Are they worth it?
With the honeyed tones of Beyoncé, Eva and friends constantly chirruping that we’re ‘worth it’, it’s easy to take their catchphrase as read. But when it comes to the six-figure pay packets of housing association chiefs, we thought it would be ‘worth’ putting the question again - to their tenants. Here’s what they had to say
John Belcher - The high roller
- Who Chief executive, Anchor Trust
- Annual turnover £267 million
- Number of homes 37,163 (including care home places)
- Number of staff 10,700
- Total compensation £391,000
- This year’s top-earning chief executive should be getting comfortable. John Belcher, boss of older people’s housing and care provider Anchor Trust, remains ahead of the pack with a salary of £280,000 and a bonus package worth £111,000 (see feature, page 30) - this despite running up losses of £35 million this year. Last year Mr Belcher held the same salary top spot after taking home around £327,000.
- He has led Anchor since 1994, before which he held senior positions at three London local authorities as well as at disability charity Scope. Alongside running an organisation that claims to be the largest not-for-profit provider of older people’s housing and care in the UK, Mr Belcher is also a board member of several public bodies, including the Independent Safeguarding Authority, the Audit Commission’s housing and communities arm and Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust. Three years ago he was awarded a CBE for services to older people.
- Dr Belcher was not available for comment on his salary; as a spokesperson explained, his pay is determined by Anchor’s board. Chair Aman Dalvi says: ‘Anchor has changed enormously since John took the helm in 1994. Turnover is now £267 million - around double what it was, even allowing for inflation.’
- He points out that Anchor is a not-for-profit organisation competing with private housing and care providers (such as Bupa and Southern Cross Healthcare) - and that Dr Belcher’s remuneration accounts for this.
- ‘The salary and bonus of the chief executive reflect the fact that we demand a high level of leadership, professionalism and commitment,’ Mr Dalvi says. ‘They are informed by independent assessments of the market rate for senior executives in comparable sectors… and private sector companies of a similar size to Anchor.
- ‘He is still paid substantially less than the heads of some of our main competitors.’
- In fact, the chief executive of Southern Cross got £430,000 at year end 2008 - but manages much larger revenues of £889 million.
Is he worth it?
Inside Housing asked Anchor tenants at Bell Walk in Rugby what they made of their landlord and its boss’s salary.
Linda Mills, 64
‘On the whole I think [Anchor] are really good. John Belcher looks after a lot of pensioners, doesn’t he? So I would say he probably earns it. I love it here, I really do.’
Margaret Camerford, 72
‘The rent keeps going up and that’s it - at times they are slow doing work to the houses. But I’ve no complaints.’
Iris Tilson, 73
‘Well, that’s the way it is the whole country over now, isn’t it? We’re treated all right, we think it’s a reasonable rent. We are very happy. It’s a lovely site - anything goes wrong they are here to put it right.’
Tenant, refused to give name
‘We never ever see an area manager. I don’t know when the last one came round. We haven’t got a warden. It takes ages to get anything done. You can’t contact anybody. I think that [Mr Belcher’s salary is] disgusting considering they keep jumping the rents up quick enough. I mean, I know things do go up, but they do nothing.’
Marjorie Albrighton, 66
‘They are crap. In everything. Last year I had a heart attack - the intercom system was all dead. If I hadn’t had my mobile phone with me…
‘I’ve heard the name [John Belcher]… All the people he is dealing with are pensioners. It goes down even worse when you are a pensioner, believe me, that sort of salary. The word [to describe it] is obscene.’
Matthew Fox - The middle earner
- Who Chief executive, Servite Houses
- Annual turnover £114.6 million
- Number of homes 18,268
- Number of staff 1,200
- Total compensation £145,000
- When it comes to executive pay, Matthew Fox is Mr Average. His £145,000 total pay packet (salary plus bonus) puts him at number 46 in our table - squarely in the middle of the pack. His £125,000 base salary remains unchanged on last year.
- The doubling of his bonus from £10,000 last year still only makes his overall pay hike 7 per cent - the average this year. In fact, it’s only his bonus that makes him stand out: at £20,000, it’s the sixth biggest in the table.
- So what did he do to deserve it? Mr Fox certainly isn’t telling. He declined to talk to Inside Housing about his achievements throughout the year.
- A spokesperson is slightly more forthcoming, pointing out that the Tenant Services Authority gave Servite a clean bill of health last month, upgrading ‘uncertain prospects’ for financial viability and governance, stating that both now meet expectations. And instead of the £5.2 million deficit suffered in 2006/07, the landlord posted a £3.7 million surplus for 2007/08.
