Public / Private sector pay gap widens

michaels

I don't think these are hugely cheaper - I do think the about that workers have to contribute has gone up however so presumably the 'free' part of the pension has gone down by an equivalent amount.

I know there is not a private sector analog of most public sector jobs but for those where there is I wonder what salary a public sector worker would want to switch to the private sector job and how that would compare with the 'going rate'?

thescouselander wrote: »

Really? Well there have been a lot of myths perpetuated about public sector workers here too. Like the final salary pensions - they have pretty much been closed down, the majority of public sector workers are/will be on career average schemes. I just thought I'd bring some balance to the thread.

vivatifosi

thescouselander wrote: »

Really? Well there have been a lot of myths perpetuated about public sector workers here too. Like the final salary pensions - they have pretty much been closed down, the majority of public sector workers are/will be on career average schemes. I just thought I'd bring some balance to the thread.

To be fair though, career average schemes are still defined benefit. Most private sector schemes are now defined contribution.

Thrugelmir

thescouselander wrote: »

Yes bus most private sector employees get free cars and other perks like tickets to the footy and free parties etc - that wasn't taken into account either.

All taxable..... ever heard of a P11d. Not only that but employers pay Class 1a NIC as well. Certain expenses are disallowable for purposes of recovering VAT and Corporation tax.

chewmylegoff

Ok the so the reason isnt pay deals and spine points, what is the reason?

chewmylegoff

Andy_L wrote: »

I don't think any of them are still running



Depends which bit of the public sector they are in. Some have received spine point increases, some have not

They may not be running now but clearly some were during the relevant period (2007 to date).

Furthermore some public sector employees continue to get decent payrises e.g. Tube staff.

There must be some reason why public sector salaries have increased at a higher rate than private sector, unless the ONS a public sector organisation, is just making it up.

vivatifosi

According to this article, Pastures hit the nail on the head as to why:

http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=105346

ruggedtoast

PasturesNew wrote: »

Also, they lay off the people doing the actual work, on the lower salaries ... while the pricey managers and paper movers keep their jobs, thus raising any average.

Plump boomer managers slashing lower grade younger staff and leaving fewer and smaller overworked teams. Who then have to read silly articles about how overpaid they are.

I've seen this in every public sector place I've worked. I've seen a lot of redundancies over the last few years, I've only seen one manager go. One team where they laid off all of us project staff ended up with five managers.

worldtraveller

thescouselander wrote: »

Really? Well there have been a lot of myths perpetuated about public sector workers here too. Like the final salary pensions - they have pretty much been closed down, the majority of public sector workers are/will be on career average schemes. I just thought I'd bring some balance to the thread.

Is it "are" or "will" be on career average? The vast majority, as in around 90% of the approx. 5 million public sector employees, with a pension (out of around 6 million total public sector employees), are still on final salary schemes now.

maginot

olly300 wrote: »

No they do not. Most private sector individuals don't get these perks.

I wish people would stop perpetuating these myths.

The only people I know who get such free perks are mobile sales people, high level managers, or professionals such a lawyers. Private sector high level managers and highly paid professionals such as lawyers are excluded from this data set.

The mobile sales people have a choice of having a company car or doing 20-30K miles a year in their own car.

Also even then I know public sector high level managers who happen to get lots of paid for meals.

I did find this amusing. The whole thread is about a myth. There are no minimum wage jobs in the public sector and they all tend to be skilled work, so therefore wages will be higher, this is supported by the higher education within this sector.

Automatic pay increases are very rare and last for only a few years e.g. Police 10 years, teachers 6 years etc. then there are no further increases once they have that experience.

There

Koicarp

As an NHS employee I did get a pay rise in 2008, this was the last in a 3 year pay deal. Our union fought against a 3 year deal, but the labour government pushed it through. Since then we've had a pay freeze, but some have increments. I had a pay rise 6 weeks back as I got promoted (I'm now a one man specialist team with over 400 patients), prior to that I'd had no increment since 2006 as I was at the top of the scale.
Our porters, cleaners, and kitchen staff have gone to private organisations. I cover about 300 square miles in my own car, and get mileage allowance for it. In terms of freebies, I've had nothing, as a prescriber I have visits from drug reps, but freebies are restricted to training materials which I would use in my work to train others. Our consultants on the other hand have a free lunch prepared, in the consultant's dining room 5 days per week- most don't use it.