Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Lorraine Blackburn  Tel: (01279) 502172 Email:  lorraine.blackburn@eastherts.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

70.

Appointment of Chairman

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor P Ruffles and seconded by Councillor M McMullen that Councillor P Boylan be appointed Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the meeting.  After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that Councillor P Boylan be appointed Chairman of the Human Resources Commitee for the meeting.

71.

Appointment of Chairman for the 2018/19 Civic Year

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor M McMullen and seconded by Councillor S Bull that Councillor P Boylan be elected Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the remainder of the 2018/19 civic year.  After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that Councillor P Boylan be elected Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the remainder of the 2018/19 civic year.

72.

Appointment of Vice-Chairman for the 2018/19 Civic Year

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor M Stevenson and seconded by Councillor S Cousins that Councillor P Ruffles be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the 2018/19 civic year.  After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that Councillor P Ruffles be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the 2018/19 civic year.

73.

Minutes - 18 April 2018 pdf icon PDF 68 KB

To receive the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 April 2018

Minutes:

Councillor S Bull proposed and Councillor S Cousins seconded, a motion that the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 April 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.  After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 April 2018, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

74.

Chairman's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chairman stated that the Leader would confirm in due course which Member would fill the vacant seat on the Committee recently held by Councillor C Woodward.  The Chairman sought Members’ views on holding meetings of the Committee in the evening.  A number of Members stated a preference for the meetings to continue to be held in the afternoon.

75.

Turnover Update: March 2017 - April 2018 pdf icon PDF 35 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development submitted a report inviting Members to consider the Turnover Report for the period April 2017 to March 2018.

 

The Human Resources Officer reported that the employee turnover rate had fallen from 17% in 2016/17 to 14.9% in 2017/18 however it was still above the Council’s target of 10%.

 

Members were advised that 18 out of the 43 voluntary leavers (42%) had completed an exit questionnaire.  Overall, 66% of leavers rated the council as 8 out of 10 or higher.  The percentage of leavers who said they would recommend the council as an employer to others is also high (87%) however it has fallen since 2016/17 (96%). 

 

Members were also advised of a number of positive comments and areas that may need attention from exit questionnaires.   The Human Resources Officer confirmed that HR were working closing with managers to address these issues e.g. identifying career paths and reminding managers to have 1 to 1s.

  

The Officer confirmed that the analysis of exit questionnaires had not revealed any particular trends for why employees were leaving the organisation.  The Chairman commented on the reliability of exit questionnaires and queried how the Council could address the problem of Officers not completing them.

 

Members were advised that Officers regularly chased leavers for their completed exit questionnaire and on some occasions an exit interview was held instead.

 

Councillor S Bull proposed and Councillor S Cousins seconded, a motion that the turnover report be noted and that turnover targets remain unchanged for 2018/19.  After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that (A) the turnover report be noted; and

 

(B)   the turnover targets remain unchanged for 2018/19.

76.

Human Resources Management Statistics - Quarterly Report pdf icon PDF 44 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development submitted a report setting out management statistics for the period April to June 2018.  The Head summarised the report and highlighted a number of key areas.  She referred to the current headcount of 333 which equated to 290.26 full time equivalent posts (FTE).  It was noted that the number of vacant funded hours expressed as FTE posts, was 46.82 hours.

 

Members were advised that Officers were working closely with managers to reduce the number of vacancies.  The Officer gave a detailed summary of progress with regard to filling vacancies.

 

Members were advised that the projected turnover for 2018/19 based on leavers from April to June was 26.3% which was above the target of 10%.  The HR Officer detailed figures regarding leavers for each quarter.

 

Members were advised that, based on quarter 1 data, the projected sickness absence rate for 2018/19 is 5.58 days per FTE which is below the target of 6.5 days.

 

Members celebrated the training opportunities made available in the first quarter and the high level of participation especially in respect of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) learning programme.

 

The HR Officer reported that there were no concerns with regard to the equalities monitoring data in Quarter 1.  In response to a query from a Member on the low number of male employees working part time, the HR Officer commented that women were more likely to take advantage of part time and flexible working options which were well promoted throughout the organisation, and were attractive for remaining in employment.

 

The Officer confirmed that HR have developed an action plan with regard to progress with reviewing and updating HR policies and were working through this.  Members noted the HR statistics as presented.

 

RESOLVED – that the Human Resources Management Statistics for the period April to June 2018, as now submitted, be noted.

77.

Human Resources and Payroll: Update pdf icon PDF 38 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development submitted a report inviting Members to note the Human Resources and Payroll Update.  The Interim Head commented on enhancing the experience of those who worked for the Authority.

 

Members were advised of the Health and Safety Officer’s role in compliance monitoring.  There had been no reportable incidents and a training programme had been arranged for Officers that use and administer the lone working devices.

 

The Payroll Manager had continued to deliver a high quality payroll service during the implementation of the of the new Human Resources system.  Members were advised that Officers had only minor actions to finalise in terms of compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) action plan. 

 

Members were updated in respect of the Agile Workspace project, the new pay policy currently being drafted, research being undertaken and a report being produced regarding Mental Health first aiders in the workplace and apprentices.

 

Members received positive feedback on this year’s cohort of apprentices and Officers gave a number of examples.  Officers confirmed that they were working with UNISON in respect of facility time recording and that information was required to be published by July.  Officers detailed the meaning of facility time.

 

The Interim Head commented on the Back to the Floor sessions being undertaken by the Leadership Team as a response to the Staff Survey and she also referred to the full report.  Members were advised that the full report had been shared and highlights and lowlights were being shared at staff briefings.

 

Members received the report.

 

RESOLVED – that the Human Resources update report, be noted.

78.

Local Joint Panel - Minutes of the meeting: 6 June 2018 pdf icon PDF 48 KB

There are no recommendations from the Local Joint Panel to Human Resources Committee.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Local Joint Panel meeting held on 6 June 2018 were submitted for information.  Councillor M Stevenson expressed a number of concerns regarding the way this meeting had progressed.

 

The Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development referred to differing views and suggested the need for dialogue before Local Joint Panel.  She assured Members that Officers will continue to work closely with UNISON.

 

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Local Joint Panel meeting held on 6 June 2018 be received.

79.

Health and Safety : Minutes pdf icon PDF 85 KB

To receive the Minutes of the Health and Safety Committee held on 22 March 2018.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Health and Safety Committee held on 22 March 2018 were submitted for information.

 

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2018 be received.