Public Service Salary Act 2013
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1 What are the principal features of the Public Service Salary Table?
A1 The Salary Table consists of 20 Bands with 15 steps each, that is, a total of 300 steps, from Band 1 Step 1 to Band 20 Step 15.
The percentage salary progression from one step to another is the same for all consecutive steps in the table.
The ratio is of the starting salary in Band 20 to the starting salary in Band 1 15:1.
The salary in Band 1 Step 1 must not be less than the minimum wage. From 1st January 2014, the minimum salary in the public service will be SR5,484 per month. This is also the lowest salary in the Public Service Salary Table.
Bands 1-10 (Salary range SR5,484 to SR22,598 per month) will be used to determine the salaries of posts in the public service below the level of Chief Executive Officer or Principal Secretary.
Bands 11-16 (Salary range SR22,813 to SR53,145 per month) will be used to determine the salaries of Chief Executives, Principal Secretaries, Special Advisors and certain Constitutional Appointees.
Bands 17-20 (Salary range SR53,652 to SR93,985 per month) will be used to determine the salaries of Constitutional Appointees including Judges, Ministers, President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic
Q2 When will the new Salary Table come into force?
A2 It will come into force on 1st April 2014 for the general public service, and 1st July 2014 for Constitutional Appointees in the Judiciary. It will become fully effective for other constitutional appointees from 1st December 2014.
Q3 What is meant by “general public service”?
A3 In the context of salary administration, general public service means all public service employees excluding CEOs and Constitutional Appointees. Constitutional Appointees are those persons occupying posts for which the Constitution requires that their salaries be prescribed by a specific law. The salaries of posts in the general public service will be in Bands 1 to 10 of the Public Service Salary table.
Q4 I am in the general public service. Will I need to wait till April 2014 to get the salary increase announced in the Budget Address?
A4 No, the salary increases announced in the Budget Address in December 2013 will be effective from 1st January 2014, and will be based on salary positions in the existing wage grid, and not on the Public Service Salary Table which will become effective from 1st April 2014.
The increases announced in the Budget Address were as follows:
SG1 to SG4: 20% increase
SG5 to SG8: 15% increase
SG9 to SG12: 10% increase
First Schedule - Public Service Salary Table (effective in phases from 1st April 2014)
Q5 I was on an SG6 post in December 2013, and earning SR7,400 per month. What will be my new salary in January 2014?
A5 As you were occupying an SG6 position, you will receive a 15% increase in your salary from 1st January 2014. Your new salary will be SR8,510 per month from 1st January 2014.
Q6 What will happen to my salary when the new Salary Table becomes effective in April 2014?
A6 On 1st April 2014, your salary will be adjusted to the next nearest salary step in the Salary Table. For example, if your salary is SR8,510 per month on 31st March 2014, your next nearest step in the new Salary Table is SR8,573 per month; this is the salary in Band 4 Step 3. Your salary will be adjusted to SR8,573 per month from 1 April 2014.
Q7 But my salary was in SG6. Why is it in Band 4 on the new Salary Table? Have I been demoted?
A7 The SG classification in the Wage Grid is not the same as the Band classification in the new Salary Table. For example SG6 contained salaries from SR6,592 per month to SR9,886 per month. The new Salary Band 4 contains salaries from SR8,412 per month to SR9,609 per month. Your rank and seniority in public service will not be adversely affected by the new Band classification.
Q8 How are salaries of posts in the general public service decided?
A8 Salaries of posts in the general public service are determined by a system of job evaluation. Each job is assessed against a set of factors, with points awarded for each factor. The principal factors are:
- Education level required for the post;
- Level of prior experience required;
- Complexity of the work involved;
- Advisory responsibility
- Supervisory responsibility, e.g. the number and grade of persons being supervised by the post-holder;
- Level of Internal and external contacts required;
- Sensitivity/Accuracy required in the post in terms of effects on the employing organisation as a result of an error by the post-holder;
- Physical and mental fatigue;
- Special work conditions, e.g. difficult working environments, occupational risks and hazards, need to work unsociable working hours.
The points for the various factors are weighted and added to give the total score for the job. The total score will decide the starting point in the Salary Table for the job.
Q9 Are allowances included in the salaries shown in the Table?
A9 No, the table shows only the starting basic salaries for each post. Allowances and other benefits, which are provided for in an approved Scheme of Service, are not included, and should be added to your salary to give you your total gross pay package.
Q10 If my job is re-evaluated, and the post has a starting salary less than the salary I am already receiving, will I get paid less?
A10 No, your salary will not be less than what you are already earning. The salary you are earning is your personal salary. The Public Service Salary Act guarantees that your personal salary will not be adversely affected.
Q11 How can I get a salary progression?
