Fears of recruitment and retention nightmare as pay chasm opens between ranks

The pay gulf between senior and junior staff shot up in 2004, according to an Inbucon survey of housing association salaries for Housing Today.

Directors enjoyed an average 9.7% hike in salaries, housing officers saw their average drop slightly and middle managers fared worst with a 7% fall in pay last year.

A detailed breakdown by job function revealed customer services staff took the worst hit: the average salary for heads of function fell from £53,121 in 2003 to £42,587, with middle managers and officers also seeing slight falls. Maintenance managers did best of all with a 13.2% rise, up to £45,071 from £39,802.

A regional breakdown of mean salaries showed a continuing North-South divide with chief executives earning £58,000 in Yorkshire & Humber compared to a national median of £81,212. In inner London they could expect to get a median of £93,500.

Paul Davey, human resources adviser for policy and renewal development at Metropolitan Housing Trust, said: “If we don’t get a grip on the situation, it could have a detrimental outcome.

“If the gap between middle and senior managers gets bigger, it will become less likely for middle managers to be promoted as the pay increase could be too big to justify.

“In order to find out whether the gap is resulting in people leaving their jobs, housing associations need to find out where staff go when they leave and if they are getting paid more.”

The Inbucon survey showed the average overall salary increase in the sector was 4.3%. Care home managers fared worst overall with a 28.7% drop, but this was skewed by the fact that last year’s survey of care workers had a greater bias towards the South-east.

Jodie Wright, Inbucon’s pay and benefits specialist, said this year’s survey included a broader geographical reach and this could affect the result: “Typically, higher-ranked jobs are not as affected by location as lower ranks and this may be why the higher ranks appear to be getting a pay increase and certain of the lower ranks seem to be earning less.”

Steve Boyd, chief executive of North-east housing association Nomad, said: “Take someone who could be an estates manager for a housing association. As a contracts manager for the private sector, they would be doing similar sort of work but they can achieve a 30 to 40% pay rise. The sector can’t compete.”

A human resources manager from a London housing association said: “[The pay gap] could be a sign that housing associations are having difficulties recruiting at the top so are putting salaries up to be competitive with the private market. In departments where it is relatively easy to recruit, they are reducing pay increases because they can get away with it.”

Is your salary fair?

‘We have been fighting for higher pay. The stress levels are through the roof and it is unfair for those staff that actually have to deal with abusive tenants. We are paid reasonably, but there are more middle managers appearing and they are not necessarily needed’
A London-based housing officer

‘We reward our customer staff and middle managers in line with the market. Certainly the salary rise people got last year was the same from the chief executive downwards’
Martin Knowles, chief executive of Three Rivers Housing Association

‘As a middle manager I get paid £1500 more than the junior managers directly below me, but the senior managers directly above me get paid £9000 more than me.
It makes no sense. How will they retain me?’
A middle manager from a Southern housing association

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Housing Today