A RETURN TO CONTRACT - PERFORMANCE RELATED PAY IN A PUBLIC-SERVICE

Performance related pay (PRP) schemes, which link salary to the result s of an individual performance assessment, have spread rapidly through the public services in recent years and are often regarded as indicat ors of a fundamental shift in the employment relationship. This articl e tests the latter claim by considering evidence on the purposes and e ffects of PRP in local government. It seeks to determine whether PRP r epresents a 'return to contract' in public service employment, charact erised by a precise specification and monitoring of the wage-work barg ain by management. The conclusion is that, while some aspects of PRP c onform to the contractual model others do not and the study attests to the ability of public sector organisations to absorb, deflect and mod ify new management techniques transposed from the private sector.