Dear Victoria University of Wellington,

Professional staff contracts state that on appointment employees are to be placed in a point within the upper and lower salary levels of the grade taking into consideration:
i) relevant work experience in previous or current employment
ii) relevant educational or other qualification;
iii) ease or difficulty of recruitment having regard to the specific skills and
the level of skills required.

By what metric is ease or difficulty of recruitment measured?

Further guidelines for management state that the following should also be considered:
1) the appointee's level of skills and experience in comparison with the requirements of the role description (you would normally pay at the top end if they meet these requirements fully and towards the bottom if they need development)
2) consistency and relativity with other comparable positions within your team, area, and around the university

Based on these criteria (and any other relevant university policy) is it possible for any of the following to happen (and please provide the relevant policy information)
1) new staff members are paid less than the departing staff member given equal skills, qualifications and experience
2) staff are not paid what the role is assessed at
3) staff can move from a role in the same (or lower band) requiring similar skills and qualifications and be paid less than they were previously

Yours faithfully,

Sarah M