Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Cllr John Noeken.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2009. (copy attached).

Resolved:

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 11 November 2009.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were none.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

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

Members of the public wishing to ask questions should give written notice (including details of any question)  to the officer named above by 12.00noon on  Monday 8 March 2010.

There were no members of the public present.

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

The Committee considered a report by the Service Director HR & OD which updated Members on the progress of Pay Harmonisation.

It was noted that an HR project team had been established to support harmonisation and since its formation last November had been:-

(i)         checking that the records of staff who performed each distinct job were complete and correct.

(ii)        analysing the total spend within the current pay bill on the various terms and conditions.

(iii)       modelling the impact of possible options for the major terms, to assess likely impact on staff, and on costs.

(iv)       considering the draft recommendations of the Business Travel strand of the Workplace Transformation project.

(v)        checking understanding of how some current payments – particularly those received by TUPED staff – worked in practice.

(vi)       ensuring awareness of any anomalies that have arisen amongst the pay and grading arrangements of ex County Council staff.    

It was noted that detailed project planning for all the project stages continued alongside the substantive work associated with the current project stage. Preliminary negotiations with the unions had begun in late February as planned.

Resolved:

(1)       To note the contents of the report .

(2)       To receive a further report on progress of this project at the next meeting.

An update prepared by the Service Director HR &OD is attached.

The Committee received an updated schedule which set out progress made to date on each of the following strategic priorities set for the period 2008 to 2012:-

·                    Organisational Development 

·                    Leadership Development

·                    Recruitment and Retention

·                    Skill and Competency Development

·                    Pay and Rewards

It was reported that the Chairman and Cllr Laura Mayes, Portfolio Holder for Organisational Culture, were inviting all Councillors to a series of workshops in order to explain the People Strategy Action Plan.

Resolved:

To note the progress made with the implementation of the People Strategy Action Plan since the last meeting.   

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

Consideration was given to a report by the Service Director HR & OD which sought approval to increase the pay element of the existing Relocation Expenses & Allowances Policy in line with market forces.

Resolved:

(1)       To agree to increase the maximum moving home allowance for all staff from £5800 to £8000 at the Manager’s discretion, so as to be equitable to that paid to former Salisbury District Council & Kennet District Council employees and in line with tax free limit of £8000 set by the HMRC.

(2)       To increase the lodging allowance up to a maximum of £600 per month, payable for an initial period of 12 months, this being  reflective of the current average rental cost for a two bedroom property across Wiltshire when the overall volume of properties is taken into account

(3)       To adopt the amended policy, as set out in Appendix A to the report, reflecting the above.

The minutes of the following meetingsare attached:-

            6-8 & 19 October 2009

16 October 2009

Resolved:

To receive the minutes of the Grievance Appeals Sub-Committee meetings held on 6-8 & 19 October 2009 and 16 October 2009.  

The minutes of the following meetings are attached:-

14 December 2009

18 January 2010  

Resolved:

To receive the minutes of the Senior Officers Employment Sub-Committee meetings held on 14 December 2009 and 18 January 2010.

To note that the next meeting of the Committee will be held on Wednesday 19 May 2010 at 10.30am.

Resolved:

To note that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Wednesday 19 May 2010 starting at 10.30am.

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 11 of this agenda.

There were no urgent items.

Items during whose consideration it is recommended that the public should be excluded because of the likelihood that exempt information would be disclosed

None