Agenda item

The report outlines the content of three HR policies:

·         The Job Evaluation Policy is new and is being introduced for the first time.

·         The Probation Policy policy is a revision of the existing policy

·         The Elections staffing policy is a revision of the current policy.

The report also includes:

·         Proposed changes to the recruitment policy in relation to internal recruitment

·         Proposed changes to notice periods

·         Annual pay policy statement 2024-2025

Dan Paul, Chief People Officer, introduced the report as set out in the agenda pack. There were five HR policies which had proposed changes for approval.

Probation Policy:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• In terms of schools, HR services were traded. It was noted that Schools buy into these policies and could buy these from anywhere. They would use the policies that were provided by their HR provider. The team regularly review and update Haringey corporate policies and school policies.
• There would be a 6-month period where the manager would be monitoring performance. In terms of the managers assessment, if the employee had not demonstrated strong performance; HR would provide support mangers. There would be accompanying practice notes which would give managers guidance in helping people meet targets. If there were any problems, managers would be directed to the employee relations team, the team would check documents with the manager and ensure they had followed all guidance. In some cases, the team have had to go back to managers where there had been an evident lack of support for the employee. Sometimes probation would be extended to allow employees to meet their objectives.
• In terms of the ratio of managers to employees, high numbers were seen in some services, such as the Transport service team, which is a bigger team. HR advice was to phase recruitment where possible to ensure there are not a lot of new starters at one time within a team. Processes had also been simplified, for example probation policy documents would be easier to use for managers and employees.

The Job Evaluation Policy:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Pay protection was in line with council policy at the time of the change. Employees under redeployment would receive pay protection for 18 months. This was in line with the organisational change policy.
• With the job evaluation process, employees and managers could request a review.
• Trade union representatives were paid for their substantive roles.

The Elections Staffing Policy:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• The Elections team have an aim to increase the number of council staff working on our elections. A recruitment event for this was being held w/c 2^nd October.
• The Council did not employ elections staff, they were employed directly by the Returning Officer however there were no specific prerequisites. There were still several exclusions when recruiting in elections to ensure the vote was fair and seen to be fair.
• The incentive of two days off would be attractive for enough people, if this were not the case then this could be reviewed.

Proposed changes to the recruitment policy in relation to internal recruitment:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• All policies had been agreed by trade unions.

Proposed changes to notice periods:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Casual workers and agency staff did not have a notice period. This would run the risk of turning agency staff into employees, agency staff also did not receive sick pay.
• The 6-week notice period was a collective agreement with trade unions. Currently, notice should be given to the end of the next calendar month. The change to 6 weeks would make this a fixed period in between the current uncertainty.

Annual pay policy statement 2024-2025:

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Annual cost of living pay rises are part of a national negotiation process. During this process, several factors were considered.

RESOLVED.

To approve each of the attached policies, and delegate authority to the Chief People Officer to make such amendments as considered minor.