Ofcom freezes pay to save £1 million

Ofcom has frozen pay for all its employees, as the economy takes its toll on the communications watchdog.

Ofcom said there will be no pay raises for staff this financial year until March 2010, which a spokesperson told IT PRO should save about £900,000.

The five-member executive committee has also agreed to not take bonuses this year. The spokesperson said it’s difficult to say how much that will save, as the bonuses are based on performance, but he added that chief executive Ed Richards was awarded £56,400 last year.

Fellow committee member Peter Phillips was given an extra £36,100, while chief operating officer Jill Ainscough got £22,137. The other two members of the board were not around long enough to win bonuses last year.

Ofcom added that any savings will be “returned to the taxpayer” or its stakeholder companies.

“Ofcom's Remuneration Committee took into account the negative rate of inflation, the pressure on public finances and the economic circumstances of the many companies within the communications sector where similar action on pay has been taken,” the watchdog said in a statement.

“The committee wanted to ensure that Ofcom reflected the circumstances of the companies and taxpayers who pay for the organisation and took full account of the widespread financial pressures they face,” it added.

Click here to read about IT job cuts across the IT sector.

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