Guernsey Press

Jersey’s top civil servant is paid £60k above ours

GUERNSEY’S top civil servant is paid tens of thousands of pounds less than his Jersey counterpart.

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States of Guernsey chief executive Paul Whitfield. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 22264585)

The States of Guernsey accounts show that while the island’s chief executive officer received a salary of £150,031 last year, his opposite number was paid between £210,000 and £215,000, according to the States of Jersey’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Tables showing the amounts paid to the island’s public sector works show that Guernsey’s CEO also received £21,000 towards a pension from the public purse in 2017, taking the total amount to £171,185.

There is a smaller gap between the salaries of Guernsey’s States treasurer, who had a gross salary of £137,109 in 2017, and Jersey’s, who received between £165,000 and £170,000. Guernsey’s treasurer also had a contribution of £18,289 towards their pension.

Jersey has no equivalents to three other senior posts in Guernsey, those of chief operating officer, whose salary last year was £124,073, plus £16,725 pension, chief information officer, whose salary, was £122,222 and pension £16,503, and chief strategy and policy officer, whose salary was £113,393, pension £15,443.

The Guernsey accounts also report an increase in the number of public sector staff who were paid a total of between £140,999 and £150,999 last year, which has risen by 10 to 31 – the highest increase across any of the 10 pay bands, which go up in £19,999 increments starting at £80,000.

The totals paid include the pension and social insurance contributions made by the States as employer.

Only one person was paid £250,000 or more.

The largest group was those in the lowest salary bracket, with 130 employees receiving between £80,000 and £99,999.

That was also the sector that saw the greatest drop in numbers, falling from 137 in 2016 to 130 last year.

Overall, £223,000,000 was paid to public sector employees – including States members – in 2017, an increase of just over £2.9m. on 2016.

The biggest individual rise was in the amounts paid to nurses and medical consultants, which went up £2.6m to £51,105,000.

There were falls in the totals paid to police officers – down £218,000 to £8,803,000 – and teachers and learning support assistants – down £198,000, from £42,743,000.