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Description

Individual Pay: Structuring Bands, Making Decisions and Explaining Gaps

Seven hours to decide individual pay increases without creating gaps you will not be able to justify

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Every pay review cycle is decided in a matter of weeks. Managers submit costed requests, senior leadership sets an overall budget, and HR has to allocate it without allowing differences to become inexplicable. Executive packages add a further layer of difficulty, with variable pay and deferred components.

These 7 hours of training focus on designing and deciding individual remuneration. Participants learn to place base pay, variable pay and additional benefits within a single coherent framework. They learn how to position an employee within a pay band and prepare the explanation to be given to the manager and to the employee.

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish the fixed, variable and deferred components of an employee's remuneration
  • Position an employee within a pay band based on their role and level of proficiency
  • Allocate an individual increase budget using explicit criteria
  • Identify the remuneration components specific to executives
  • Articulate to a manager the rationale behind a pay decision

What makes this programme different

A budget allocation case study run across several departments with conflicting constraints
A grid of individual decision criteria built during the session and taken away by each participant
A dedicated segment on executive remuneration and its deferred components

Programme

1Components of individual remuneration

Fixed, variable and additional elements

  • Base salary and review mechanisms
  • Individual variable pay and trigger criteria
  • Additional benefits and benefits in kind
  • Alignment with collective savings and end-of-service benefit arrangements

2Positioning and decision-making

From the pay band to the decision

  • Reading a job classification framework and salary bands
  • Spotting outlier positions within a team
  • Prioritisation criteria for a limited budget
  • Handling catch-up and correction cases

3Executives and justifying decisions

Specific features and explanation

  • Remuneration components specific to executives and board appointees
  • Deferred remuneration and payment conditions
  • Preparing the feedback discussion with the manager
  • Responding to an employee who disputes their increase

Who is it for

Compensation and benefits managers and specialists, HR officers and human resources managers responsible for pay review cycles.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.