To receive Report No. 5/2017 from the Director of Resources.

Report No 5/2017 from the Director for Resources was received the purpose of which was to seek approval for the following updated HR Policies, Standby Policy, ProfessionalDevelopment Policy and Secondment Policy.  Also, to approve any amendments to the Umbrella Flexible Working, Capability Policy, Umbrella Leave Policy and GrievancePolicy as applicable.

During the discussion the following points were noted:

                 i.     Standby Policy

·  Head of Human Resources, Mrs C Snell, informed the Committee of the following:

o   Changes to the Standby Policy were to ensure that standby provision is fit for purpose.

o   The policy effected front line service areas where emergency out of hours cover is required, for example, Adult Social Care, Highways, and Property Services.

o   Comparisons were made with other Local Authorities and private companies’ Standby Policies to determine best practice.

o   The proposed payment model had been revised to take into consideration the level of frequency and accountability required.

o   Senior Management Team (SMT) and Trade Unions had been consulted prior to this Committee meeting.

·         Adult Social Care Emergency Duty Cover used to be supplied by an external provider; the contract ended and is provided internally.

·         Childrens Social Care Emergency Duty Cover is provided by Leicestershire County Council.

·         The Standby Policy forms part of the contract of employment. Rotas were mainly working 1 in 3 weeks or 1 in 4 weeks on Standby.

·         Concern was raised that posts effected by the Standby Policy maybe more difficult to recruit to.

·         The Head of HR confirmed that transport would not be provided for staff on Standby.

·         A proportion of the work completed when on Standby can be done from home via telephone, for example IT.

·         The payment model had been modelled against the current rate and frequency of the use of staff on Standby. The Head of HR confirmed that it would be extremely rare for a staff member receiving payment level 1 to exceed the amount received by level 2 employees.

          ii.        ProfessionalDevelopment

·         Head of HR informed the Committee of the following:

o   The Council was committed to the further development of the workforce.

o   Employees who leave the Councils employment within 2 years, regardless of the cost of the training/further qualification they had undertaken, would be required to repay the costs.

o   Day release facilities would be granted for staff undertaking apprenticeships.

                    iii.        Secondment

·         Head of HR informed the Committee of the following:

o   This was a 3 year ‘Health Check’ of the Secondment Policy.

o   There had been minor amendments to the Policy, but these would have very little effect.

o   The Policy had served the Council well with a substantial number of staff successfully completing a Secondment within the Authority.

                   iv.        Policies with no/minor amendments - Umbrella FlexibleWorking, Capability Policy, Umbrella Leave Policy and GrievancePolicy

·         Head of HR informed the Committee of the following:

o   These Policies had ‘stood the test of time’ and require no or minimum amendments.

o   These Policies had been brought to the Committee as part of the review process. This would allow a new review date to be applied to each Policy.

o   There were no concerns with the number of grievances that had been received by the Council.

o   Communication within the Council was good. With One to One’s, Supervision, All Staff Briefings and Team Meeting carried out regularly.

                      v.        The Committee noted the upcoming review of the NJC Green Book pay spine.  The Head of HR confirmed to the Committee that all posts that become vacant were reflected upon before any recruitment takes place.

RESOLVED

The Committee:

1. CONSIDERED and APPROVED the Standby Policy (Appendix A)

2. CONSIDERED and APPROVED the Professional Development Policy (Appendix B)

3. CONSIDERED and APPROVED the Secondment Policy   (Appendix C)

4. CONSIDERED and APPROVED the following policies which had no/minor amendments –

·                 Umbrella Flexible Working

·                 Capability

·                 Umbrella Leave

·                 Grievance; and

5. NOTED the pending review of the NJC Green Book pay spine