Why do you need a salary policy document?
Many companies lack a wage policy document that contains guidelines for conducting local wage negotiations. This can make it difficult to argue for individual salary determination.
Many companies in the collective agreement areas of the Company Agreement and Energy Agreement II lack a wage policy document that contains guidelines for conducting local wage negotiations.
" This shortage will in some cases create uncertainty. This can make both the wage negotiations and the social partnership in general more demanding than it needs to be," says Oddvar Steinhaug, head of the collective bargaining committee for Samfunnsbedriftene.
Losing pay as a tool in personnel policy
A wage policy document is part of the company's employer policy and is intended to support the Basic Agreement and the intentions of the collective agreements. Without such an agreed document, it can be a difficult exercise for union representatives and employers to argue or negotiate for individual salary determination and say something about the criteria that form the basis.
" Some employers may choose the simplest and end up with everyone getting the same thing. At the same time, they lose the opportunity to use wage policy as a personnel policy tool," Steinhaug emphasizes.
Salary policy documents often contain:
- Principles of equal pay and justice.
- Local criteria for salary adjustments, such as effort, results, competence, responsibility, etc.
- Processes and procedures for salary negotiations and salary appraisals.
- Guidelines for bonus schemes, incentives and other ancillary benefits.
- Policy for salary development and career development.
" We know that it can feel like a big boost to have to prepare a wage policy document for our many union representatives in small businesses around the country. But it helps to ensure that salaries are used as a personnel policy instrument and that salaries are negotiated according to objective criteria," says Steinhaug.
Here you will find collective agreements with Samfunnsbedriftene
About the wage policy document in Energy Agreement II
From Energy Agreement II, which is NITO's main collective agreement for energy companies and subsidiaries with independent membership in Samfunnsbedriftene:
§ 3-3 Payroll system
At the individual company, the parties must prepare and maintain a salary system that shows general criteria for position/salary assessment.
When determining wages, competence, responsibility, complexity and value creation must be taken into account. Emphasis shall be placed on how the individual employee fulfils these criteria. In the company's assessment, it must be taken into account that younger people normally have a rapid growth in skills.
Wage policy shall generally promote and safeguard gender equality and work to ensure that women and men are treated equally in the assessment of pay and advancement.
There must be a natural connection between the employee's skills development and salary development. The parties evaluate and discuss the further development of the wage system annually.
Samfunnsbedriftene (formerly KS Bedrift) is an employer and interest organization for municipal and other enterprises that are wholly or partly publicly owned. The businesses have in common that they provide basic services to citizens and businesses.
Under Samfunnsbedriftene you will find various companies in areas such as waste management, fire, ports, auditing, production and distribution of energy.
The social enterprises safeguard the contractual and business policy interests of these companies.
The companies can have different organizational forms; as ordinary limited liability companies, inter-municipal companies or municipal enterprises.