Plan to stop politicians deciding their own pay

Wednesday 28 April 2021

A new proposal has been put forward to stop States Members from having a say in their own pay, putting the power entirely in the hands of an independent body.

The new plans, if approved, would also see the possibility of different levels of pay for different pay grades for different roles among politicians, as opposed to the equal pay they currently receive.

The proposition, put forward by the Privileges and Procedures Committee, outlines how:  

• Though States members can still set the framework for how their pay is decided – i.e. the independent body – they will have no say on the actual decision of what their pay is.
• Members’ pay should be linked to an index.
• An independent body or person should be commissioned to review the system each Assembly term.
• That the law that keeps all States Members' pay equal should be repealed, so the independent reviewer can consider different options for different States Members.

Pictured: The new proposition suggests that an independent body or person should be established to review States Members' pay on a term-by-term basis.

If passed, the proposition states the new rules should be brought into action by 2022, where an index will be established to link Members' pay to.

Though the current independent States Members Remuneration Review Body make recommendations on how much States Members should be paid, which are then automatically adopted, States Members can still put forward a vote and debate to remove or alter these recommendations.

It follows an independent review conducted by a UK expert which suggested that States Members should not have final vote on their own pay, noting that, in the eight similar Governments across the world it reviewed, Jersey was the only one that allowed its politicians to decide on their own pay.

The review also suggested considering a system which fixes the salaries with an index and comparator.

The proposition is due for debate on 21 June.