16 July 2012

Public sector bosses say they are underpaid and unsatisfied


Laura Sharman

Although one in five public sector bosses are paid more than £200,000 a year in basic salary, over half insist they are underpaid according to the results of a new survey.

The figures from Wickland Westcott also show that a quarter of public sector bosses are actively seeking a new job, with half saying they have been searching for over six months.

Wickland Westcott managing director, Colin Mercer, said: ‘It appears that a significant number of bosses are sitting tight, making do with a role that does not meet their aspirations entirely, but at least provides a port in a storm.

‘Organisations recruiting at senior level may think they are in a buyer’s market where they can pick and choose, but the best candidates undertake rigorous due diligence on potential new employers, to establish if it is worth taking the risk of leaving behind the installed base of contacts and credibility they have built in their current organisation.’

However, the survey also found that job satisfaction rather than money was the biggest motivating factor for those in the public sector. Half of public sector bosses surveyed said they feel valued by their staff and believe they love working for them.



Your comments

Can we see the raw data please so we can make our own judgements? Great point there Mr Emms, I totally agree. And twhat is their difinition of a 'boss'?

Julie Gibson, Added: Monday, 23 July 2012 02:18 PM

The first sentence is a fine example of twisting presentation for effect. "Although" implies inconsistency between people being paid over ?200k and people saying they're underpaid. But there's no "although" about it even if ?200k is in fact enough -on which I make no comment. If only 20% are paid ?200k the 50% thinking they're underpaid probably come exclusively from the 80% who aren't paid ?200k -which makes complete sense. "Although" is an example of a typical journalism trick. Fun, innit?

John Emms, Added: Monday, 16 July 2012 04:11 PM

This underlines the problem with the inflation of salaries at the top level of the private sector. Why shouldn't the public sector be earning the same level of salary as private. On the other hand there should not be the increasing gap between the top 10% and the median salary. So, peg the private sector before hitting the public sector.

wasateacher, Added: Monday, 16 July 2012 04:02 PM



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