Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 2nd April 2019, 13th June 2019 and 8th July 2019.

The minutes of the meetings held on 2nd April 2019, 13th June 2019 and 8th July 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed.

No disclosures were made.

No questions were submitted.

No questions had been submitted.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support is attached.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support was submitted to appoint councillor representatives to the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee (JNCC) for 2019/20 (item 5 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

RESOLVED that Councillors Morgan, Barkley, Poland and Ward be appointed as representatives on the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee for 2019/20.

Reason

To enable the operation of the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee in accordance with its constitution and, therefore, negotiation and consultation to take place between the Council as an employer and its employees.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support is attached.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support was submitted to consider appointments to Panels for 2019/20 (item 6 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

RESOLVED that a Panel comprising of Councillors Morgan, Barkley, Poland, Snartt and Boldrin be appointed for the Council year 2019/20 in respect of the following:

a)        To determine appeals by a JNC Officer against dismissal.

b)        To determine all other employment related appeals for JNC staff which are provided for in the Council’s procedures.

c)        To make recommendations to Council on the appointment or dismissal of the Head of Paid Service.

d)        To make appointments to Chief Officer and Statutory Officer posts excluding the Head of Paid Service.

e)        To undertake the Chief Executive’s Performance and Development Review.

Reason

Section 5.5 (e) of the Council’s Constitution (Roles of decision taking Committees) states that the Personnel Committee will appoint Panels comprising 5 councillors (with a quorum of 3) for these functions.   Appointing Panels to undertake these functions at the beginning of the Council year will prevent the need for a meeting of the Committee for the sole purpose of appointing a Panel and enable the functions to be dealt with in a timely manner.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support is attached.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support to gain the approval of the Personnel Committee for the introduction of a Guidance document about the Menopause and related summary document (item 7 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Committee welcomed the introduction of the policy and guidance as they felt it was important that all staff had the information and support available if needed.

RESOLVED that the Personnel Committee formally accept the Menopause Guidance document attached as Annex A and the summary document attached as Annex B, and that the Menopause Guidance and summary document be published on the Council’s intranet.

Reason

The Menopause Guidance and summary document provide clear and detailed and advise on best practice to help support managers and employees in relation to menopause. 

A report of the Head of Strategic Suport is attached.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support was submitted to provide the Personnel Committee with information regarding the outcome of an Equal Pay Audit which was carried out on the Council’s workforce employed during the period 1^st April 2018 to 31^st March 2019 (item 8 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

RESOLVED

1.    That an update be given at the Committee’s next meeting in December 2019 regarding the completion of the outstanding job descriptions.

2.    that the conclusions and recommendations of the Equal Pay Audit as set out in Part B of this report be noted.

Reasons

1.    To ensure the Committee are kept up to date with this matter.

2.    The Equalities Act 2010 includes an Equality Duty which requires public sector employers to publish employment data, and the National Agreement covering Local Government Services (the “Green Book”) requires councils to undertake equal pay audits; which are considered to be best practice for employers wishing to develop the whole of their workforce, regardless of gender. 

In addition the Council has an Equality and Diversity Work Plan identifying that an Equal Pay Audit is required.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support is attached.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support was submitted to gain Personnel Committee approval of the proposed amendments and options relating to the Travel Subsistence and Other Allowances Guide, and in addition broadband and telephone allowances (item 9 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

RESOLVED that the Personnel Committee formally agree revisions to the Travel, Subsistence and Other Allowances Guide as attached at Annex A, to telephone allowances and broadband allowances being withdrawn as part of this overall change. With reference to the Home Working policy as attached at Annex B.

Reason

To ensure that the process and allowances outlined within the policy are reasonable and up to date. It will also be necessary to update the current Home Working policy to reflect this decision relating to broadband allowance.

A verbal update will be provided by the HR Manager as requested at the Committee’s meeting on 3rd October 2018.

‘that an update report be submitted to the Committee in 12 months’ time, setting out how the revised Policy and Procedure has been implemented, in particular whether managers have been trained and supported and felt confident to implement the new arrangements and whether the Council’s performance managing employee performance has improved’ (min 12.2, 2018/19)

A verbal update was given by the HR Manager to the Committee regarding the revised Managing Employee Performance Policy and Procedure. This was following a request made by the Committee at its meeting in October 2018.

The HR Manager advised the Committee that a review had commenced following feedback from staff via the staff survey that managers were not always managing staff under performance effectively and this was causing problems amongst teams. A new approach was taken which looked to support employees to improve and to give managers the confidence to manage their staff more effectively.

The new Policy and Procedure was presented to the Corporate Management Team (CMT) for their comment and approval and subsequent HR briefings were held for all managers to advise them of the new process.

The Committee was advised that there had been an increase in the number of managers seeking HR support in managing performance.  Most of the current cases were being dealt with at an informal stage which was seen as a success as managers were finding the new policy easier to implement and it was showing success with employees as well.

The Committee discussed the role of Personal Development Reviews (PDR’s) in managing performance and were pleased to hear that a review was due to take place to improve the quality of information gathered.

The Committee requested that a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the completion rates of PDR’s be added to the Council’s Business Plan in order to track progress. The Strategic Director for Corporate Services advised the Committee he would look at adding the information.