Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:-

Cllr John Smale, who was substituted by Cllr Peter Evans.

Cllr Ian Thorn

Cllr Philip Whitehead, who was substituted by Cllr Tony Trotman

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2019.         (Copy attached)

Resolved:

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 May 2019.

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

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

The Chairman made the following announcement:-

CIPD People Management Awards  CIPD People Management Awards

The HR & OD team were shortlisted for HR Team of the Year in the CIPD People Management Awards for 2019.

The CIPD (the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) was the professional association for human resource management professionals and awarded chartered status to individual HR and L&D professionals

The CIPD People Management Awards took place annually and celebrated and rewarded the outstanding achievements and contributions made by HR and L&D professionals

This year there were 19 awards categories with the Team of the Year being the most prestigious. Across all categories Wiltshire was one of only two Councils shortlisted for any of these awards, and in the HR Team of the Year category the team were up against Lloyds Banking Group, The Royal Navy, The Dorchester Collection, Mitchell and Butlers, Network Homes and Brighterkind. Announcements were made in London the previous evening when Brighterkind was awarded Team of the Year.

Members warmly congratulated the HR & OD team on being shortlisted.

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 this agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 18 September 2019 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 20 September 2019. 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.

The Committee is asked to:

(i)        agree the size, and

(ii)     appoint the members and substitute members (up to four for each Party

Political Group) to each of the following Sub-Committees:

(a) Senior Officers’ Employment Sub-Committee – previous members being Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer & Cllr Hayley Spencer.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cllr David Jenkins, Cllr Bob Jones

MBE, Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, Cllr John Smale, Cllr Ian Thorn & Cllr Tony Trotman.)

(b) Appeals Sub-Committee – previous members being Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer & Cllr David Jenkins.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Mike Hewitt, Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cllr Gordon King,

Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, Cllr Hayley

Spencer, Cllr Ian Thorn & Cllr Tony Trotman.)

(c) Grievance Appeals Sub-Committee – previous members being Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Tony Jackson & Cllr Hayley Spencer.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Peter Evans, Cllr David Halik, Cllr Jon Hubbard,

Cllr David Jenkins, Cllr Gordon King, Cllr John Smale, Cllr Ian Thorn &

Cllr Tony Trotman.)

Under Paragraph 2.4.1 of Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution,it is a

requirement that at least one member of the Senior Officers’ Employment

Sub-Committee should be a member of the Cabinet when it discharges its

function to dismiss and take disciplinary action against certain categories of

officer in accordance with the officer employment procedure rules.

Accordingly, it is recommended that a second Cabinet member be

appointed to this Sub-Committee either as a member or as a substitute

member.

Resolved:

To appoint members to serve on the sub-committees of this Committee

for the ensuing year as set out below:-

(a) Senior Officers Employment Sub-Committee

Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer & Cllr Hayley Illman.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cllr Bob Jones

MBE, Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cllr John Smale, Cllr Ian Thorn, Cllr Tony Trotman, Liberal Democrat vacancy vice former Cllr David Jenkins.)

(b) Appeals Sub-Committee

Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer & Cllr Hayley Illman.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Mike Hewitt, Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cllr Gordon King,

Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cllr Hayley

Illman, Cllr Ian Thorn, Cllr Tony Trotman, Liberal Democrat vacancy vice Cllr Hayley Illman.)

(c) Grievance Appeals Sub-Committee

Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Tony Jackson & Cllr Hayley Illman.

(Substitute Members: Cllr Peter Evans, Cllr David Halik, Cllr Jon Hubbard,

Cllr Gordon King, Cllr John Smale, Cllr Ian Thorn, Cllr Tony Trotman, Liberal Democrat vacancy vice former Cllr David Jenkins.)

A report by the Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development is attached. 

The Committee received a report by the Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development concerning proposals to amend the Council’s pay scales for HAY grades in order to bring them in line with the new pay and grading model for NJC staff which was implemented on 1 April 2019.

It was explained that the current HAY grade pay scales were based on four incremental points, with progression through those pay scales annually based on performance and approval of the relevant executive director or director.

A new pay and grading structure for staff on NJC terms and conditions had been introduced on 1 April 2019 and this had included a change in the number of increments in each grade with all grades now containing three rather than four increments (except for Grade B which contained two increments).  As part of this change for most grades the bottom increment had been removed with the result that staff now started higher in the grade and had fewer increments to reach the maximum of the grade, which resulted in higher average pay in those grades than before. 

Incremental progression for HAY graded staff was therefore now inconsistent with the progression for NJC graded staff in terms of the time it took to reach the grade maximum.

After some discussion,

Resolved:

To agree the removal of the bottom increment of the HAY grades to create a pay and grading model with three increments per grade which would be consistent with the changes to the pay and grading model for NJC staff at the Council. This would also remove the overlap with grade O and T3 and would benefit the Council in remaining competitive in the marketplace.  

A report by the Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development is attached.

Consideration was given to a report by the Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development which outlined a proposal to pilot an early resolution procedure for staff and plans to replace the grievance procedure with a resolution procedure.

It was noted that representatives from Human Resources, Occupational Health and the Legal Team had met to discuss concerns about the effectiveness and impact of the current grievance procedure and had been looking at possible new approaches of resolving disputes, developing constructive relationships and encouraging positive conversations at work. 

There was substantial evidence to suggest that the Council should be investigating the option to replace the current grievance policy with a resolution procedure, increasing the use of formal mediation at an early stage and putting in place an internal early resolution procedure. Whilst work was now taking place to develop a new resolution procedure it was proposed that the pilot of such an early resolution process be introduced so that the results could be analysed to understand the impact of this approach before rolling it out.

The early resolution procedure pilot would be available either before a grievance was raised, or as part of the informal grievance procedure, and would be entirely voluntary. This would provide an opportunity for staff to take part in a process led by a facilitator, which was designed to promote communication and increased understanding between staff. The aim was to improve individual relationships, team unity and wellbeing for individuals and the wider team. At all times, employees would have a choice whether to use the early resolution procedure or the formal policy and procedure. It was a flexible informal process and was designed to suit the needs of the people involved. 

The pilot would run for six months initially from September 2019.  Meanwhile, work would be ongoing to develop a new resolution procedure to replace the current grievance procedure and this would be brought back to this Committee in due course.

During discussion there was much support for the proposal.

Resolved:

To approve:

(1)          The introduction of a pilot for an early resolution procedure and to receive an update in due course on how the pilot was progressing.

(2)       Work to develop a new resolution procedure to replace the current grievance procedure.

A report by the Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development is attached.

The Committee received a workforce report, excluding fire, police and school staff, for the quarter ended 30 June 2019.

It was noted that as expected salary costs had increased during the quarter due to the cost of living rise of 2% in April and the salary scales restructure. 

It was pointed out that although there had been a downward trend, headcount had begun to rise over the last three quarters. From September 2018 to June 2019 there had been a rise of 4%.  There had been an overall increase in headcount of 80 since the previous quarter and of this Leisure Operations had seen an increase of 60 staff of which 50 had been part time posts.  Other less significant increases had been scattered across other services.

In answer to a question, it was reported that the majority of agency staff were employed in social care, and children’s safeguarding teams.

Resolved:

To note the Quarterly Workforce report.

To note that the next meeting of this Committee is due to be held on Thursday 14 November 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Resolved:

To note that the next meeting of this Committee was due to be held on Thursday 14 November 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

There were no urgent items of business.