Council met on Tuesday 29 September 2026 to discuss and approve salary reviews for senior staff. The committee agreed to a 3.3% pay increase for Executive Directors, Directors, Heads of Service, and the Chief Executive, backdated to April 2026.

Salary Review April 2026: Executive Directors, Directors and Heads of Service

The committee approved a 3.3% pay increase for Executive Directors, Directors, and Heads of Service, backdated to 1 April 2026. This uplift aligns with the National Joint Council (NJC) pay award for local government workers and the national chief executive pay settlement for the same period. The recommendation was to apply this increase to all pay points within Organisational Leadership Levels 15 to 20.

The report presented to the committee highlighted that this 3.3% increase is slightly higher than the 3% initially budgeted for the entire workforce, resulting in an estimated additional pay pressure of £1.1 million. However, this figure has already been incorporated into the council's latest revenue monitoring forecasts, meaning no new or unforeseen financial pressures were created.

During the discussion, Councillor Kirsty Taylor-Moran expressed concern that the pay increase was not sufficient to keep pace with the rising cost of living for all staff, regardless of their salary level. She also noted that while the percentage increase is the same across the board, it represents a significant sum for those on higher salaries, which can be uncomfortable when many staff are not earning a real living wage.

Councillor Fiona Thomson questioned why the budget assumption for the pay award was set lower than the previous year's percentage increase, to which it was explained that the budget was based on national assumptions of around 3% to 3.2%.

The committee agreed to the recommendation, with the pay points for Executive Directors (Levels 19-20) being increased and backdated, and a recommendation to the Chief Executive to apply the same increase to Directors (Levels 17-18) and Heads of Service (Levels 15-16).

Salary Review April 2026: Chief Executive

The committee also approved a 3.3% pay increase for the Chief Executive, backdated to 1 April 2026. This decision was made subject to the approval of the equivalent increase for the wider senior management group. The report noted that this aligns with the NJC National Pay Award and the National Chief Executive Pay Settlement, both of which were 3.3%.

The financial implications for this specific role were minimal, with the additional cost being less than £1,000 per annum above the original budget assumption, and this was already reflected in the council's financial forecasts.

The report also provided benchmarking data, indicating that the Chief Executive's current salary was approximately £31,000 higher than the average salary of chief executives in neighbouring councils, but within £10,000 of the top of the range.

The committee agreed to increase all pay points on the relevant Job Family Level for the Chief Executive (Organisational Leadership Level 21) by the same value as agreed for Executive Directors, Directors, and Heads of Service.

The meeting also included the approval of the minutes from previous meetings held on 19 June 2026 and 1 July 2026.