Local Government Salary Package Negotiation

• 

  Nugs on 10/08/2023 - 07:38

  -3

  LGA's are going to be phased out, ground swell started already on ozb so it's going to happen
  .

  • 

    pjetson on 10/08/2023 - 08:02

    +2

    I didn't realise that OzBargain had such influence!

    • 

      pharkurnell on 10/08/2023 - 10:50

      +1

      Bite your tongue…..

• 

  Hardlyworkin on 10/08/2023 - 07:55

  +10

  Additional payments are usually made by the local developers via a brown paper bag.

• 

  newjerseydamo on 10/08/2023 - 08:07

  +4

  You're going to be hard pressed to negotiate anything government related. It's not like the private sector at all.
  Also, you should be able to find the relevant council's enterprise agreement online if you search for it, which will outline everything.

• 

  Eurobogan on 10/08/2023 - 08:37

  +3

  I went from private to public because my wife fell pregnant and I needed more time with the family. this is what I have learnt in the past 2 years:
  -You can always try to negotiate but there is a slim chance you will ever get anything relative to the public sector.
  -There is no O.T. aloud, at least for certification. you do your set hours and go home.
  -Depending on the Award you may have 1 or 2 R.D.O's a month, Councils will make you work the extra 20 or 40min per day to have them so they don't just come for free.
  -Workload is high but because most of the managers are, how should I put it….. In koala sanctuary as in they are endangered species they don't put anywhere as much pressure on you as you would have in private.
  -Your benefits are dependent on your councils award.
  -Each year you get anything between a 1.5-4.5% pay rise as long as you meet your KPI's and expectations.
  -You will be able to negotiate extra RDO's but not more Annual Leave.
  -Defiantly negotiate flexible WFH days.
  -They are very family friendly if the kid is sick they will let you take careers leave in a heartbeat.

  Good luck

  • 

    bohn on 10/08/2023 - 10:44

    +3

    Defiantly negotiate flexible WFH days

    We should definitely all be defiant in our push for WFH.

  • 

    Mackeg02 on 10/08/2023 - 11:09

    This - unless you are applying for a director level role it is unlikely you will be able negotiate much at all. Worklife balance is key

• 

  DiscountForThee on 10/08/2023 - 09:51

  +1

  Depends on the roles. Some roles are restricted and defined by an EBA (and you can only be placed in "band 6" or "rank 3" or whatever), whereas other roles are common law contracts where you are able to negotiate them (but with much shallower pockets than the private industry)

• 

  kekw on 10/08/2023 - 10:24

  Thing with public is union will "make sure" you are paid "fair" so you don't really have much room for negotiation. Good thing is you don't have to worry too much about your pay and can focus more on work. IMO most efficient way to get more is to climb up the ladder or jump between private and public.

• 

  Drakesy on 10/08/2023 - 10:40

  +1

  Yeah, the EBA is the EBA.

  You could bargain for different levels, but the org structure is pretty set in stone.

  It's very much a take it or leave it approach, you can say you're worth a higher level say 5.2 vs 5.1 but the negotiation is usually against HR and your manager and from my experience its almost always stacked against you.

  • 

    jjjaar on 10/08/2023 - 11:27

    Came here to say this.

    If the position you applied for was a Band 5, you can only negotiate which level within the 5 you believe you’re worth. You can’t negotiate for a Band 6.

    Can you negotiate extra annual leave or extra roster days off?

    You can likely buy additional leave. This will be outlined in the EBA.

    Re: extra RDO, you can ask for this too (it doesn’t mean you will be accepted), but it won’t be extra, it’ll either mean you work your normal hours in fewer days to get the time off, or you take a salary cut for it.

• 

  pharkurnell on 10/08/2023 - 10:51

  -3

  Learn how to just go with the flow no matter how dodgy things are..

  ignore brown paper bags left on desks…

  only work at 10% of your normal capacity otherwise you will be "managed" out of the job

  Make the most of the 364 days off a year and other perks.

  • 

    Drakesy on 10/08/2023 - 12:42

    I mean you do have a point.

    Before working gov i believe every worker should spend some time in private, then they'll realise the true value of their time and how much they're wasting.

    Trust me i know.

• 

  brad1-8tsi on 10/08/2023 - 11:07

  +3

  My ex worked in Local Gov't for 35years. I worked State & Federal Gov't for 30 years and 13 years large corporate private enterprise. My eldest works State gov't, my youngest Local Gov't.
  My current partner an several friends work PE Corporate and their conditions are quite different.

  The great thing about public service is that you can do your 35/36/38 hours and walk away. There's none of this "your on salary and there are no defined hours" rubbish.
  Anyone working in the public service and doing unpaid work isn't managing their hours properly or isn't managing their supervisor correctly.

