Agenda and minutes

It was noted that apologies had been received from Councillor Mrs Wilson.

There were no Substitute Members.

There were no urgent items.

There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED:  That the items be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 August 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of HR Shared Services on the Pay Policy Statement 2017.

It was noted that there was a requirement to update the Pay Policy Statement on an annual basis and that the policy needed to be approved by Council and published on the Council’s website by 31^st March 2017.

The HR Shared Services Manager highlighted the changes that had been made to the original document which were as follows:-

·  The key themes of the Workforce Strategy had been changed.

·  Under 3.4 Pay Protection and Redundancy Payments (4^th paragraph) – information was updated due to a change in legislation.

·  Taxable Pay (2016/17) for the Chief Executive’s earnings included a payment of £15,774 for her role as Returning Officer and a pay award increase of 1% in April 2016.

·  Pay Scale updated in Appendix 1.

In response to questions from the Committee, the HR Shared Services Manager advised that:-

·  In Appendix 1(B) the reference to Cabinet would be taken out and Policy and Resources Committee would be inserted.

·  The Statement had been updated with no other changes other than those detailed at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Council be recommended to agree the proposed Pay Policy Statement set out at Appendix 1 to the report of the Head of HR Shared Services prior to publication on the Council’s website.

Voting:  For:  11  Against:  0  Abstentions:  0

The HR Shared Services Manager presented a report on the Workforce Strategy Update which covered the period 2016-2020 and had previously been agreed at the Policy and Resources Committee held on 29 June 2016.  The presentation covered the following:-

·  To keep the Workforce Strategy as up to date as possible, it would not refer to specific paragraphs of any other Council strategies, just the strategies themselves.

·  The new MKS Director would be starting in April.

·  That careful consideration had been given to carrying on with the Investors in People Accreditation.

·  That the purpose of the Line Manager survey as set out in Appendix 2 to the report was used to assess what support those Managers needed to carry out their role effectively.

·  That Line Managers would be strongly encouraged to complete the Line Manager survey in the future.

·  Staff that do not have regular access to a computer were given the choice of either coming into the office to complete the staff survey online or receive a hard copy so they could fill it in by hand.

·  That a report would come to the next meeting of the Committee on the actual numbers of staff that responded to the staff survey.

During the discussion the Committee expressed their concern about the effectiveness of the Investors in People Accreditation, particularly the actual cost of the assessment process and what benefits and value it brought to the Council and its staff. 

RESOLVED:  That

1.  The Committee note the progress of the actions set out in the Workforce Strategy.

2.  The Committee requests that a report comes back to the next meeting evaluating for Investors in People best practice and to assess how the Council carries out its assessment for Investors in People Accreditation.

Voting:  For:  11  Against:  0  Abstentions:  0

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Policy and Communications on Appointment to Sub-Committees.

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement explained that following the By-Election held in September 2016 it had been necessary to recalculate the distribution of seating on Committees and Sub-Committees.

The Committee noted that the Director of Finance and Business Improvement had held discussions with the Group Leaders of both the Independent and UKIP political parties and it had been agreed that:

·  The Group Leader of the Independents would be appointed to the Sub-Committees where indicated for the remainder of the municipal year; and

·  The following year the Group Leader of UKIP would be appointed.

The Committee was informed that they could choose to allocate Members to each Sub-Committee or agree to appoint as and when from members of the Employment Committee.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee approves the membership of the Sub-Committees as set out below:-

Appointment Sub-Committee – Panel to comprise of 5 Councillors

Substitutes

Performance Sub-Committee - Panel to comprise of 5 Councillors (to include the Group Leaders of the 5 largest parties)

No Substitutes

Investigatory Sub-Committee (3 Councillors required)

Substitutes

Hearings Sub-Committee – (to comprise of 3 Councillors).

Substitutes

Appeals Sub-Committee – (to consist of 3 Councillors)

Substitutes

Voting:  For:  11  Against: 0  Abstentions:  0

11 a.m. to 12.10 p.m.