At National Museums Liverpool it’s hard to know what you are worth

National Museums Liverpool (NML) is one of several national museums and heritage organisations that have shifted from pay grades and bands, typically used in the public sector, to role-specific ‘market rates’ for its salaries.

A Prospect survey at NML in May 2024 revealed that 79% of respondents didn’t understand how NML set their salary and 60% had no idea how their salary compared to others.

To address our members’ concerns, Prospect’s NML branch is campaigning for pay transparency. We successfully negotiated union participation on NML’s ‘market rate’ moderation panel. We’ve called for disclosure of the ‘market rates’ and comparators used at NML, and for an equal pay audit to assess the impact of NML’s approach to pay on our members with protected characteristics.

Pay in the heritage sector is a national campaign issue for Prospect. The proliferation of ‘market rate’ pay has potential to exacerbate sector-wide challenges of chronic low pay relative to jobs requiring similar skills outside the sector, recruitment and retention.

Prospect continues to work with NML, other heritage employers and government to properly value our heritage workers, who bring so much value to our lives and to our economy.

Sharon Brown, Prospect National Secretary for Heritage:

“NML branch committee have made great progress with their campaign for transparency and fairness within pay. The branch has ensured that trade union reps are on any market rate panels and are campaigning for equality impact assessments in relation to pay. Transparency and fairness in pay are essential to ensuring that workers within the Heritage sector feel valued and supported.

“Without clear standards, ‘market rates’ risk deepening pay inequality and perpetuating the challenges of low pay and high attrition rates. Workers deserve a pay system they can trust and salaries that reflect the vital contribution they make to society.”