  Can you negotiate extra annual leave or extra roster days off?

  Very much dependant on how your EBA is worded and how you get on with your manager. Generally, if it doesn't cost money and your work is getting done and your manager isn't getting his head beaten by his boss you can negotiate plenty of "lifestyle" perks. I worked a 4 day week on full pay for the last 4 years I was there either using AL, flextime or working longer days where I picked my own hours.
  My buddy negotiated 6.00am starts because it made his commute easier.
  If you expect to be paid for a 36hr week and only work 4 standard days, that won't happen because they are very aware what is a "bad look" when spending ratepayers money.
  My wife had company cars for 30 years. The fleet mgr worked out that they could have Mercedes on a cheaper "whole of life cost" than the ToyoFalcaDores they were buying. They didn't do it because the ratepayers would have gone ballistic seeing a managers car park full of Mercedes.
  Do not expect free food in the kitchen unless it's leftover from a working lunch. Do not even contemplate beers (free or otherwise) in the office at the end of the week.
  You also have to jump through hoops if a vendor or client wants to give you a gift. It's basically not worth taking for the paperwork you have to do.

  What is out of bounds?

  I'm not sure what you mean by this.

  It seems different local governments have different grades depending on their own enterprise agreement… how to compare apples with apples?
  A role is locked in to a pay band based on the job description. Once you reach the top of the band you stop getting pay increases. If you think you are doing more than the job description then you need to get the JD re-written and re-assessed. Don't expect the process to be quick or get any assistance. You are better off finding a higher grade position and move on.

  What about location allowances ?

  What's that?

  If it doesn’t exist can you negotiate for it?

  Nope, not really unless you can get a "local agreement" with your boss that doesn't require payment and doesn't make others jelous. My standard of work was way above my level of pay so nobody paid attention when I disappeared to get a haircut or pay a bill. Get your work done plus a bit more and you are generally golden.

  Annual leave travel allowance… can the value of this be negotiated?

  What travel allowance? It's in the EBA or ATO rules.
  Annual leave is what it is except sometimes you can take it at half pay, sometimes you can buy a week and sometimes sell a week back to the firm. LWOP sometimes available too

  • 

    Gunnar on 10/08/2023 - 15:41

    +1

    Brilliant response, particularly around how government departments have to make decisions based on the public perception of their decisions (eg the car thingy)

    Just remember that local agreements with your boss can also be changed with a change in boss/senior leadership and/or government

• 

  coffeeinmyveins on 10/08/2023 - 12:03

  +1

  All these posts saying you only do your 35 Hours in gov is hilarious.

  I know a government lawyer and they definitely do closer to 50-60 hours a week. It's flex time though

  • 

    DJR9000 on 10/08/2023 - 12:08

    +1

    show me any lawyer that does < 35 hrs a week

  • 

    brad1-8tsi on 11/08/2023 - 14:54

    I know a government lawyer and they definitely do closer to 50-60 hours a week. It's flex time though

    1) Flex only allows you to take that time off at a later date. You can't cash it in so he's working for free if he does 50 hours every week. If he can't get his work done in the contracted hours then he probably shouldn't be doing the job.

    2) Yes, plenty of folk I worked with did more than the contracted hours for no reward. Management will let you do that forever. I bet none of those folk have ever asked for financial compensation.
    The mob I worked for automatically started paying OT because of a Fair Work Commission ruling over another government department regarding unpaid hours.

• 

  Porker on 10/08/2023 - 15:16

  For Local Government, generally, the only (on-going) thing you'll be able to negotiate, on assumption you are fully employed, would be salary - all other things would be fixed within the enterprise bargaining agreement. For the upper echelon of the organisation, they are typically employed on a contract basis (eg. 3 - 5 years) and other items may be negotiable given the contract sits outside of general staff EBA.

  The EBA salary works on a 'banding' system - you might be able to negotiate extra pay, but it won't be a different or upper banding to which applies to the position, but rather an over-award.

• 

  Lga queries on 02/09/2023 - 07:55

  “My wife had company cars for 30 years. The fleet mgr worked out that they could have Mercedes on a cheaper "whole of life cost" than the ToyoFalcaDores they were buying. They didn't do it because the ratepayers would have gone ballistic seeing a managers car park full of Mercedes.”

  Hi Brad, within local government, specifically South Australia, noting your wife had company cars for 30 years, is this something you can negotiate on top of your salary band level? Eg a leaseback with private use? Or is this now on the nose and would they prefer to pay a car allowance? Would love to understand all the details of what and how much this looks like, thanks