Agenda and draft minutes

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The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred to the notice of filming at meetings and this information was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Julie Davies.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under agenda item 9 below. New items of exempt Urgent Business will be dealt with at agenda item 12 below).

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

There were no deputations / petitions / presentations / questions.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee meeting held on 20 October 2022.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the special Staffing and Remuneration Committee meetings held on 7 November 2022, 9 November 2022, 11 November 2022, and 3 February 2023.

It was noted that the Committee had agreed the Recruitment Policy at the meeting on 20 October 2022 but had also agreed to meet with trade unions to discuss the wording that was not taken forward in relation to Section 6 (Advertising). The Head of People explained that conversations with the trade unions were ongoing. It was noted that the previous decision of the Committee remained in effect and that any updates from discussions with trade unions would be presented at a future meeting.

RESOLVED

1.    To confirm and sign the minutes of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee meeting held on 20 October 2022 as a correct record.

2.    To confirm and sign the minutes of the special Staffing and Remuneration Committee meetings held on 7 November 2022, 9 November 2022, 11 November 2022, and 3 February 2023 as a correct record.

The People Report is designed to give officers and Members relevant workforce data in an easy to understand format in order to support informed strategic decision making.

The Head of People introduced the report which provided relevant workforce data in an easy to understand format in order to support informed, strategic decision making.

It was noted that there had been a focus on reducing agency staff, particularly higher paid workers, and there had been a reduction in the off payroll workforce from 76 to 54 in the quarter. It was commented that the base pay had increased by 7.5% in the quarter whilst the headcount had increased by 1%. It was explained that the difference in these numbers was due to the national pay award, which was backdated to April 2022. It was also noted that sickness absence had increased but that this had been anticipated following the insourcing of Homes for Haringey and the reporting of historic sickness absence for 12 months; it was commented that the increases were expected to continue until the insourced staff had been with the Council for 12 months.

In response to questions from the Committee, the following responses were provided:

·         In response to a query about agency workers for projects, it was commented that the arrangements generally depended on the expected length of a project and how the Council could source the required resources. It was explained that it was difficult to provide permanent employment for projects and so alternatives such as fixed term contracts or agency workers were often considered. Longer term work or projects with more certainty of funding were likely to have more fixed term contracts.

·         It was commented that the pay of agency workers varied; those employed by the Council were paid Council rates but agency rates were variable. It was noted that it was not possible to pay agency workers less than permanent staff.

·         In relation to a query about resourcing, the Head of People noted that there was an aim to reduce reliance on agency workers. It was stated that a reduction in agency staff did not seek to give additional work to permanent employees; there were various measures to ensure sustainability, including recruiting permanent workers, redesigning some work, and seeking to make jobs more attractive.

·         It was enquired whether agency or off role workers would receive the national pay award. The Head of People explained that any workers who were on Council pay scales and who met the service requirements were eligible for the pay award. It was noted that any workers who were paid in excess of the Council’s pay scales were not eligible for the pay award.

·         In relation to apprentices, the Head of People noted that work was underway to formalise the Council’s approach. It was believed that having a Council-wide approach would be more efficient than hiring apprentices within services as there would be additional group training and networking opportunities. It was added that this would also create a stronger pathway to permanent employment. It was noted that a number of apprentices were existing employees whose training and development was funded through the apprentice levy.

RESOLVED

To note the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The report outlines the content of one new HR policy: the Sabbatical Policy, and two revised policies: the Grievance Policy and the Disciplinary Policy.

The Head of Employment, Reward, and Transformation introduced the report which outlined the content of one new Human Resources (HR) policy: the Sabbatical Policy, and two revised policies: the Grievance Policy and the Disciplinary Policy. It was noted that all three policies had been subject to consultation with the trade unions.

In relation to the Grievance Policy, the Head of Employment, Reward, and Transformation explained that this had been reviewed in 2019 and was being updated to reflect best practice and to clarify some processes. It was noted that the recommendations provided clarity on who could raise a grievance, on the status of agency workers in relation to grievances, on mediation, on data storage, and on the process for dealing with any recommendations arising from grievance cases.

In response to questions from the Committee, the following responses were provided:

·         It was explained that grievance appeals were normally heard by senior managers who would be independent. It was noted that grievance appeals did not normally involve councillors unless they related to the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer, or Section 151 Finance Officer.

·         It was enquired whether grievances would be addressed by a senior officer from the same directorate and whether this could lead to conflicts of interest. It was noted that this would depend on the nature and the grounds of the grievance. It was explained that some departments were large and it was possible for a number of senior managers in the directorate to be able to act without a conflict of interest; this would be important if any directorate-specific knowledge was required. It was highlighted that a representative from HR would be assigned to each case and would provide advice, including advice relating to potential conflicts of interest.

·         It was noted that the revised policy aimed to provide clarity in relation to ex-employees. It was explained that these cases were expected to be resolved in a timely way. It was added that, after an employee had left, there was not normally a right of appeal but this would be considered on a case by case basis.

·         It was confirmed that there had been consultation on the revised policies. The Head of Employment, Reward, and Transformation noted that the consultation had included discussion and clarification of the process for ex-employees and the arrangements relating to data access and processing.

In relation to the Disciplinary Policy, it was noted that the last review had taken place in 2018 and that the majority of changes were to implement best practice and to provide some clarification. There were updates that sought to formalise the arrangements on data sharing when an independent investigator was used, to confirm the ability to have remote investigation meetings where appropriate, to clarify the role of witnesses, and to confirm the recording arrangements.

It was highlighted that the revised policy proposed to remove the right to trade union representation at suspension stage; it was noted that this was not a right according to the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

There were no new items of urgent business.

It was noted that Karen Gooday, Head of Employment, Reward, and Transformation, would be leaving the Council to take up another opportunity. The Chair thanked Karen Gooday for her service to both the Council and this Committee and wished her well for the future.

Items 11-12 are likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paragraph 1, information relating to an individual.

RESOLVED

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of items 11-12 as they contained exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paragraph 1, information relating to an individual.

To confirm and sign the exempt minutes of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee meeting held on 20 October 2022.

To confirm and sign the exempt minutes of the special Staffing and Remuneration Committee meetings held on 7 November 2022, 9 November 2022, 11 November 2022, and 3 February 2023.

The Committee considered the exempt information.

RESOLVED

1.    To confirm and sign the exempt minutes of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee meeting held on 20 October 2022.

2.    To confirm and sign the exempt minutes of the special Staffing and Remuneration Committee meetings held on 7 November 2022, 9 November 2022, 11 November 2022, and 3 February 2023.

There were no new items of exempt urgent business.