In brief: Local authority’s pay plan; PKF to help with cost savings…
MORE than 1,000 Bolton Council employees will be asked to take a pay cut after the executive decided to approve a new pay and grading structure.
The vast majority of the 10,000 people employed by the authority will either be better off or unaffected by the changes, which will be introduced from April.
Chief executive, Sean Harriss, has already written to all staff to tell them how the structure will affect their pay.
Under the new arrangements the pay of approximately 40% will increase; approximately 43% of staff will stay the same and the remainder will reduce. Those whose pay will reduce will have their earnings protected fully until 1 January 2012.
Mr Harriss said: “We hope that staff will respond positively and agree to the changes in terms and conditions. We understand that staff may have concerns about the process so we are making information available for anyone with further questions through line managers, communication via the council’s intranet and special staff bulletins.”
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ACCOUNTANCY firm PKF has launched a cost savings review programme for businesses from its Manchester and Liverpool offices.
The Business Efficiency and Risk Management reviews will examine all aspects of a company’s cost-effectiveness and its ability to respond to a changing environment.
The service has been launched following increasing client demand for incremental reviews of this type.
David McIntyre, director of business risk services, said: “The reviews offer companies significant scope for cutting costs and enhancing profitability – considerations which have never been more vital, with the credit crunch having left many North West businesses struggling to survive and numerous experts predicting that the recession will only deepen over the coming months.”
Mr McIntyre said his experience clearly indicated that for the vast majority of companies, the implementation of recommendations his team would suggest usually resulted in cost savings that would significantly outweigh the expense of employing them.
