Disproportionate burden assessment for our Officer Pay Policy

Scope

This information is part of the annual requirement under the Localism Act to publish an Officer Pay Policy on the Council's website. It is also an important element of the Council's commitment to openness and transparency by making information available 24/7 to a wide audience.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

The benefits of creating an HTML version of this PDF would be:

• A fully accessible version for all users to access
• An easily searchable and indexable version

Burden placed on the organisation  

We’ve estimated that it would take around 14 days of a content designer’s time to create a HTML version of this PDF. The main part of the policy rarely changes from year to year, unless there are regulatory or similar requirements so that could be HTML. However, the appendix contains the pay scales for all posts and every member of staff. This information is, by its nature, very detailed - 55 separate spinal column points for pay, with each one split by hourly, monthly and annual amounts plus 20 'Colchester managed grades' (CMG). The appendix also includes details of other pay-related items. The document needs to be published annually. 

Contributing factors

We have streamlined the information where possible, and used a table and a graphic to make the layout easier to read for people who do not have a disability which needs an accessible format. There was a need to publish the document quickly to meet operational needs, as well as the requirement to have up-to-date information on the website. We have never received a request for an accessible version of the document and will continue to assist with accessible versions on request.

Assessment

Having considered the estimated effort involved in creating a HTML version, and that we have never recieved a request for an accessible version, we have concluded that the work involved would be a poor use of staff time. This represents a disproportionate burden on the organisation.

View the Officer Pay Policy

If you need any of the information from the PDFs provided in another format, contact HR.ServiceCentre@colchester.gov.uk.