Housing Association bosses pay up 3.61% this year
Inflation beating increases for housing bosses
It’s October and as we have come to expect, Inside Housing magazine have produced their survey of the pay of Housing Association bosses showing they have had inflation busting pay increases taking them further away from the workers in their organisations.
This year the average increase is 3.61%; not many of their workers or residents will have received anything like this increase.
Squeezing workers’ pay and services for residents
Repeated claims from associations about ‘difficult conditions’ when squeezing workers pay and services to residents must be seen in the context of the regular bumper pay increases which they decide they can afford for their top earners.
The commentary in Inside Housing makes the point that FTSE 100 corporations pay their bosses more. Famously Persimmon, the builders, paid their boss £85 million over two years.
But rightly, the commentary acknowledges this is not a good benchmark, the Regulator of Social Housing advises boards must consider “whether their approach to remuneration and employment costs represent optimal use of resources”.
Bonus
The biggest increase went to Dilip Kavi at PA Housing who got a 27.5% rise bringing his pay to £204,000 – we only know this because Inside Housing combed through their accounts after they refused to respond to the survey.
Some bosses received big bonuses on top of fat basic pay packets; often their organisations have been going through painful restructuring and cuts.
At Peabody for example Brendon Sarsfield had a bonus of £39,750 while the number of neighbourhood managers who already had impossible workloads is cuts back and important specialist services dealing with domestic violence and anti-social behaviour have been axed.
Pull further away
It is clear that senior figures in the "housing association movement" are massively removed from the hardship faced by many of their workers - let alone residents - and continue to ensure that they pull ever further away from their staff.
We will be analysing the figures and reps are encouraged to contact branch officers for more information.
Paul Kershaw, Chair Unite Housing Workers LE1111
18 October 2019