Is he worth it?
Given Servite’s less than stellar performance last year, the most interesting question is why Mr Fox was awarded £10,000 in ‘performance related pay’ back then. Since he’s unavailable for comment, here’s what Servite tenants living on Dickenson Close in north London think of his work instead.
Dorrett Holnes, 46
‘I wouldn’t think he’s worth that much. It’s not bad living here, but let’s say when certain things need doing, Servite take their time. Otherwise they’re good.’
Gemma Docksey, 21‘Most of the people round here have had new kitchens and toilets. That was pretty good. But I don’t think he’s really worth that much. It does sound a lot… A couple of people are only just getting their kitchens, but not many people complain.’
John Decker, 63
‘I would say that’s reasonable. When you want things done they get them done. I’ve got no complaints.’
Francessca Wilson, 21
‘I suppose not, not really. My mum pays the bills and rent, but I know what they are roughly.
‘They’re not very quick at dealing with repairs. You have to pester them before they come.’
John Cross - The bonus refuser
- Who Chief executive of BPHA
- Annual turnover £52 million
- Number of homes 14,500
- Number of staff 320
- Total compensation £137,000
- Bonus awarded but refused
- Town planning graduate John Cross has seen his salary increase 73 per cent since Inside Housing’s records began in 2000. In that time he’s upped his organisation’s turnover by 48 per cent.
- But it’s not the £132,000 salary plus benefits that he’ll take home this year, and which puts him in the bottom third of our table, that makes him stand out from the crowd. Rather the fact that he is one of just three chief executives to turn down the offer of a bonus this year.
- ‘I lead a value-driven organisation and accepting the bonus felt inappropriate when we consider it alongside our values,’ Mr Cross says. His executive team joined him in declining their bonuses, despite meeting the ‘bonus thresholds’ set by BPHA’s board.
- So what do his tenants get for their money? Mr Cross lists his achievements for the year as improving customer satisfaction scores, delivering BPHA’s largest development programme to date and meeting his financial targets.
- There’s no ‘average’ number of hours in his working week, he says. ‘If only,’ he adds. ‘This week I’ve probably worked about 33 hours in three days, but tonight I’ll make sure I leave early.’
Is he worth it?
Mr Cross doesn’t know what his staff think of his performance: ‘It’s not a question we ask in our staff surveys because I’m not sure what it adds.’ It must add something, though, to know whether his tenants think he’s earned that six-figure pay packet. Inside Housing asked residents of Wesleyan Road in Peterborough just that.
Roy Speechley, 47
‘No one’s worth £132,000 a year. He could be on a lower wage and we could pay less rent. I’d say £100,000 is about right. It’s good of him to turn down his bonus for the year though.’
Paul Covell, 23
‘He’s never shown his face round here. Unless you graft and really get your hands dirty, you shouldn’t be making that kind of money. He should be on about £80,000 a year, £132,000 is far too much. BPHA don’t do anything. My boiler’s been broken for nearly two months. I’ve rung them five times.’
Annette Targun, 38
‘The whole estate’s a load of naff really. I’m moving to Newcastle in a couple of weeks because it’s been four years of hell living here… I don’t have a very high opinion of John Cross to be honest. It’s a nice gesture to turn down his bonus but if he wants to earn a wage like that, he could start by interacting more. I’d only pay him £60,000 a year.’
Andrea Williams, 39
‘The less you do, the more you earn apparently. It’s great that he’s turned down his bonus for the year. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s worth every penny but he does a good job.’
Sherin Zrari, 43
‘He should earn less than that. The people who live here earn much less. He seems like a good guy, though, if he turned down his bonus. I think he could improve things if he put in a playground so that kids didn’t have to play in the street. My youngest daughter was hit by a car and the driver just drove off. The police never caught him. I’m sure everyone has a different opinion of what he should earn, but definitely less than £132,000.’
See the full results of the salary survey
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment
Readers' comments (1)
Blair Mcpherson | 29/09/2009 8:50 am
The news that the Chief Exec of a Housing Association is drawing an annual salary plus bonuses of £400k is shocking but not surprising. Shocking because this is a " not for profit" organisation whose purpose is to provide care and social housing. Not surprising because many Housing Associations have enthusiastically embraced commercial values under the banner of being more businesslike. In fact they behave as if they were commercial companies believing that their Chief Exec and senior managers are motivated by money and that bonuses and big annual pay rises are necessary to stop them taking their talents elsewhere.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment