The University's policy is that the starting salary for any appointment must be within the service increment range for the grade(s) at which the role has been evaluated and advertised.
An appointment at anything other than the first point of the grade must be based on an assessment of the anticipated contribution the new recruit will make in comparison with that of existing staff in the department and (where applicable) in similar positions across the University. This will need to be discussed with your Faculty or Divisional HR Team before any offer is made.
Any external factors effecting pay (i.e. market comparisons) will be considered outside of the starting pay policy; the Recruitment and Retention Payment policy provides a mechanism to address such market conditions, whilst maintaining the link between pay and job evaluation, through a separately identified addition to the salary range for a role.