Ghana’s Salary Structures & Detailed Breakdown

Every country has a specific salary structure which runs how salaries are paid. Ghana is no different, it has a salary structure that it employed a couple of years ago.

In this post, we will take a look at the current salary structure adopted by Ghana. We will also take a look at the breakdown of the structure. It should be an interesting read so we advise you to grab a chair and read to the end.

Ghana Salary Structures

What is a salary structure?

Before we go ahead to discuss the current salary structure adopted in Ghana, let’s take a look at what salary structure means. When you understand what salary structure is, it makes it easier to be motivated to work in that sector.

A salary structure is also known as a pay scale. It is a system used by employers to figure out the compensation of their employees. Usually, this structure takes several factors into consideration. Some of these factors include the length of employment, merit, experience, etc.

Understanding the salary structure helps in the calculation of an impending raise and when it should occur. This is why salary structures are broken down into grades. There are several salary structures but Ghana adopted the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2010.

Ghana’s Salary Structures & Detailed Breakdown

Explaining the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS)

If you live or work in Ghana, you must have heard about the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS). The structure was adopted in 2010 for public service workers replacing the Ghana Universal Salary Structure.

This system was adopted to knock off the old system and make payment of salaries more efficient. One of the factors that affect the growth and development of a country is employment. It is, however, more important to sustain employee growth through commensurate rewards.

In some cases, when employees attain specific milestones, the reward is an increase in salary earned. Regarding this, a satisfied worker is an individual that has received adequate payment for services provided.

Are you trying to understand the relationship between this and the SSSS? This is it, the new salary structure was adopted because workers complained of dissatisfaction. Having dissatisfied workers constituted a huge problem for the Ghanaian government.

As a result of this, many workers in the country relocated to many other countries. They felt it was better to work in other countries than face the continual decline in payment of wages in Ghana.

The new structure is bases payments on worker’s qualifications, the tasks performed, and experience. There is a twist that differentiates the Single Spine Salary Structure adopted in Ghana from the norm.

Normally, all workers placed in the same pay grade are paid at the same rates across sectors. In Ghana, it is slightly different as different sectors of the public service have their own pay grades.

Why the Single Spine Salary Structure was adopted

We have stated a little about this in the previous section but let’s expand it a little so you can understand. Under the old salary structure, there was a lot of disparity in the payment of workers. This caused a lot of unrest in the public sector since workers were dissatisfied.

The idea behind adopting the SSSS was to harmonize the salaries so that workers on a certain level know how much they earn. This way, the workers do not feel cheated out of the remuneration and entitlements.

It pushed to increase the take-home of mid-range earners who had just about the same qualification with high earners. Those who were already earning high were then kept on that earning level until they were promoted.

The Single Spine Salary Structure was adopted to ensure fairness in public service. Payroll irregularities were also on the rise which was another cause for concern for the government. This structure was adopted to check the irregularities and reduce the amount spent on salary payment.

A breakdown of the structure

As we stated earlier, the Ghanaian version of the Single Spine Salary Structure is quite different from the norm. Under this version, each sector under the public service determines how much pay is allocated to each pay grade.

However, the government came up with a design to create harmony across all sectors. The basis for this design is the 25-Level Grade Structure which was initially designed for the Ghanaian Public Service.

The expectation is that the 25-Level structure will determine how the new policy will be implemented. It also implies that the Single Spine Salary Structure will be reviewed by the government from time to time.

Currently, the Single Spine Salary Structure for each sector has not been made public. However, to get more information about this, you need to visit each of the sectors.

Ghana’s Salary Structures & Detailed Breakdown Wrap Up

In this post, we have provided you information about the current salary structure in Ghana. We have also explained why it was adopted and a bit of what to expect. We hope this post has provided you the information you need.

See more on Salary in Ghana.

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