Ordinary members are currently paid £12,240 a year, and committee chairs receive £14,460.
The States asked retired Guernsey States lawyer Martin Thornton to conduct a review, and he recommended a phased increase over three years, which would have taken salaries to £20,000 and £22,800, respectively, for 2028.
The island’s Policy & Finance Committee, which includes all but one of its 10 States members, amended the proposal more generously, though president Bill Abel abstained and two members voted against the new proposal.
Its recommendations, before the full States for approval next week, is a phased two-year deal.
The first of the two increases would see ordinary members receiving £17,500 a year for the year in 2026, while committee chairs will be paid £20,000 – increases of 43% and 38%, respectively.
The annual wage would rise again to £22,500 and £25,000 respectively for 2027, a further 28% and 25%.
In addition, it is suggested that members receive £15 a month for telephone and internet use, 3.5% of their annual remuneration in lieu of a pension, and for ‘reasonable’ off-island travel costs to be reimbursed, including accommodation, but not food and drink.
However, the role of States President will remain unpaid.
The last time members’ pay was looked at was 2008, Mr Abel said in the report to the States.
Mr Thornton met eight States members as part of his review and received 194 responses to a public survey.
‘Mr Thornton’s conclusions were based on identified core principles with the goal of setting members’ remuneration at a level that was the minimum survivable amount without being supplemented by other employment,’ said Mr Abel.
P&F’s amended amounts were backed by a majority of the committee, with Mr Abel abstaining and votes against from Kevin Gentle and Derwent Smithurst.
It is also being proposed that a written job description be created for States members, which would include an expectation of the role and ‘be based on an expected average commitment of 25 hours per week’ as well as an outline of what was expected of committee chairs.
This work would run alongside that being done on the governance and re-organisation of the Alderney States but in two parts, with the first part to be completed by the end of January 2026 which focuses on the duties of members from 1 January, with the remainder completed ‘co-terminus with the work on government reorganisation defining the duties of members in those new governance structures (if changed)’.
And the job description would need to include suggested amendments to the members’ code of conduct to allow under-performance or non-performance of their duties to be investigated ‘when recognised by members or the chief executive’.
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