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. Due to the current state of the economy we will be monitoring pay settlements during Summer 2009. According to IDS Pay Report May 2009 most settlements are in the 1-3 percent range, although a fifth of settlements have accepted a pay freeze.