At its meeting on 10 November, CIfA’s Board of Directors agreed the recommended minimum salary levels from April 2021. In making its decision this year, the Board considered
- a paper commissioned from CIfA staff collating general pay and inflation data for the UK as well as sector specific information from the annual State of the Market for Archaeological Services survey, BAJR and other sources
- feedback on the paper and advice from CIfA’s Advisory Council
- feedback from the Industry Working Group (https://www.archaeologists.net/IndustryWorkingGroup)
Based on the information above, the Board concluded that recommended minimum salaries should increase from 1 April 2021 to
CIfA’s policy statement on pay (https://www.archaeologists.net/practices/pay) highlights the impact of low pay on professional standards and on the ability of archaeological organisations to recruit, retain and motivate appropriately skilled staff. It also emphasises the need for organisations to work together to address the issues. The Board is committed to working towards a sector-wide solution to the issue of low pay in archaeology, which it would like to see implemented through the Industry Working Group. Discussions on potential mechanisms for this are still ongoing and so the Board has determined to set recommendations for 2021-22.
As well issuing minimum salary recommendations as a benchmark for members and Registered Organisations, CIfA strongly encourages its partners on the Industry Working Group and its members to identify and make use of other available mechanisms, including workforce agreements and/or collective bargaining.
