Agenda item

The Committee at its last meeting in September requested that an update on HR related matters was presented to the Committee in November 2010.

a)         HR Update

A report from the Service Director, HR and Organisational Development is attached.  The HR update report refers to the Management Review and proposed new structure charts.  These charts have been made available to councillors and officers on “The Wire”.  At the request of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, members of the Select Committee will be given the opportunity at the meeting to ask questions in respect of the changes proposed in the Resources Department.

b)         Workforce Planning Framework

A report outlining the process of implementing the Workforce Planning Framework and respective timescales is also attached.

Recommendation:

The Committee is asked to consider the reports provided and comment as appropriate.   

The Committee at its previous meeting held in September requested that an update on HR related matters was received in November.

A report was duly presented by the Service Director, HR and Organisational Development which outlined the current strategic workload priorities within HR, including details of the support provided to achieve the people management savings to be outlined in the Council’s Business Plan.  An additional report was also provided which outlined the process of implementing workforce plans within the Council.

Clarification was provided that the HR Self Service tool would replace the existing HR Online tool and was expected to be in place from 1 January 2011.

The deadline for submitting the initial applications for voluntary redundancies as part of the Management Review was 26 November with a briefing to Directors made on 29 November.  Dependant on the results of the initial consultation, a second opportunity to submit applications may be available from 2 January 2011.  An announcement on the status of redundancies would be made by the end of the financial year.

An Employee Assistance Package was in place to ensure that those taking redundancy received full support on leaving the organisation.  A copy of the Package would be circulated to members of the Committee for information.

It was understood that 551 ‘at risk’ letters had been circulated and it was anticipated that the results of the initial round would be communicated to staff by the end of January 2011.  The Council expected to reduce posts by approx 240.  £5m had previously been set aside to cover the costs of the associated redundancy packages expected.

In addition to the need to secure people cost savings of £16m by April 2011, Unions had been informed of the need to secure a further annual saving of £2.5m.   A meeting had been held with the relevant unions and details of the locally determined terms and conditions from which the proposed savings could be achieved were detailed within the report.

Written confirmation on the current costs relating to each of the bulleted points under paragraph 9 of the Human Resources (HR) Update would be provided to the Committee following the meeting.

A recommendation was to be made to the Staffing Policy Committee for the 3 existing subsidised lease car schemes to be closed.  The Cabinet Member for Resources confirmed that a replacement scheme was currently being discussed and was likely to be addressed by the Staff Management Executive Board at it’s next meeting in December.  Any changes to the scheme would require involvement of the Trade Unions and would ultimately form part of the Terms and Conditions negotiations.

In line with the Local Government Workforce Strategy 2010, a priority for the Council would be to ensure an appropriate Pay and Rewards scheme was in place to reward the workforce whilst ensuring that budget and efficiency requirements were met.  Examples included flexible working hours and the ability to work in varied locations to meet the needs of the workforce whilst ensuring high performance was maintained.

In addition to the expected 47 redundancies within the Resource department, a further 50 plus members of staff would be receiving pay reductions as a consequence of restructuring from the management review which would also assist the Council in achieving the necessary cost savings.  This would apply to the two tiers below the Head of Service level.  Details of the posts affected and the impact on the department resources would be provided once known.

Although the Committee understood and agreed with the legal and statutory requirement to ensure equality and diversity across the organisation, there was a need to ensure that indirect discrimination did not take place when applications were considered.

The Committee also highlighted the need to ensure staff morale was monitored.   Good communication was vital to ensure staff were fully briefed on what was happening within the organisation and to ensure high quality performance was maintained.

Following consideration of the reports provided, discussion commenced on the recently published structure changes proposed for the organisation.  A link to the structure charts was given to members and hard copies tabled at the meeting.

Clarification was provided that the current Service Director positions for IT and Shared Services were to be combined into a new ‘Director of Business Services' role.

Discussion also took place in relation to the Area Board structure within the Communities, Libraries, Heritage and Arts department where further clarification would be sought from the Cabinet Member for Communities on the exact number of Community Area Managers (CAMS) reporting to the Head of Community Area Boards.

Cllr Seed congratulated the Cabinet Member and officers on the way the budgetary reductions had been addressed and agreed that the ‘invest to save’ approach of the Council was appropriate to ensure future savings.

Resolved:

1)                 To thank the Cabinet Member and officers for the information provided;

2)                 To request that the Cabinet member note the comments made by the Committee;

3)                 To request the Cabinet Member for Communities would be requested to provide clarity on the exact number of CAMS reporting to the Head of Community Area Boards; and

4)                 To receive the Committee would receive a further update on HR matters in January 2011.