In this case study we look at the competency framework implemented by Salutem Care and Education which was launched in 2021. The guiding principles underpinning the framework are competency, leadership, and the values and behaviours of employees.

Like many care organisations, Salutem had previously paid spot rates of pay, with no in-grade progression, to most staff, and with a significant proportion on or close to the statutory minimum. Meanwhile other staff could only progress if they were promoted to a higher-paid grade.

In 2018, however, the organisation decided that, due to ongoing recruitment and retention issues, it would aim to pay staff above the statutory minimum by introducing a competency framework which would allow for pay progression within grades. 

The scope of the services offered by the organisation is also a driver of the new approach. Care staff are professionals, and therefore a new system of within-grade progression was felt to be appropriate.

Why was the competency framework introduced?

In 2018, Salutem expressed its aim to provide lower-paid staff with an opportunity to earn more than minimum wage rates. The organisation’s recruitment and retention problems were at least partly due to many roles being paid at or near the statutory minimum only, with little scope for further progression.

The need for change was further underlined by the pandemic when the organisation experienced increasing burnout among staff due to higher workloads, with colleagues unable to work, and some employees leaving the sector altogether. The Group People Director Kirstie Jones noted: ‘I think [the whole social care sector] is struggling to recruit frontline staff. We're losing more than we've ever lost before… people are exhausted after the pandemic. They spent two years with the country applauding them to now it feels like they've been forgotten again. In the current economic climate they've also now got the ability [to move sector] because every industry's struggling.’

The introduction of the competency framework

In response to these difficulties, the firm’s competency-based pay structure was introduced in 2021. It represents a means of investing in the attraction and retention of high-calibre staff by offering financial rewards to those who work above the expected standard in their position. As of 2022, the lowest rate offered to new support staff without experience in the sector is £9.60 regardless of age.

The framework includes 11 pay scales providing hourly pay rates for positions within different areas of the business such as support workers, administrators and mental health professionals.

For each position, there are six defined points or 'bands’, A to F, on each scale, with staff in bands A to C meeting the expected standard; those in D to E working above the expected competencies or working towards the next position above; while band F is reserved for the highest-trained staff, who routinely go above and beyond the requirements for their position.

Each level of progression between A to F comes with an incremental hourly rate as can be seen in the table below. The lowest-paying scale, which starts at £9.60 an hour, 10p above the current NLW, includes roles such as general assistants and activity coordinators.

Salutem has also maintained a differential between scales. For example, general assistants start at £9.60 per hour, while senior general assistants have a starting rate of £9.79 per hour. For many roles, including senior general assistants, chefs, and estate supervisors, pay rates increase at 20p increments between bands A to D, followed by a 25p increase when staff reach bands E and F. Meanwhile for professional roles such as lead therapists and mental health practitioners, the band differentials are £1 an hour wide all the way from A to F. The scale for lead therapists starts at £16.24 but they can progress to a maximum hourly rate of £21.24 for band F.

The table below shows just one pay scale but the organisation employs staff on a further ten scales covering generic roles in areas like business administration, finance, HR and IT, and support workers. 

According to the table above, a team leader contracted to work 40 hours a week, will earn around £27,227 in band A, and if they were to progress to band F, would earn £29,515 a year. A lead therapist also on a 40 hours a week contract, would begin on £33,779 in band A, progressing to £44,179 if band F is reached.

Triad of competency areas

To determine which competency band a role is paid at depends upon a threefold combination of the employee’s values and behaviours, technical competence, and leadership and management as shown in the table below. While some care organisations have developed pay progression systems based on qualifications and experience, Salutem has also incorporated the expected values and behaviours required from its staff in order for them to succeed within their positions. 

Banding for staff is assessed annually by line managers. Multiple members of the management team review each employee’s banding to ensure decisions are reached fairly. This is important because the decision on whether staff meet the required values and behaviours to progress into a further grade may be difficult to ascertain due to the requirements being less objective than, for example, those around educational requirements.

