Ceredigion County Council employees are set to receive a pay increase weighted towards the lowest earners – with only a 1.4 per cent rise for the chief executive.

Each employee will receive a flat-rate £1,925 pay increase – which for almost the entire workforce will be, in percentage terms, below the current rate of inflation, 11.1 per cent.

But low-paid members of council staff like cleaners and administrators are likely to receive a rise of more than 10 per cent – which outstrips equivalent offers from many other significant public sector bodies.

Lower-band NHS workers and newly qualified teachers will receive a pay rise of just above 9 per cent – with many paid by the taxpayer receiving a far less significant rise.

Every member of staff at the county council is paid a minimum annual salary of £20,258 and the council is a living wage employer.

This year, chief executive Eifion Evans and other senior highly paid members of staff will receive much less in percentage terms than their low-waged colleagues.

Mr Evans’ 14 per cent pay rise last year prompted outrage, and saw his salary rise from between £106,000 and £117,000 to somewhere in the middle of £121,000 to £130,000.

Councillors are set to receive close to a five per cent pay rise this year, following a 17 per cent hike last year. This will leave many earning around £17,600 a year from March.

A county council spokesperson said: “All of the Council’s pay awards are tied into national bargaining arrangements through separate joint councils.

"Each of these councils will see local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland represented by an employers side and these will go through a series of pay award negotiations with representatives of the recognised national trade unions. Once a pay agreement has been announced all local authorities are expected to implement the agreement in the next available pay run.

"Teacher pay awards are determined by Welsh Government and so do not follow the above process.

"The majority of Ceredigion Council Council staff are included in the National Joint Council for Local Government Services group which includes, amongst others, staff in cleaning, catering, waste collection, teaching assistants, social care, administrative support and professional staff. Our lowest pay grade received a pay award of 10.5 per cent whilst the top grade of this group received a 3.2 per cent pay increase.

"For Chief Officers the pay increase ranged from 2.5 per cent to 1.68 per cent, and the Chief Effective pay increase was 1.4 per cent.