CILIP | Salaries

In the course of your career in library and information work, you may find yourself in the position of negotiating for your own pay. This may be the result of:

a recruitment interview for a new post
an appraisal-related or performance-related pay scheme
a request for regrading of the post
an equal opportunities pay claim
the downgrading of a post, possibly as a result of restructuring

The last may mean that success lies not in an increase of pay but in maintaining it at the present level. It will also focus rather more on the essential skills necessary to satisfy the job description and person specification, rather than the (often additional) skills that you, as an individual, bring to the post. Further details are available in our job evaluation handout.

Salary should be a fair recognition of the full extent to which the post contributes to the organisation, the degree of responsibility that the post carries for ensuring that contribution, and the level of qualification, skills and experience required.

While you may be convinced of your extra value, an employer will only be swayed by what contribution you make to further the aims and success of the organisation. Your negotiation needs to be presented from this viewpoint.

Negotiating for pay

Salary guides

The following individual sector salary guides were updated in May 2008. Average earnings increased in May 2008 by 3.5%. The Life@Work survey 2006 includes salary data collected in October/November 2006, Appendix 4 page 93 give average salaries by sector. This survey will be updated early in 2009.