In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

To confirm the Minutes of the Employment and Appeals Committee held on 28 October 2015, previously circulated.

The Minutes of the Employment and Appeals Committee held on 28 October 2015, copies of which had been previously circulated, were confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from members of the

public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules.

The total time allowed for this shall be 30 minutes. Petitions, deputations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.

Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the

Democratic Services Officer 15 minutes before the start of the meeting. The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.

Any petitions, deputations and questions which have been submitted with prior formal

notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice. Any questions

which are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

No petitions, deputations or questions from members of the public had been received.

To receive Report No 33/2016 from the Director of Resources

Report No 33/2016 from the Director for Resources was received the purpose of which was to see approval for the updated HR Policies, Restructure Policy and Disciplinary Policy.

During the discussion the following points were noted:

i.    Members asked what the outcome was for the consultation process with the recognised Trade Unions contained within paragraph 4.1. The Head of Human Resources stated that the policies had been approved and that Members will be updated of this in the future;

ii.  Members requested that the wording within paragraph 1.3 on page 11 was amended to clarify the definition of ‘management nominated by the Director’. The Head of Human Resources will amend the wording to ensure it reflects appropriate levels of decision making and in particular that Directors would be approving the overall proposal;

iii.The Manager nominated by the Director as stated within paragraph 1.3 on page 11 would be a Head of Service or equivalent;

iv.Members requested that the wording in paragraph 1.5 on page 12 be amended to show that the policy does not apply to schools;

v.  Rutland County Council has an employer responsibility as a Council to the maintained schools within Rutland. If the Policies are adopted by the Schools these would not cover School/College employees in totality and would only cover non-teaching staff. Education Personnel Management (EPM) provides HR services to Schools;

vi.Members requested that the following wording within paragraph 1.1 of the Disciplinary Policy on page 37, ‘employees to achieve and maintain standards of conduct’ be amended to ‘employees to achieve and maintain appropriate standards of conduct’;

vii.  Members asked how a grievance would be resolved if the grievance was made towards a Manager. The Head of Human Resources stated that this would be dealt with by a third party – words to this effect will be added and cross-refers to our Grievance Policy;

viii.In regards to paragraph 7.6 on page 47, would appeals be heard by the Employment and Appeals Committee in its entirety. The Head of Human Resources informed Members that the Terms of Reference would be checked within the Constitution;

ix.Within Appendix 6 on page 55, Members asked what measures would be taken if serious incapability through alcohol or illegal drugs was subject to a mental health condition. The Head of Human Resources stated that this would be recognised through the investigation process and a different Policy could be followed to reflect this;

x.  Members asked if they could instigate or would take part in Disciplinary proceedings with officers.  The Head of Human resources stated that this would be the responsibility of the Head of Paid Service;   Members themselves are covered by separate policies and procedures;

xi.Members requested that any changes to future policies be highlighted within the document.

RESOLVED

To approve the following HR Policies:

(a)  Restructure Policy subject to the agreed amending of words within paragraphs 1.3 and 1.5.

(b)  Disciplinary Policy subject to the wording within paragraph 1.1 on page 37 being amended to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 698.

To receive items of urgent business which have previously been notified to the person presiding.

None