Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21st June 2023.

Subject to the deletion of the second sentence of the fourth paragraph of Minute No 6 to be replaced by “In response, Councillor Hassall commented that generally, in staff consultation pay fell number six in staff priorities but this varied by individual”, the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21st June 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary, other registerable and non-registerable interests in relation to any Agenda item. See Notes below.

No declarations of interest were received.

To consider an update on HR matters impacting on the performance of the organisation.

The Committee received and noted a report on Human Resources matters impacting on the performance of the Council during the period 1st April to 30th June 2023. The report included the latest position and trends relating to employee numbers, salary costs and sickness absence. A copy of the report is appended in the Minute Book.

The Committee was informed that the total number of employees at the end of the last quarter was higher than at the end of the previous quarter and that the total spend on pay costs for employees in 2023/24 was forecasted to be £980,000 lower than the year’s budget. Members received clarification of which year the ongoing pay negotiations would have an impact on.

The report indicated that three employees had retired in the quarter. Members recognised the employee’s achievements and asked that their congratulations be passed on. In response to a question by Councillor

Councillor West expressed the view that if renumeration levels were not comparable with those of other councils, the Council would not be able to recruit individuals to deliver the services it wants to provide. He further stated that the Council should be able to set Council Tax at a level that would provide the resources needed without being capped. Having referred to the justifications for decisions taken by the previous administration, he drew attention to the financial difficulties faced by residents and options for additional Government support. The Strategic HR Manager acknowledged that pay was challenging. Councillor Hassall reminder Members of decisions taken on financial matters since 2013 and agreed with Councillor West on the subject of capping currently but pointed out that since 2013 the Council had not raised Council Tax to the level of the cap.  In response to a question by Councillor Gleadow the Strategic HR Manager pointed out that most councils had adopted the National Joint Committee terms of employment, but agreed to provide benchmarking information at a future meeting.

Following questions by Councillor Blackwell, the Strategic HR Manager undertook to obtain data on staff turnover compared to other local councils and on sickness levels compared with other councils. Councillor Cawley congratulated Officers on reducing the level of sickness but asked if an investigation could be carried out into whether there were any links between performance measures a sickness. In addition, it was suggested these data should be augmented with details of reasons for leaving and analysis of sickness trends within the Council.

The Committee then discussed the management of stress amongst the workforce. The measures in place included Mental Health First Aiders, and assistance programme and other support services. In response to a question by Councillor West, it was confirmed that some individuals who had left had been Mental Health First Aiders and that some, but not all of the First Aiders had been replaced.

The Employee Representatives Group drew Members’ attention to the fact that the number of disciplinary hearings had taken place but that they had not been approached to provide support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To consider and comment on the Workforce Profile and Action Plan.

The Committee gave consideration to a report by the Strategic HR Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), which contained the annual summary of the profile of the workforce according to their protected characteristics as required by the Equality Act 2010. Members discussed plans to provide mental health awareness training for managers and suggested that equal opportunities training should be mandatory. They also reviewed ways to improve declaration of protected characteristics and to reduce unconscious bias during recruitment. It was then recommended that all Equality Action Plan actions should be provided in a one-page document. Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

that the report be received and noted.

To consider and comment on the draft Fixed Term Contracts Policy.

Consideration was given to a report by the Strategic HR Manager to which was attached a proposed new policy relating to Fixed Term contracts. A copy of the report is appended in the Minute Book. Members were informed that the Policy was required to ensure the Council complied with the Fixed Term Work Regulations 2002. Having expressed support for the Policy, it was

RESOLVED

  that the Fixed Term Contract Policy appended to the report now submitted be endorsed.

To consider and comment on a report by the Strategic HR Manager on the outcome of reviews of the Job Evaluation and Working Time Regulations Guidelines.

By means of a report by the Strategic HR Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Committee was acquainted with the outcome of reviews of the Job Evaluation Policy and the Working Time Regulations Guidelines. Subject to an amendment to paragraph 5.2 of the Job Evaluation Appeals Process so that an employee also could be represented by an external individual, it was

RESOLVED

that the Job Evaluation Policy and the Working Time Regulations Guidelines appended in the report now submitted be endorsed.

At the request of representatives of employees to consider a range of issues.

D Pope, on behalf of the Employee Representatives Group (ERG), drew Members’ attention to employees’ concerns surrounding the pay dispute. He referred to the survey of employees and the Union’s notice of industrial action. The ERG was endeavouring to allays these concerns. Reference also was made to the implications of the reasons for the dispute for employee retention.

The Chair confirmed that the ERG’s comments would be noted. Councillor Hassall stated the HR had a significant amount of information available and any questions employees had should be addressed to HR. Councillor West then expressed his gratitude for the information provided to Members on this subject.