Salary to drop for new equality chief

24 May 10
The new chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission will be on a significantly lower salary than their predecessor Nicola Brewer
By Jaimie Kaffash

24 May 2010

The new chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission will be on a significantly lower salary than their predecessor Nicola Brewer.

The role of head of the commission was advertised over the weekend, at a salary of £120,000. Brewer left the equality watchdog in May 2009. Her salary at the end of March 2008 was £185,000.

A spokesman for the EHRC told Public Finance that the new salary was approved by ministers after the formation of the coalition government last week.

This is the first government-funded senior role to be advertised since the coalition came to power and suggests that ministers are already instructing bodies to recruit at far lower salaries.

Detailing the government’s £6.2bn worth of cuts today, Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws said that £120m would be saved from a civil service recruitment freeze. He added that any outstanding departmental pay deals from this year would need his approval before being agreed and that any salaries above the prime minister’s – £142,00 per year – would need approval.

Will Hutton, executive vice chair of the Work Foundation, has been put in charge of a pay review of public sector workers. He will be looking into the highest salary levels, and Prime Minister David Cameron has already said that there should be no more than a 20-times difference between employees at the highest and lowest ends of the pay scales. The full terms of reference of the review are due to be published later this week.

The recruitment process for finding a replacement for Steve Bundred as chief executive at the Audit Commission is ongoing, but there are no indications of potential salaries as yet.

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top