Recruiters have a key role to play in working out pay deals in the public sector, according to Mike Cooke, lead officer of pay and reward at the Public sector People Managers’ Association (PPMA) and director of organisation development at the London Borough of Camden.

According to reports, last week, Birmingham City Council had been forced to pay compensation to more than 4,000 women, who complained they were excluded from bonus schemes paid to men on similar grades and worth up to 160% of their salaries

Cooke told Recruiter: “Councils need to work with recruiters to make sure they have a modern set of pay and terms and conditions that is attractive to applicants, is affordable and lawful.

“Market intelligence is critical. You could have jobs of equal value, graded the same but it’s market intelligence that would justify premium payment on one position and not the other. I would be happy to defend a position at tribunal if I could evidence the business rationale behind this.

“In inner London, planners have been like gold dust. A planner might be graded in a higher bracket, attracting a market supplement.

“Local government does not have strong pay data. It is very difficult to get pay data and that is where recruiters can add value.”