Coroners' FAQs

• Where can I find current rates of pay for whole-Time and part-Time coroners?
• Is there a link between coroner and local authority chief officer pay?
• Are coroners paid London weighting and fringe area allowances?
• What is the office expenses allowance for coroners?
• What are the arrangements for the costs of employing a deputy?
• What are county loadings?
• What  payment is made to part-time coroners with  an exceptionally high inquest caseload?
• What payment is made to a part-time coroner undertaking a long inquest? 
• What other payments are made to coroners?
• How is the pay of a part-time coroner with a caseload in excess of 2000 cases per annuam calculated?
• What should employers’ be paying towards the coroners’ pension?

Where can I find current rates of pay for whole-Time and part-Time coroners?

Rates of pay are issued to authorities via coroners’ Circulars on an annual basis - see Circular 50

(Please note, authorities can access circulars through a simple registration process. Once you have completed the process you will be able to find details of pay awards going back to 2001.).

Is there a link between coroner and local authority chief officer pay?

Periodically the Joint Negotiating Committee for Coroners (JNC) adjusts coroners’ salaries in recognition of the drift between coroner and chief officer pay. The JNC has agreed to consider the matter of future drift as part of a joint review on pay, the outcomes of which will inform pay negotiations for 2009. This adjustment last took place in April 2008 - details in Circular 48

Are coroners paid London weighting and fringe area allowances?

Coroners should receive these allowances at the rate and under the conditions agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services The type of allowance payable should be determined by the principal place of business for each Coroner. Whole-time coroners should receive the appropriate allowance in full; part-time coroners should receive the appropriate allowance on a pro-rata basis.

The current NJC for Local Government allowances (payable from 1 April 2009*) are:

Inner London Weighting (payable to Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth & Westminster - £3,299

Outer London Weighting (payable to Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond-upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest - £1,755

Inner Fringe (payable to Slough (Berkshire), South Buckinghamshire, Epping Forest (Essex), Broxbourne, Hertsmere, Three Rivers, Watford (Hertfordshire), Dartford (Kent), Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell, Reigate & Banstead, Spelthorne (Surrey)) - £798
Outer Fringe (payable to Bracknell, Windsor, Maidenhead (Berkshire), Chiltern (Buckinghamshire), Basildon, Brentwood, Harlow, Thurrock (Essex), Dacorum, East Herts, St Albans, Welwyn, Hatfield (Hertfordshire), Sevenoaks (Kent), Guildford, Mole Valley, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley, Woking (surrey), Crawley (West Sussex) - £555

* Please note there has been no increase in 2009.

What are the arrangements for the costs of employing a deputy?

For full time coroners whose jurisdictions have a caseload in excess of 3,000 per annum, there is a payment provision for a deputy, with the payment to be based on a proportion of the caseload. The proportions are calculated by taking 80% of 11.5% of annual caseload. The resulting figure attracts the same cash sum as a part-time coroner with a similar caseload. (For those jurisdictions with a caseload of less than 3,000 per annum the provision for the payment of a deputy should be on the same basis as that for a deputy to a part-time coroner.)

Where a part time coroner incurs costs in employing a deputy the local authority, following receipt of an itemised claim from the coroner, should reimburse the actual costs up to a maximum in any calendar year of 11.5% of the coroner’s salary and “county loading” (excluding high inquest weighting, long inquest payments, pension supplement and office expenses allowance).

What are county loadings?

County loading was created to recompense part-time coroners with large districts for time spent travelling. An example would be when a coroner whose district encompassed a number of different venues, he/she would have to travel a considerable distance in order to cover their area. In some authorities existing salaries include an additional percentage payment of at least 10% of the standard salary, to cover this. The precise amount is determined locally between the local authority and the coroner concerned.

What  payment is made to part-time coroners with  an exceptionally high inquest caseload?

An annual weighting element is payable to part-time coroners in whose jurisdiction special circumstances exist which contribute towards an exceptionally high inquest caseload (for example, where more than 25% of the total caseload consists of inquest cases). The supplement is calculated as follows:

Annual salary x (actual percentage of inquest cases - 25)/100

What payment is made to a part-time coroner undertaking a long inquest? 

In addition, a part-time coroner who undertakes long inquests (inquests lasting more than a day) should be paid at an hourly rate for the first 50 hours spent in court (beyond the first day) in any twelve-month period (starting on 1st April annually), the current rates are issued as part of the annual pay circular . It is for the paying authority to agree what constitutes reasonable preparation time. Where, in any twelve-month period, a part-time coroner spends more than 50 hours in court (beyond the first day) and/or more than 100 hours in preparing for such inquests the rate of remuneration shall be at a daily rate based on the maximum of the whole-time coroners’ pay scale divided by 250.

What other payments are made to coroners?

Any other issues covered by the JNC are dealt with in the Consolidated Document attached to Circular 43.

How is the pay of a part-time coroner with a caseload in excess of 2000 cases per annum calculated?

The JNC does not provide pay rates above 2000 cases which in normal circumstances is expected to be the maximum for part-time coroners. However, where such circumstances do occur Management Side advice has consistently been that the calculation of pay should follow the principle of that between a caseload of 1900 and 2000. 

What should employers’ be paying towards the coroners’ pension?

In 1978 a Coroners’ circular was issued which informed authorities that 5.5% would be paid to Coroners to reflect the change from a non-contributory pension to a contributory one. Circular no 8 refers - This circular is not published on our website - here is a brief extract which refers to the 5.5%:

The Joint Negotiating Committee has agreed that a taxable, superannuable salary supplement of 5.5% of the total taxable income earned in the capacity of Coroner should be paid to all wholetime and part time coroners joining the Local Government Superannuation Scheme*  with effect from the date of entry into the scheme. The agreed % reflects the amount needed to secure notional reimbursement for a pensions contribution rate of 6% of salary. The salary supplement is not payable to those Coroners who elect to remain outside the Local Government Scheme.

This provision continues to apply. Therefore in addition to the 5.5% salary supplement detailed above, employers should also meet the employer’s contribution of 16.6%.

* Local Government Superannuation Scheme is now known as the Local Government Pension Scheme.