To prevent varying decisions being reached by different line managers, individual line managers will undertake the first review, the Regional or Divisional Director completes the second, and then the HR team carry out a full moderation exercise to ensure fairness and equity. Currently most employees are in bands A to C and only around 5% of Salutem’s workforce have reached bands D to F.

Pay for location and specialist roles

While the rates provided for the different levels of the competency framework cover most employees, the organisation also found that slightly higher rates of pay needed to be offered to improve recruitment in certain areas. For example, workers in adult and children services based in Essex are offered £1 above the banded hourly rates due to difficulties recruiting staff in this area.

Furthermore, support workers offering specialist care to more vulnerable groups with complex needs are offered a starting rate of £10 an hour, compared to £9.60 for non- specialist work.

Impact of framework

The organisation hopes that the implementation of the competency-based pay structure will attract higher-calibre candidates and solve recruitment problems. Our contacts at Salutem also expressed the hope that offering more incentives through pay and progression will lead to increased staff morale and retention of a better-trained workforce.

The implementation of the framework is intended to ensure employees are working at a higher level and building on technical training through the understanding that improved pay will be offered as an incentive.

Since the new pay structure’s implementation, the People Director advised that the organisation has begun using it in job advertisements to attract staff with the new pay ranges, and as a result has found it easier to recruit new staff.

How employees progress

The competency framework sets out the values, behaviours, technical competencies and, for the higher bands, leadership and management experience required for each position. Employees can progress into higher-paying positions but are also provided with the opportunity to obtain pay progression within their current roles.

The competency framework and the pay scales attached to this are published internally, detailing the requirements for employees to move between points A to F. Banding decisions can be appealed by employees. Pay band rates are uplifted every April to ensure that the lowest remain above the statutory minimum and that differentials between bands and scales/grades are maintained.

An example of the competency framework for teaching assistants can be seen below. For a teaching assistant to progress from band C to D, training will need to be completed to improve their technical competence. For example, to work at band C, the teaching assistants will need to have completed a level 2 CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training topic, and a teaching assistant level 2 course. To reach grade F, they will need to have completed at least a level 5 CPD training topic and the ‘Aspire’ programme qualification.

Individuals will also need to demonstrate that their values and behaviours align with those of the organisation, and to reach bands D to F, teaching assistants must demonstrate their ability to lead and manage teams. For example, to move into band F, an employee in this role would need to show their leadership abilities through leading an innovation project.

Pay awards and rates 2022

Frontline staff received general increases of between 7.6% and 10% in April 2022. This was due to a combination of a general uplift to scales and bands in line with the uplift in the National Minimum Wage and the operation of the new competency framework, with employees improving their banding within each scale. Salutem’s people director advised that these rises were funded by investors foregoing dividends and the firm absorbing the extra costs: ‘we took this decision because it's the right thing to do and if we don't, then we won't be around’.

The ability to provide these considerable increases is partly due to Salutem’s size and positioning within the sector, offering the organisation the opportunity to make the pay awards necessary to improve recruitment and retention. And while the changes associated with the new approach to pay and progression may have significant financial implications in the short term, the efficiency improvements that are likely to accrue form a better-trained workforce will most likely help finance these changes in the longer term.

Other actions taken to improve recruitment and retention

Salutem advised that it had seen staff turnover increase due to many employees leaving the industry during the pandemic, peaking at around 34%. However, since the implementation of the new pay scales and competency framework, this has reduced to 29%. To further improve retention levels, Salutem has introduced a three-tier leadership programme for any staff looking to move into a management position. The organisation is also looking to improve the attractiveness of its pension scheme in the next few years.

Improving transparency within the organisation

A staff forum has recently been introduced which allows staff to provide input on any aspect of the business, including pay bandings, and ideas are shared directly with the Board. The forum is comprised of 16 elected representatives from every division and every type of service, including shared services.