Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Antonio Piazza, Cllr Ricky Rogers and Mike Osment – Unison.

Cllr Tamara Reay sub for Cllr Richard Clewer.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 11 May 2022

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 11 May 2022 were confirmed as the correct record.

Cllr Carole King advised that see was still waiting for the breakdown of figures of which directorates currently had vacancies – it was agreed that this information would brought back to Staffing Policy Committee.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements.

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 (4 clear working days, e.g. Wednesday of week before a Wednesday meeting) 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 (2 clear working days, eg Friday of week before a Wednesday meeting). 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 was no public participation.

·         Recruitment vacancies

·         Key Strategic Priorities – Cost of living Crisis, Recruitment & Retention and  Budget restraints

Gemma Morrison – Strategic and Delivery Manager, HR&OD & Tamsin Kielb - Assistant Director, HR & OD gave brief verbal updates re Recruitment vacancies & Key Strategic Priorities – Cost of living Crisis, Recruitment & Retention and Budget restraints

Points made included:

·         That there continued to be key recruitment pressures re Adult and Children’s services.

·         That there continued to be difficulties filling vacancies for social workers and occupational therapists – Wiltshire Council were trying hard to fill these rolls.

·         That Wiltshire Council were looking at career step policies and apprenticeships where appropriate.

·         That there were some 385 posts vacant across Wiltshire Council.

·         That Wiltshire Council were promoting its own “Grow your Own” model.

Points made by the committee included:

·         That there were concerns re the amount of agency recruitment – Wiltshire Council were actively trying to address this.

·         That were concerns why people were leaving employment with Wiltshire Council.

·         That it would be interesting to know what the national figures were like for all councils.

·         That Wiltshire Council should be looking to make Planning Officer roles more appealing – That Wiltshire Council promoted a good working from home policy and had built a good reputation of training and empowerment of its employees.

·         That were the figures for agency spend for next year – Figures were not available at the present time.

Tamsin Kielb - Assistant Director, HR & OD advised the committee that it was proposed that future Wiltshire Council policy documents and reports were now signed off at Assistant Director level for approval.

Decision

·         That the Staffing Policy Committee noted the general policy amendment that Wiltshire Council policy documents and reports would now be signed off at Assistant Director level for approval.

The Chairman thanked Gemma Morrison and Tamsin Kielb for their updates.

·         Standby and Call-Out Policy

·         Unsocial hours pay policy

·         Pay Protection arrangements

Tamsin Kielb - Assistant Director, HR & OD presented an update to the Staffing Policy Committee on the Terms andConditions negotiations relating to Unsocial Hours and Standby and Callout and to outline the proposed pay protection arrangement to support implementation of the changes to the unsocial hours policy for agreement by the Committee.

Points made included:

That the council needed to have clear policies which were standardised, fit for
purpose, financially viable and support delivery of the council’s business plan
whilst ensuring staff were fairly and appropriately rewarded.

Three pay policies – overtime, unsocial hours and standby and callout - were
identified as being significantly out of line with this requirement and needed to
be updated.

Decision

·         That the Staffing Policy Committee approved for the council to confirm the offer ofan exceptional unsocial hours pay protection arrangement, should the unions agree to the policy changes outlined in thisreport.

That the Staffing Policy Committee noted the draft policies attached at Appendix Aand Appendix B, together with the minor change outlined to the overtimepolicy. 

That the Staffing Policy Committee delegated authority to the Chair of theCommittee and the Assistant Director HR&OD to approve changes to thesepolicies, should they be agreed through the Trade Union ballot currently inprogress. 

The Chairman thanked Tamsin Kielb for her update.

·         Changes to Telematics Guide

Gemma Morrison – Strategic and Delivery Manager, HR&OD outlined the changes to the current CCTV and Vehicle Tracking policy which covered the purpose and use of Vehicle Telematics and Handheld Devices, which replaced the vehicle tracking section of the current policy.

The current CCTV and Vehicle Tracking Policy had been agreed in 2015.

A written report was included in the agenda pack.

Points made by the committee included:

·         That clear signage should be displayed in all vehicles which were fitted with the new Telematics.

·         That Wiltshire Council needed to be clear what it as an employer defined as poor driving.

Decision

·         That the Staffing Policy Committee noted the update provided covering the implementation of the VehicleTelematics and Handheld Devices Guidance for Staff.

The Chairman thanked Gemma Morrison for her update.

·         Wednesday 9 November 2022 – 10:30am, Kennet Room, County Hall

·         Wednesday 9 November 2022 – 10:30am, Kennet Room, County Hall

There were no urgent items of business.