| Time: | 3.00 pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Ofices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor Tricia Cowley(Chairman), Councillor Bernard Lovewell(Substitute), Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, Councillor Deepak Sangha(Substitute), Mr B Leverett(Unison), Mrs D Levett(Unison), C Corr(Staff Consultation Forum). |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Strategic Director of Customer Services Corporate Human Resources Manager Human Resources Services Manager Commottee and Member Services Officer. |
| ALSO PRESENT: |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 1 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Judi Billing, for whom Councillor Deepak Sangha acted as substitute, Councillor T.W. Hone, for whom Councillor Bernard Lovewell acted as substitute and Councillor Lee Downie. |
Noted | ||
| 2 |
MINUTES Minutes It was agreed that the Minutes of the JSCC meeting held on 16 June 2010 be confirmed as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 3 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other items were presented for consideration by the Committee. |
Noted | ||
| 4 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Members were reminded that declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda and the nature of the interest, should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a prejudicial interest should leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item. |
Noted | ||
| 5 |
STAFF CONSULTATION FORUM SCF Minutes of 7 July 2010 SCF Minutes of 4 August 2010 SCF Minutes of 1 September 2010 The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) referred the JSCC to the Minutes for the meetings of the Staff Consultation Forum (SCF) held on 7 July, 4 August and 1 September which were tabled at this meeting, for details of the meetings, actions taken and items carried forward. She provided a summary of the main points held at each meeting. For the meeting on 7 July, the CHRM went through the notes on Waste and Recycling, Home working, Saving Suggestions, NHDC Updates regarding the pay freeze and Employee Queries. Councillor Needham requested that the blue wheelie bin be removed from the Members¡¦ Room on the First Floor of DCO and the Strategic Director assured her that it would be removed and put elsewhere. The Committee were told that staff have been providing suggestions on ways of saving money and IT have found that several MFDs have suffered from teething problems. At the SCF Meeting on 4 August, consultation on outsourcing of scanning and indexing was ongoing and the Human Resources Services Manager (HRSM) thanked staff for making the cake sale in aid of Lister Hospital a success. She informed the Committee that another North Herts Ethnic Minority Forum is planned and that mobile phones are being collected for charity. The recent de-clutter days had been very successful in releasing more space, with all staff involved at the same time. The SDCS stated that he had referred to the documentation retention schedule, and any empty bookcases would be removed from offices. Moving on to the Minutes of the SCF Meeting on 1 September, the CHRM went through the Office Accommodation information, reiterated that all Saving Suggestions were being given due consideration and informed the Committee that the Pathfinder Shared Managed Services Contract presented a potential opportunity to consider the business case to outsource Payroll and some HR administrative work in addition to other services including IT, Customer Services, Financial Transactions and Facilities Management. Briefings for those staff affected would be held during early October. Lastly, under Employee Enquiries, the question of providing the information required on the Equalities Monitoring Form was raised and it was advised that staff could choose not to give this information, although HR had to request it. Discussion ensued, covering the holding of prayers at the start of the meeting of full Council and the policy held by HR for any special religious needs. It was agreed: That the information provided in the three sets of Minutes of the Staff Consultation Forum be noted. |
Agreed | ||
| 6 |
PEOPLE STRATEGY 2008-2011 - UPDATE Report and appendices The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) presented the report to update the Committee on the progress made in implementing the People Strategy. She informed them that the Payroll Administrator was seriously ill and this has caused difficulties in Human Resources. An agency temp has now been taken on to help out in this area. Preparation of all HR files for document imaging had been carried out recently and had been a huge task, involving the whole HR team. The Strategic Director explained that the Council¡¦s financial position and the media coverage about public sector job losses had led to a feeling that morale was being adversely affected. The office accommodation changes were also of concern to staff. The UNISON representative revealed that constant communication has helped enormously. Some of the positive outcomes included: „X Absence rates for April to July were at a cumulative rate of 1.73 days per person. The same four months of last year were at 3.31 days per person, 1.58 days less absence per person than in the same four months of 2009; „X 98.67% of staff appraisal forms had been returned; „X The 2010 staff survey had been conducted and NHC were now up-to-date with Action Planning; „X Turnover for 2009/10 was 10.2%; „X The People Strategy is now in its last two quarters; „X An ongoing programme of development opportunities was being organised for Members. The Committee enquired how often the Equal Pay Review was held and were informed that it is done biannually. Turnover had declined in 2008/2009 and had since risen slightly. The Committee discussion commented on appraisals and absence rates. It was agreed: That the Committee note the progress made against the implementation of the updated People Strategy actions 2008-2011. |
Agreed | ||
| 7 |
ONLINE RECRUITMENT UPDATE Update The HR Services Manager (HRSM) introduced herself and presented the information note. She took the Committee through the background to the paper, the application form formatting, external applications (testing for which was currently taking place), finally giving some exceptions. The HRSM then revealed that using this method can increase both savings and efficiency, as letters can be generated easily. The solutions were now satisfactory and the process was currently also being tested on internal applicants, although it may not be suitable for every vacancy, as online applications may not be appropriate for some posts. The CHRM stated that the Recruitment page is one of those most often ¡¥hit¡¦ online and that this also saved on advertising costs. It was agreed: That the Online Recruitment Update paper be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 8 |
DISCUSSION - THE CHANGING WORLD OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Paper for Committee discussion The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) introduced the paper on The Changing World of Public Employment ¡V Challenges and Opportunities and gave the Committee the general media picture, using Municipal Journal headlines. She then went through the Challenges, picking out as of special note the redesigning, the sharing and outsourcing of services. Shared Services and outsourcing changes in policy priorities could also have consequences and a knock on effect, with staff having to be found other posts in North Herts District Council. The CHRM stated that on any project individuals could be affected through redundancy, changes in their Terms of Reference, transfers, etc. The comment was made that the impression would be given that all council employees have inflated salaries, although salaries and job roles are published, and staff morale could be affected. She then declared that in general, local government staff are not high earners, with a large number of staff in part-time lower graded roles and a Member remarked that some people must enquire how high salaries are justified. The Strategic Director responded that skills, qualifications, management experience etc are all rewarded by proportionate salaries, the level of which were set by an objective and transparent Job Evaluation process. He also stated that externalisation is not a panacea and North Hertfordshire is well equipped to deal with opportunities. The Chairman concluded the discussion by stating that the way forward was through constant communication and by keeping people informed. It was agreed: That the discussion paper on The Changing World of Public Employment ¡V Challenges and Opportunities be noted. |
Agreed | ||
| 9 |
SUGGESTED DISCUSSION TOPICS List The Strategic Director of Customer Services stated that CMT will look at the list of topics but more could be brought to the Committee before the next meeting of the JSCC. He suggested the topic Removal of Default Retirement Age ¡V Implications for Succession Planning, which could affect the morale of younger people. Another suggestion was Managing Long Term Absence, which to date had been managed very well. Single Status was also suggested as a topic, as this appeared to be a problem in local government. The SDCS replied that NHDC had completed its Single Status Pay Review in 2004. After some discussion, it was decided to discuss The Removal of Default Retirement Age ¡V Implications for Succession Planning at the next meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee on Wednesday 15 December 2010. |
Agreed | ||