11th March 2026
| Role | Salary Range (£) | Notes / Allowances |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | 167,809 – 201,722 | Plus 10% Health & Safety responsibility allowance; top salary ~5.3× median pay |
| Deputy Chief Executive | 162,204 – 179,279 | Within senior leadership band |
| Executive Director | 149,603 – 175,620 | Senior strategic posts |
| Director | 94,795 – 142,192 | Mid-tier senior management |
| Assistant Director | 80,203 – 111,281 | Lower tier of senior management |
| Median FTE Employee Pay | 28,770 | Used to calculate pay multiples for transparency |
Key Points for Readers:
- Chief Executive earns ~5.3 times the median employee salary.
- Salaries are set in bands; increases occur via cost-of-living uplifts, incremental steps, or market supplements.
- The policy ensures transparency and fairness while helping retain staff in critical roles.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council’s Cabinet is due to consider the borough’s Annual Pay Policy Statement at its meeting on Tuesday 17 March 2026 — setting out how the authority approaches pay, transparency, and workforce fairness for the year ahead. This follows legal requirements under the Localism Act 2011 that each council publish a clear pay policy annually before March 31.
Transparency and Fair Pay at Heart of Policy
The Annual Pay Policy Statement provides a transparent summary of how salaries and pay structures are set for council employees, excluding school staff. It covers:
- Senior leadership pay ranges, including the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, Executive Directors, Directors, and Assistant Directors, with details of salary bands and how appointments are made within those ranges.
- The responsibilities of the Appointments Committee in overseeing remuneration and ensuring consistent application of the policy.
- The council’s use of objective job evaluation schemes to support pay fairness and to help attract and retain skilled staff in critical service areas.
The Statement also includes Gender Pay Gap reporting, showing that recent data indicates a very low or even slightly favourable gap for women in overall hourly pay — an increasingly rare and positive trend among public employers.
Responding to Local Workforce Pressures
The report acknowledges ongoing recruitment pressures in social care and other frontline services and emphasises the council’s commitment to staying competitive in the challenging labour market while exercising value-for-money stewardship of public funds. It highlights the One Team People Plan, which aims to support workforce development and wellbeing.
Importantly, the Statement covers how pay multiples — the ratio between the top and median salaries — are monitored and updated to reflect fairness benchmarks; at the latest snapshot, the Chief Executive’s salary was around 5.3 times the median employee pay, down from previous years.
What Happens Next
During the 17 March Cabinet meeting, councillors will consider whether to recommend the Annual Pay Policy Statement for approval to Full Council. If agreed, the updated statement will be published on the council’s website and come into effect from April 2026.
The report’s publication ahead of the meeting underlines the council’s aim to be open about senior remuneration, workforce strategy, and its ongoing approach to pay fairness — a significant item for local transparency and workforce confidence in a tight funding environment.
