Agenda and minutes
Venue: Room GFR-12, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU
Contact: Sharon Turner: Democratic Services Officer
Email: sharon.turner@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Substitutes
Any member (which includes councillors and
staff representatives) who is substituting for another member
should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant absent
member.
Minutes:
The following substitution was declared:
Councillor Sara Mildmay-White was substituting
for Councillor Carol Bull (Employer’s Side).
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2. |
Election of Chair: 2019/2020
The approved Terms of Reference for the Staff
Consultative Panel requires that the Chair of the Panel shall be
rotated between the Employers’ and Employees’
Sides. When the Chair is a Member of
one side of the Panel, the Vice Chair shall be a Member of the
other side.
In 2019/2020, the Chair is required to be
elected from the Employers’ Side.
Therefore, the Panel is requested to ELECT a Chair in accordance with this arrangement.
Minutes:
The approved Terms of Reference for the Staff
Consultative Panel required that the Chair of the Panel be rotated
between the Employer’s and Employees’
Sides. When the Chair was a Member of
one side of the Panel, the Vice Chair shall be a Member of the
other side.
In 2029/2020, the Chair was required to be
elected from the Employer’s Side and therefore, it was
proposed, seconded and
RESOLVED:
That Councillor David
Nettleton be elected as Chair of the Staff Consultative Panel for
the year 2019/2020.
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3. |
Election of Vice-Chair: 2019/2020
The approved Terms of Reference for the Staff
Consultative Panel requires that the Vice-Chair shall alternate
between the Employers’ and Employees’ Sides.
As the Chair of the Panel shall be from the
Employers’ Side in 2019/2020, the Vice-Chair is required to
be elected from the Employees’ Side.
The Panel is requested to ELECT a Vice-Chair in accordance with this arrangement.
Minutes:
The approved Terms of Reference for the Staff
Consultative Panel required that the Vice Chair shall alternate
between the Employer’s and Employees’ Sides.
As the Chair of the Panel was from the
Employer’s Side in 2019/2020, the Vice Chair was required to
be elected from the Employees’ Side and therefore, it was
proposed, seconded and
RESOLVED:
That Mark Johnson be
elected as Vice Chair of the Staff Consultative Panel for the year
2019/2020.
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4. |
Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillor Carol Bull (Employer’s Side) and from Jane Orton
(Employees’ Side).
Councillors James Lay and Clive Springett
(Employer’s Side) were also unable to attend the meeting.
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5. |
Maternity and Paternity Leave and Pay PDF 130 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
(Report No:
SCP/WS/19/001)
The Service Manager (Human Resources and
Organisational Development) presented this report which informed
the Panel of amendments which had been made to the Maternity and
Paternity Leave and Pay Policy and Procedures.
The Service Manager outlined the following
changes which had been made:
12. Statutory paternity leave and pay
The policy had now
enhanced the entitlement to statutory paternity leave, if an
employee had at least 52 weeks’ service at the end of the
qualifying period, allowing them to be able to take up to two
weeks’ leave on full pay.
27. Parental Bereavement Leave
Taking into account
Government legislation which was to be introduced from April 2020,
the Policy had also been amended to reflect that parents and
primary carers who suffered the loss of a child would be entitled
to two weeks’ paid parental bereavement, under the Parental
Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Act.
People’s eligibility to receive the entitlement had been
widened beyond just parents, following feedback from a consultation
that had been held in 2018.
In response to queries raised by the Panel,
the Service Manager also explained that the Council would be
looking to also introduce policies around premature birth and
miscarriages.
There being no decision required, the Panel
noted the amendments which had been made to this
Policy.
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6. |
West Suffolk Workforce Development Annual Data 2018/2019 PDF 136 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
(Report No:
SCP/WS/19/002)
The Service Manager (Human Resources and
Organisational Development) presented this report which set out the
West Suffolk Workforce Development Annual Data for the period up to
31 March 2019. This data was also
published on the Council’s website on an annual basis, as
part of the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector equality
duty.
The main discussion of the data by the Panel
centred around:
-
The Headcount (Permanent and Temporary) had
increased from 655 to 710. This was due
to extra resourcing which had been required in the Families and
Communities service area and the Operations service area due to
project/legislative work. Additional
staffing resources had also been required with regards to the
implementation of the new West Suffolk Council. In terms of the
requirements around the legislative work, funding had been sourced
from the Government for these additional resourcing costs.
-
The Headcount (casuals) was also discussed and the
Service Manager outlined the reasons for the requirement of casual
employees in those service areas listed within the
report. The Panel requested that in
future reporting, whether more detail could be included regarding
the types of employment of casuals in service areas. The Service Manager confirmed that when next
reported, this further information would be included.
-
Sickness absence - the average days lost per FTE
had reduced to 4.81 (in 2018/19) from 5.84 (in
2017/18). The Panel also stated that
they would also like to see included in future reporting, data
regarding long term sickness absence, alongside the short term
sickness absence data.
-
Corporate training – The Panel noted that the
corporate training events attended by part time employees was
significantly lower than for full time employees. This was acknowledged and the Service Manager
stated that liaison would take place with the Learning and
Development Service to see if this imbalance could be
addressed.
There being no decision required, the Panel
noted the report.
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7. |
Workforce Strategy 2018-2020 - Update
The Service Manager (Human Resources and
Organisational Development) to give a verbal report
Minutes:
(Verbal)
The Service Manager (Human Resources and
Organisational Development) informed the Panel that the Workforce
Strategy, approved in April 2018, set out the necessary actions to
support, develop and achieve the priorities of the
Council. The Strategy had set out five
strategic priorities which focussed on:-
-
Skills and Behaviours
-
Recruitment and Retention
-
Pay, Reward and Recognition
-
Health and Well-being
-
Workforce Planning and Data
The Action Plan for the Strategy was also
circulated at the meeting and the Service Manager went through
these actions and provided an update on progress on the delivery of
the strategic priorities to the Panel.
The Panel commended the work which was being
undertaken to deliver this Strategy, along with the acknowledgement
of the continued increasing demand on the provision of
services.
There being no decisions required, the Panel
noted the update.
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8. |
Dates of Future Meetings
The following dates for future meetings of the
Panel are listed below. All dates are Mondays starting at 3.00 pm
and will be held at the venue as indicated:
·
Monday 4 November 2019 at College Heath Road, Mildenhall
Minutes:
The Panel noted the dates for future meetings,
as listed below. All dates were Mondays starting at 3.00 pm and
would be held in the venues, as indicated:
·
Monday 4 November 2019; College Heath Road, Mildenhall
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