Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Cllr Mike Hewitt, who was substituted by Cllr Bill Moss.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 16 December 2010.    (Copy attached)

Resolved:

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 16 December 2010 as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman announced that the workforce reports for the quarter ended 31 December 2010 had just become available and would be emailed to Members of this Committee very shortly.  They would also be included in the agenda papers for consideration at the next meeting  

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting.  Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named above for any further clarification.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question should give written notice (including details of any question) to the officer named above by  12.00noon on  Monday 7 February 2011.

There were no members of the public present.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD is attached.

Consideration was given to a report by the Service Director HR & OD which proposed some amendments to the LGPS Employer Discretions Policy to withdraw the discretion to allow late transfers-in of previous pensionable service.

After discussion,

Resolved:

To withdraw the discretion to transfer-in previous pensionable service after the expiry of 12 months from joining Wiltshire Pension Fund, with effect from 1 October 2011.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD is attached.

On considering a report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To grant consent for Clerks to Governors in schools to join the Local Government Pension Scheme with effect from 1 April 2011, subject to the consent of the governing body and the usual qualifying conditions.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD will be circulated.

Following the updates to the redundancy policy and procedure in October 2010, HR have now, in consultation with the legal team, produced a procedure to follow when carrying out a redundancy involving chief officers. 

This is largely the same as the redundancy policy and procedure agreed for other staff but the procedure includes the requirement to involve member committees in line with the constitution - namely:

• The Senior Officers Employment Sub-committee will be make the final decision in any voluntary and compulsory redundancy decisions, followed by ratification by Cabinet.
• Any appeal against the decision not to allow voluntary redundancy, or against the decision to terminate employment on grounds of compulsory redundancy, will be heard by the Staffing Appeals Sub-committee.
• The Officers Employment Sub-committee will conduct selection interviews as part of the ringfencing ownership process.
• The Appeals Committee will hear any appeals relating to the ownership/ringfencing process.

On considering a report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To approve the redundancy policy and procedure for chief and senior officers, subject to all references to chief executive or head of paid service to be standardised.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD will be circulated.

Following the updates to the appointments policy and procedure in October 2010, HR have now, in consultation with the legal team, produced a procedure to follow when appointing to chief and senior officer posts. 

This is largely the same as the appointments policy and procedure agreed for other staff but the procedure includes the requirement to involve member committees in line with the constitution.  These requirements include:

• The Officer Appointments Committee will be make the appointment decision (including the ownership and ring-fencing process) followed by ratification by Cabinet (and full Council for the post of chief executive).
• Any appeal against the appointment decision will be heard by the Appeals Committee.
• Any redundancy situation that occurs as a result of the ownership/ringfence/redeployment process will follow the redundancy policy and procedure where the final decision will be made by the Senior Officers Employment Sub-committee followed by ratification by Cabinet. 

On considering a report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To approve the appointments policy and procedure for chief and senior officers, subject to all references to chief executive or head of paid service to be standardised.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD will be circulated.

This is a re-write of an existing policy.  This policy has been put into the new standard HR policy format.  It has also been updated following consultation within HR and with the Legal Department.  The main changes are:

• A change in the policy name from the Capability Policy to the  Improving Work Performance Policy.  It is felt that the name needed modernising and that it should have a greater emphasis on the focus being making relevant changes in the employee's performance to bring this up to an acceptable level.
• Roles and responsibilities within the policy have been made clearer.
• The timescales for achieving an acceptable performance have been identified.
• There is a greater emphasis on the manager's role in setting clear and achievable objectives with employees.
• It is now clearer that the policy should only be implemented when the normal processes of 1-1 meetings with the employee have failed.  This procedure should not be a complete surprise to the employee.

On considering a report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To approve the revised policy on improving work performance.

A report by the Service Director HR & OD will be circulated.

This is a re-write of an existing policy.  This policy has been put into the new standard HR policy format.  It has also been updated following consultation with HR, Michael Hudson (Finance Director / Section 151 officer) and the legal department and the main changes are:

• The policy states more clearly the intention of the Council to recover any overpayments made.
• There is more emphasis on the employee's manager taking responsibility for letting them know that an overpayment has occurred and to expect a letter.
• The appeal process has been simplified so rather than be heard by the Corporate Director who then had to seek approval from the Chief Finance officer/section 151 officer it just goes straight to the section 151 officer who makes the decision. There is also an overpayment dispute form for the employee to complete rather than having to write a letter.
• It is more clearly explained what would constitute an "exceptional" circumstance which might lead to a decision not to recover the overpayment.

On considering a report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To approve the revised recovery of overpayments policy and procedure.

To note that the next meeting is due to be held on Wednesday 9 March 2011.

Resolved:

To note that the next meeting was due to be held on Wednesday 9 March 2011.

Any other items of business which, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be considered as a matter of urgency. Urgent items of a confidential nature may be considered under Part II of this agenda.

There were no urgent items.

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Number 15 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Minute Number 15 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

A confidential report by the Service Director HR & OD is attached.

On considering a confidential report by the Service Director HR & OD,

Resolved:

To approve the release of the Officer’s deferred LGPS pension benefits, with actuarial reduction following his voluntary redundancy on 31 January 2011, as set out in the report.