Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd Edition

Chapter 26Compensating Public Sector Employees

Jared J. Llorens

Developing effective compensation systems for public sector employees remains a core challenge for human resource management professionals, public managers, and elected representatives at all levels of government, both nationally and internationally. This challenge is often made more complex due to the breadth and scope of public sector employment, as well as the rapidly evolving needs and expectations of employees and the public at large. Public sector compensation practices have historically developed alongside traditional civil service systems and in response to longstanding patronage abuses. They have placed a priority on such tenets as internal wage equity, centralized and ...