Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said staff salaries needed to be “democracy proofed” Local authorities planning to pay employees more than £100,000 will have to seek the approval of councillors in a vote, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has said.
Mr Pickles said this would ensure pay packets were “democracy proofed”.
The Communities Secretary intends to amend the Localism Bill which is being discussed in the Commons.
It comes as research showed 43% of council chiefs got paid more than £150,000 last year.
Mr Pickles said councils needed to be sure “they didn’t sully their reputation by taking decisions behind closed doors” and “reward chief executives when they should be focusing resources on protecting frontline services”.
He added: “The changes we are introducing will mean that local government jobs will now have to be ‘democracy proofed’ before mega-salaries are paid out.
“I think the democratically elected leaders of any council should make sure they have their say on pay and that £100,000 is the place to start that.”
He went on to say the Localism Bill was “one of the most radical pieces of legislation to be debated in this chamber for decades”.
“It is a triumph for democracy over bureaucracy that will fundamentally shake up the balance of power in this country.”
As a result of the new measures, councils will have to prepare and publish a statement setting out the authority’s policy on the remuneration arrangements of its chief officers.
Big bonuses and above-inflation annual pay rises could also have to be included.
When councils want to depart from their senior pay policy statement – which authorities will be required to follow when setting senior pay – they will need to refer back to the full council for a vote.
As part of the coalition’s transparency agenda, councils have already been compelled to publish receipts for any expenditure over £500.
Last year Mr Pickles called for council chef executives earning over £200,000 to take a 10% pay cut.
He urged those earning £150,000 – which is more than the Prime Minister’s current salary of £142,000 – to take a 5% pay cut.
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