MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Member and Employment and Development Panel

Thursday 7 August 2014

REPORT OF Chief Executive

Report prepared by Dena Smart

Head of Human Resource Shared Services

1.           Proposed Changes to Staff terms and Conditions

1.1        Issue for Decision

1.1.1   To confirm the changes which have been negotiated with trade unions in connection with the pay award 2014/15

1.2        Recommendation of Chief Executive

1.2.1   That the annual leave entitlements are reduced for new employees in line with the level negotiated with the trade unions.

1.2.2   That the unsocial hours allowances are removed from the council’s allowances subject to the exceptions set out in the report to the Panel on 9^th July 2014.

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

1.3.1   The MEDP considered a report regarding the change to employee terms and conditions at a meeting on 9^th July (report at Appendix C) at which they agreed the removal of the link to the National Joint Councils in employment contracts.

1.3.2   When considering the proposed new annual leave scheme the MEDP requested further details of annual leave offered by other employers (Appendix A) and an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) (Appendix B). The EqIA has been undertaken for all the changes proposed most of which are policy changes that do not require approval from the MEDP, however this should have been completed at the time of the initial negotiation with trade unions and has therefore been completed now.

1.3.3   The comparison of the other organisations which include both public and private sector organisations and around 30,000 employees indicates that overall the new allowances are broadly in line with most other organisations or offer better benefits. It is therefore recommended that the MEDP agree to this new annual leave entitlement taking effect for all new employees from 1^st July 2014 which was the start of the month following the trade union agreement.

1.3.4   The current proposal offers protection of the current annual leave arrangements to existing members of staff whilst they are in their position but this was the cause of the greatest dissatisfaction during the consultation with staff and trade unions. The MEDP could consider whether to extend the protection whilst an employee remains in employment with the council.

1.3.5   The EqIA does not indicate that any of the proposals lead to greater inequality although the agreed changes to the Long Service award should help to reduce inequalities as the benefit is widened.

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

1.4.1   The MEDP could choose not to agree to the proposed changes which would mean that the council retains its current annual leave scheme but this is not recommended as the pay negotiations have given the opportunity of bringing this benefit in line with partners and reducing the issues of resource cover.

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

1.5.1   This has a direct impact on employee engagement and is one of the five strands of the council’s Workforce Strategy.

1.6        Risk Management

1.6.1   The main risk in these recommendations relates to staff morale and the possibility that the likelihood of reduced annual leave may prevent a current employee from pursuing a role change.

1.7        Other Implications

1.7.1    

1.7.2   All implications are covered in the body of the report.

1.8        Relevant Documents

1.8.1   Appendices

Appendix A: Annual Leave comparisons

Appendix B: Equality Impact Assessment

Appendix C: MEDP report 9^th July 2014

1.8.2   Background Documents: None

IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT?                  THIS BOX MUST BE COMPLETED   x     Yes                                               No     If yes, this is a Key Decision because: ……………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….     Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..