HES falls under the remit of the Scottish Public Sector Pay Policy which specifies the parameters for staff pay, including senior staff. In line with this policy, and like the wider public sector, we applied the minimum pay increase of 3% including progression for 2019-20 to all staff.
The year-on-year increase from 2018-19 to 2019-20 of £127k for Senior Management remuneration comprises two elements. Firstly the £83k increase in pay includes the Scottish Public Sector Pay Policy increase, as well as the recruitment of a new Director in the last financial year and maternity cover costs.
The second element of senior management remuneration is pension benefits. The pension benefit is the amount that the senior management has accrued in each financial year and is in line with the Civil Service Pension Scheme of which HES staff are members. The pension benefits accrued by the Senior Management have increased £44k from £222k in 2018-19 to £266k in 2019-20. The pension benefit is not a payment to senior management in year – it is an accrued benefit that is payable on retirement.
The individual remuneration of our Senior Management is available in our Published Annual Report and Financial Statements