A11 In the general public service, an annual salary progression may be obtained for exceptionally good performance as assessed by your employer and as provided for under Public Service Orders. For example, a salary progression could mean a movement of one or two steps in the Salary Table. Annual salary progression is not generally automatic.
Q12 How will salaries for CEOs be set?
A12 The salaries of CEOs are assessed using an extended job evaluation which also takes into account the nature and complexity of the work involved, leadership and other marketable skills of the post- holder. CEOs will usually work on contract terms of three years’ duration, and their salary progression on renewal of contract will depend on an assessment of their performance.
Q13 What about salary progression for Constitutional Appointees?
A13 Constitutional appointees will move by one salary step in the Table for every 12 months in the post. This is in accordance with the law that determines their salary. Their terms and conditions of service reflect the high risk factors associated with their positions, and the fact that they are expected to perform to the highest levels possible in the public service.
Q14 What will be the salary of the President in December 2014 when the Salary Table will become fully effective for him?
A14 The President’s salary is in Band 20, the top Band in the Salary Table. By December 2014, the President will have completed 10 years as President of the Republic. His salary will therefore be in Band 20, Step 11. It will be SR90,479 per month from 1st December 2014.
Q15 What percentage increase in salary does this represent for the President?
A15 The President’s salary has not been reviewed since 1st January 2008, when the salary was set at SR38,000 per month; this represented SR36,100 per month net after deduction of social security contribution. In December 2014, he will earn SR76,907.15 per month net after payment of income tax. This represents an average net salary increase of 16.3% per year spread over nearly 7 years.
Q16 Why should the President’s salary be set so high?
A16 The starting salary for a new President in the Salary Table is SR82,278 per month. The salary is the highest starting salary in the public service. If the President’s salary is set too low, the salary for everyone else in the public service will also be lower, because no one in the public service should have a higher salary than that of the President of the country. The starting salary for a President will be 15 times that of the lowest paid public officer. This ratio of 15:1 is what Government considers just and affordable for the time being.
Q17 What is the starting salary for a Minister in the new Salary Table?
A17 The starting salary for a new Minister in the Salary Table is SR53,652 per month. After tax deduction, the net salary will be SR45,604.20. This represents an increase of 71.4% compared to the net salary of a Minister in January 2008, or an increase of 10.3% spread over nearly 7 years.
Q18 Will all Ministers get the same salary when the Salary Table becomes effective for them in December 2014?
A18 No. Each Minister will get a salary which will depend on his or her length of service as Minister. A Minister's salary moves forward by 1 step in the Salary Table for every complete 12 months in service. For example, if a Minister was appointed on 1 June 2011, he or she will have served 3 full years by December 2014, so the Minister's salary would be in Step 4 of Band 17 in the Salary Table. This will be SR55,203 per month.
Q19 Does the principle of salary progression apply for MNAs?
A19 Yes, annual salary progression applies for all constitutional appointees. The starting salary for an MNA is the salary at Band 13 Step 1, that is SR30,338 per month However, the salary will progress by 1 step in the Table for each complete 12 months that the MNA has served in this post.
Q20 Do Constitutional Appointees receive a special pension?
A20 Constitutional appointees receive a pension if this provision exists in the law that determines their conditions of service. For example, MNAs and all constitutional appointees whose salary is in Salary Bands 17 to 20 in the Salary Table can receive a Constitutional Appointee pension if they have served at least 48 months in a constitutional post in the Third Republic (i.e. after 18th June 1993).
Q21 How is the Constitutional Appointee Pension calculated?
A21 The Constitutional Appointee pension is based on the salary in the Salary Table at the time the appointee leaves the post; we call this the exit salary point for that appointee. In the case of Ministers and MNAs, the pension is calculated as follows:
Monthly pension = 5/8 x 1% x the salary in the exit salary point x number of months of service in this post (for a maximum of 120 months, i.e. months in excess of 120 are not counted).
This pension is paid from the date at which the constitutional appointee leaves employment in the public service.
Q22 If a person has served in several Constitutional Posts, what pension would he or she be paid?
A22 The pension for each post would be calculated separately, but he or she would get only one constitutional appointee pension, which will be the highest of the pensions calculated.
Q23 What about former Constitutional Appointees who are already receiving a Constitutional Appointee Pension. Will their pension be affected when the new Salary Table becomes effective.
A23 Yes, their pensions will be reviewed. The exit salary point on the Salary Table for them will depend on the number of years they had served in the constitutional post for which they are receiving the pension. Their pension will be recalculated based on the salary in the exit step. The pension will also be recalculated whenever the Salary Table is revised in the future.
Any more Questions?
If you have any further Questions regarding the Public Service Salary Act, please address them to the Chief Secretary (Public Service) on psdpa@dpa.gov.sc.