P&R appoints panel to review the pay of leading officials

Sir Geoffrey Rowland, who was Bailiff between 2005 and 2012, and Allister Langlois, who held the number two post in the States from 2014 until 2016, have agreed to sit on a three-man panel which is expected to start its first review soon and hold one every three years.

John Steele, who is based in the UK, will chair the panel, which was set up and appointed by Policy & Resources.

Before doing so, P&R consulted the current holders of the roles which will have their pay reviewed.

‘Members considered and discussed potentially suitable local participants and, as part of the process, the views of the office holders were also taken into account,’ said P&R president Peter Ferbrache.

‘The committee wished to ensure that as far as possible the panel should be deemed credible and acceptable to the office holders and should also, between them, have experience and knowledge of the roles of the office holders, the Guernsey context and pay review processes and employment relations.’

P&R also appointed the panel without publicly inviting applications. But it said it was confident its work would be independent.

‘Demonstrable independence was deemed important, which is why the chair of the panel is based in the UK,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

‘The composition of the panel was approved by P&R. The committee is confident that, collectively, the panel has the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively discharge the terms of reference.’

The panel was announced by P&R in replies to Rule 14 questions submitted by former P&R president Gavin St Pier. It was not the first time he had asked questions about the issue.

‘I am disappointed that it required a further set of questions to get P&R to release the terms of reference and details of the panel’s composition. That really shouldn’t have been needed and should have been offered up rather than dragged out of the committee,’ said Deputy St Pier.

‘There is or ought to be nothing to hide. The crown appointees and judges are servants of and paid by the public. There is nothing particularly special or unique about this process which is conducted in most other jurisdictions in relation to these kind of roles.’

Deputy St Pier said a pay review was initially agreed when he was P&R president and acknowledged it should have been completed before the end of the previous States term.

‘I am delighted that this work is now under way, albeit four years after the first review should have been concluded,’ he said.

While Mr Langlois was a deputy, he was also chairman of the Public Sector Remuneration Committee, which previously had responsibility for pay negotiations with States employees, before that was transferred to P&R in 2016.

The review panel will consult the Bailiff and others before making recommendations on pay received by a range of senior officials, including the Bailiff himself, the Deputy Bailiff, HM Procureur, HM Comptroller, the judge of the Royal Court and the judges of the Magistrate’s Court.

Their pay has never been published by the States.