Gather information on the ‘going rate of pay’ for your type of work and the standard benefits.
Professional bodies, trade unions, recruitment agencies, job advertisements, or colleagues doing similar work can all offer guidance. Salary may vary with location, as does the cost of living.
The CILIP Salary Guides may be a good starting point. Salary guides currently cover the health, school, public, higher education, further education and government library and information sectors.
For a new post, clarify before applying what the broad range of salary options are, if this is not made clear in the advertisement. Do not assume that you will automatically be offered more than your current salary. The employer may wish to appoint someone at the bottom of the grade. Establish this before wasting time applying for a post with an unacceptable salary.
Find out if there is a set procedure for pay talks and, where possible, work within it. Make sure you understand any immovable constraints that affect an employer’s decision on pay, and where there is flexibility for negotiation. The relevant union may also offer guidance.
When planning for a performance-related pay review, be clear about the terms of your performance agreement, and base your pay claim around it.
Equal care needs to go into the drafting of a new performance agreement that is clear, reasonable and achievable, as this will influence future pay increases.
List your job responsibilities and skills to back up your claim. Scarce and specialist skills may attract additional payment. For regrading of posts, it is useful to make two lists. For list one, look at your original job description and write down the skills needed, plus the contribution the post makes to the organisation. For list two, identify the new responsibilities that have been added since you entered the post, and their value to the organisation. Where possible, match this list against the requirements for a higher pay scale. This approach may be particularly useful where a third party or an independent grading review body is involved.
Updated: 13 August 2004