Agenda and minutes

To elect a Vice Chair for the remainder of the 2023/24 municipal year.

Councillor Lisa Finan-Cooke proposed Councillor Shaun Macdonald for the role of Vice-Chair. Councillor Mark Gordon seconded the nomination; and as there were no other nominations, Councillor Shaun Macdonald was confirmed as Vice-Chair for the remainder of the municipal year.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2023 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2023 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

The Committee considered the proposed new Menopause Policy. Following discussion, it was agreed to make the following changes:

a)    in the introduction, to substitute ‘are required to’, with ‘are encouraged to’, in order to bring it in line with section 3;

b)    to address formatting issues in section 4.

c)    correcting minor formatting issues in relation to page numbering.

In addition to signposting to various online resources, the potential to provide paid-for resources such as the Peppy Digital Health App was noted.

RESOLVED that Menopause Policy, as attached atAnnex A to this report, as amended, be adopted. 

The Committee considered the adoption of a Job Evaluation Policy and Procedure.

One of the principal changes proposed was line managers’ presentation directly to job evaluation panels. Furthermore, with the aim to provide better transparency around the procedure, further details on the followed processes and a series of Frequently Asked Questions were added to the Policy and Procedure.

Following discussion it was agreed to address minor formatting changes related to page numbers.

Following comments, it was noted that the method for the collation of information prior to job evaluation was in the process of being streamlined via the use of electronic forms.

RESOLVED that the Job Evaluation Policy & Procedure,as attached at Annex A to the agenda report, as amended, be adopted.

The Committee was informed that the Exceptional Payments Policy had been reviewed and a number of changes had been proposed. The revisions reflected feedback from staff that greater fairness and consistency was needed in applying the policy across different departments.  The proposed changes also sought to focus the policy on its primary purpose, namely managing peaks of workload not otherwise able to be managed through the flexi-time system. It was also proposed to change the name of the policy to the Managing Demand (Exceptional Payments) Policy, which better reflected its purpose.

Additional sections had been added on the payment of overtime and on working pattern and hours, which demonstrated compliance with the Working Time Directive, along with referring to Right to Rest. It also included a section encouraging managers to request additional resource and a clearer authorisation process for agreeing exceptional payments.

The Committee was informed that provision for honoraria payments had been removed as, following extensive discussion with Staff Representatives, it was felt that they could not be fairly and consistently applied across the organisation.

Members opined that the policy should be amended in order allow flexibility in extraordinary situations to allow willing staff to work over the limit of 48 hours a week and be remunerated accordingly. It was agreed to add the words ‘unless there are exceptional or emergency circumstances’, where relevant and make reference to the need for escalated approval. 

Furthermore, following discussion it was agreed by the Committee to rename the policy, from the previously proposed ‘Managing Demands Policy’ to the ‘Managing Workflow Policy’, in order to better reflect the purpose of the policy. This would be subject to informal consultation with Staff Representatives.

In addition, following discussions relating to the policy, the Head of HR, Performance and Communications, agreed to send a communication to remind staff that Whatsapp should not be used for work-related communications and Microsoft Teams should be used instead.

RESOLVED that the Managing Demand (Exceptional Payments) Policy, as attached at Annex A to this report, as amended, be adopted.

The Committee considered its Work Programme for the remainder of the 23/24 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED that that the Committee’s Work Programme as per the agenda report be agreed.