Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Cllr Jane Scott OBE who was substituted by Cllr Bill Moss.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 5 March 2014.         (Copy attached)

Resolved:

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 5 March 2014.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman made the following announcements:-

• Public Sector People Management Association (PPMA) Rising StarsAdam Feather, Workforce Analyst, HR Information Team was a finalist in this year's national competition sponsored by PPMA and Manpower Group. Future HR leaders from local authorities across the country had recently come together for an intense two-day programme of personal coaching, media skills workshops and networking at Warwick University. All 14 high level participants presented their big ideas on this year’s chosen topic – Workforce Agility – to a panel of PPMA board members. The four highest scoring delegates including Adam had now been invited to present at the PPMA annual seminar in May in Leeds. Members of the Committee joined the Chairman in extending their very best wishes to Adam. 

·         PPMA Excellence in HR Awards - Excellence in change management  The HR/OD Wiltshire Council team was a finalist in  another important national award, the category being Excellence in change management The Committee extended its best wishes to the team.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

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 on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of the agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 30 April 2014. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no members of the public present or councillors’ questions.

A report by the Associate Director, People & Business Services is attached.

Consideration was given to a report by the Associate Director, People & Business Services which presented a temporary policy on handling employee issues due to the closure of leisure facilities because of campus projects, redevelopment, rebuilds or maintenance work.

With the development of campus projects it would be necessary to close affected leisure facilities temporarily whilst these projects were underway. The length of time each facility would be closed would be different depending on the nature and scale of each project.

The policy detailed that the priority would be to continue to employ employees during the closure period by looking at a number of alternatives.  Where this was not possible it was proposed in the policy to continue to pay these employees for a set period of time in order to retain their services.

It was pointed out that this policy would be used initially as a pilot in respect of staff employed at Corsham Leisure Centre after which it could be modified if necessary before being applied to staff affected by other projects.

Resolved:

To approve the policy on the Temporary Closure of Leisure Facilities.

A report by the Associate Director, People & Business Services is attached.

The Committee received a quarterly workforce report, excluding fire, police and schools staff, for the quarter ended 31 March 2014 concerning:-

Staffing Levels

Sickness Absence

New Health and Safety RIDDOR related injuries

New Disciplinary and Grievance Cases

Voluntary Staff Turnover

Employee Costs

Additional Financial Information

Employee Diversity

During discussion the following points were highlighted:- 

·                During the quarter Children & Families had recruited 18 social workers which was excellent given the general shortage of candidates. 

·                Sickness rates had decreased by 0.2 FTE days to 1.9 days per FTE. Overall for the 2013/14 financial year, the sickness rate was 8.3 FTE days; this was 1.6 FTE days below the benchmark local authority median and 0.4 days per FTE less than the previous financial year.

·                The voluntary turnover rate had increased to 2.2% this quarter.  The overall voluntary turnover rate for 2013/14 financial year was 8.5%, this being approximately 1.5% above the benchmark figure.    It was considered that this trend was partly due to the increasing opportunities becoming available in the private sector and a perceived increase in job security there.  Members requested that a schedule of vacant posts be sent to them.

Resolved:

(1)       To note the contents of the report.

(2)       To request that some additional training on workforce statistics be provided for members of the Committee immediately before the next scheduled meeting.

To note that the next meeting is due to be held on Wednesday 9 July 2014 in the Kennet Room, County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Resolved:

To note that the next meeting of the Committee was due to be held on Wednesday 9 July 2014 in the Kennet Room at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

There were no items of urgent business.