Industry Pay Scales 2005

Industry Pay Scales 2005

By Laurence Gale MSc

A top Greenkeeper should be receiving a salary of £43,000 plus and a top Groundsman around £35,000 according to the recommended pay scales of two of the sports turf industry's main advisory bodies. The Greenkeeper's Standing Committee and the Institue of Groundsmanship have published their recommended salary scales for the current year.

Recommended salaries for young entrants to the different disciplines are not dissimilar, around £8,500, but the golf sector staff get the greater financial rewards as they start moving up the ladder.

Both bodies have recommended minimum and maximum guidelines with allowances for regional variations.

Greenkeeper Salaries:

The Standing Committee on Greenkeepers Salaries and Conditions of Employment was formed in 1997 to set minimum levels of pay for greenkeepers in the United Kingdom. The Committee comprises representatives of the employers, BIGGA, the R&A, and Club Secretaries.

Initially, the salary recommendations were based on hearsay evidence and did not take into account regional variations. Through golf club secretaries the Committee conducted two extensive nationwide surveys of greenkeepers pay and qualifications. The most recent survey, in 2003, showed that average salaries being paid matched the recommendations in most areas of the UK.

Both surveys also showed that clubs in the South East of England were paying significantly higher salaries than elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The Committee decided, based on the facts collected in the surveys, to recommend three regionalised scales of pay. i.e. For London, the South East of England and for the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Committee also decided that annual increases in salary should be based on the increase in average earnings as shown in the Office for National Statistics, Average Earnings Index for June each year.

The Index can be found at www.statistics.gov. This Index was chosen as it reflects the average increase in earnings across the UK.

The pay scale set for London is shown below:-

Full recommended 2005 pay scales can be seen in the following link:-Standing Committee of Greenkeepers salaries.

Further information about careers in golf can be found on the BIGGA Web Site.

Groundsman Salaries:

The Institute of Groundsmanship has adjusted its salary recommendations to reflect pay movement in both the Public and Private sectors. Salary bands indicate minimum recommended annual basic salary payment with effect from 1st January 2005.

The uplift in the 2005 salary bands reflects the fact that pay settlements for both Private and Public sector groups have generally been in alignment.

To accompany the Recommended Salary Bands the Institute publishes a set of Position Descriptions which reflect the typical job responsibilities and experience required for each level of position. As it is not possible to have single position descriptions that would effectively encompass all individual situations, these form "standard" descriptions against which employers can evaluate the varying responsibilities and circumstances that are to be found in individual positions.

Such variables will include:-

• The number of sports being played

• The level of sport

• Intensity of use

• Total acreage managed

• Staffing levels

• Budgetary responsibilities

• Qualifications required

The salary bands relate to the "standard" Position Descriptions. Positioning within the band should therefore take into account the above factors and any significant variances in job content.

Each salary band has a minimum and maximum figure representing a 10% spread either side of the mid point for all positions other than Grounds Manager, which has a 15% spread either side of the mid point in order to reflect the varying extent of responsibilities typically found under this position title.

The Institute recommends that experienced and competent job performers whose job content relates closely to the "standard" position description should be paid at the mid point and upper levels of the bands.

More information on the pay scales and recommended Conditions of Employment can be found on the following link:- IOG pay scales