Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a correct record of the Minutes of the adjourned meeting of the Employment Committee held on 10 July 2019 (reconvened on 18 July 2019).

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the adjourned meeting of the Employment Committee held on 10 July 2019, reconvened on 18 July 2019, be approved as a correct record and signed.  

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes in accordance with the Constitution.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest.

None.

To receive a verbal update from the Chief Executive on the Director Vacancy.

The Chief Executive provided a verbal update on the Director vacancy. This included information on developments since the 20 June 2019 Committee meeting, incorporating feedback from the Employment Working Group which had been established to work with the Head of Organisational Development to review and develop the remit, job summary and person specification of the Director role.

Following the introduction from the Chief Executive, it was emphasised that in addition to the Director vacancy, following recent interviews, the post of Head of Finance (Section 151 Officer) remained vacant.     

The Committee went on to consider a number of matters in relation to the Director vacancy, including the remit, job summary and person specification for the position, including the Council’s generic role profiles for both Director and Head of Service positions. Matters in relation to the recruitment timetable, the use of recruitment agencies and headhunting techniques were also highlighted.

During the discussion a range of skills/competencies were considered, including leadership, political acumen, people management, team delivery, building relationships and partnership working. It was agreed such qualities, together with a strong public sector ethos, were vital to ensure the post holder was able to oversee the delivery of services across the Directorate.  The roles and responsibilities of the Council’s statutory posts were also considered along with the need to resource the Council’s commercial activities and other work streams across the Organisation Directorate.

Following the Committee’s discussion it was agreed that the Employment Working Group should continue to work with the Head of Organisational Development to ensure the remit, job summary and person specification for both the Director role and Head of Finance (Section 151 Officer) position were finalised in good time to enable the Council to advertise for both vacancies during early autumn.  

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The verbal update from the Chief Executive be noted.

(ii)        The Employment Working Group, consisting of Councillors C.M. Neame, V.H. Lewanski and T. Schofield, continue to work with officers during July and August 2019 to finalise the remit, job summary, person specification and recruitment timetable for both the Director role and Head of Finance (Section 151 Officer) position ahead of the Council going out to advertise for both during early autumn 2019.

To consider an overview of the Council’s workforce data – high level summary of the workforce profile relating to equalities, employee relations and key HR measures.

The Head of Organisational Development introduced a report, providing information on the Council’s workforce. This included a high level summary of the Council’s workforce profile relating to both employee demographics and key workforce measures. 

The Committee was informed that in order to provide excellent services to the community and to support the vision, aims and values of the organisation, the Council needed to understand, plan and develop its workforce requirements for the future.

Further detail was provided, as set out in Annex 1a and Annex 1b of the report presented, and this was considered by the Committee. In response to questions, it was explained that this information had been updated following requests for additional data and/or slightly revised data following the Employment Committee meeting on 20 June 2019.

During the discussion a number of issues were considered including matters in relation to: employee sickness absence; employer turnover, recruitment advertising; employee relations; the gender pay gap; and data in relation to performance related pay. Issues were also considered in relation to the transfer of funded salaries from the Corporate Plan Delivery Fund into the Council’s Revenue Budget.

In response to questions about benchmarking the Committee was informed that this information could be provided but would need to be done with care, especially given the number of workforce measures available and the variety of definitions applied by different local authorities.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The workforce data summary, set out in Annex 1 of the report, be noted.  

(ii)          The data presented, set out in Annex 1 of the report , be confirmed as the key data/HR measures to be reported to the Employment Committee on a regular basis.

(iii)         Data in relation to the Employee Demographic and Organisation Workforce Measures be reported annually to the first Employment Committee meeting of the Municipal Year, with the exception of sickness and turnover data.

(iv)         Sickness and turnover data be reported to the Employment Committee twice a year, at the first meeting of the Municipal Year and again after six months.

To consider an overview of the draft approach for the Organisational Development Strategy. The Employment Committee is asked to consider and endorse this approach.

The Head of Organisational Development introduced a report, providing information on the Council’s approach to developing an Organisational Development Strategy.

During the discussion it was noted that Organisational Development was a new, explicit area for the Council and it was explained that this was a systemic approach to improving organisational effectiveness – one that aligned strategy, people and processes.

The Committee was informed that a draft approach to Organisational Development had been developed and that this had been set out in Annex 1 to the report presented. The Committee noted that employee engagement was a key outcome for the strategy.

In response to questions, the importance of having highly engaged employees was highlighted and it was recognised that organisations with high levels of employee engagement were likely to be more efficient and effective. The Chief Executive explained the Council’s approach to Organisational Development would sit alongside objectives for the 2020-2025 Corporate Plan. In addition, it was explained that officers would scope and develop detailed programmes and/or projects to deliver the Council’s approach, prioritising these accordingly.    

The Committee highlighted the need for all projects to develop clear success measures and the importance of ensuring success measures were in place for the overall approach. The importance of collecting baseline data, including the use of staff surveys and gathering other quantitative and qualitative data, was noted. However, it was recognised that the measurement of overall success would be difficult as many of the benefits were likely to be intangible or unquantifiable.   

During the discussion a wide range of issues were considered in relation to apprenticeships, the Council’s worker scheme, performance and pay and the Council’s annual appraisal system.

RESOLVED that the approach to Organisational Development, set out in Annex 1 to the report presented, be endorsed.

The Committee’s work programme is attached for consideration.

The Deputy Democratic Services Manager provided an update on the Committee’s work programme for the 2019/20 Municipal Year. During the discussion, the Committee suggested that the next meeting should take place in September 2019, with a time/date to be agreed outside of the meeting. It was also explained that additional training, for Committee Members and Substitutes, would take place during early autumn.      

RESOLVED that the items of future business, set out on the work programme presented, be endorsed.

To consider any item(s) which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered as a matter of urgency – Local Government Act 1972, Section 100B(4)(b).

Note: Urgent business must be submitted in writing but may be supplemented by an oral report.

None.

RECOMMENDED that members of the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that:

(i)         it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(ii)        the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED that members of the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that: (i) it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act: and (ii) the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider exempt information in relation to the Director Vacancy.  

There was no exempt business to be considered under this agenda item.

To receive a presentation from the Head of Organisational Development concerning the Council’s Pay and Reward Package.

The Committee received a presentation from the Head of Organisational Development concerning the Council’s Pay and Reward Package. This covered a wide range of issues including:

·         Background to the Council’s employee pay and remuneration offer

·         The Council’s Total Reward Package

·         Key components of the Council’s salary structure

·         The Council’s Pay Policy Statement

·         The assessment of salary costs in relation to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan and Service and Financial Planning

·         Matters concerning budget setting and the pay negotiations cycle

·         An update on pay award negotiations, including approaches used and alternative options for the future.

In response to questions, it was explained that the presentation, set out via an addendum to agenda item 11 – Pay and Reward Package (Exempt), had been restricted to Members of the Committee only. The Monitoring Officer provided further information on the “need to know” principles and the restrictions to accessing Employment Committee information, set out in the Constitution, were noted.

RESOLVED that the approach being taken by Management to continue negotiating with Unions for a longer term (multi-year) pay deal for 2020/21 onwards be endorsed.