Agenda item

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development introduced the report, noting that the last such report to the Committee had been a verbal update.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that the lean process review had identified an over reliance on the Payroll Manager. He said that administration back-up for this position was in place and that future payroll provision was being reviewed, to include the option to outsource the service.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that the external Human Resources support which was being provided to Broxbourne Council had ceased, as Broxbourne now had staff in place.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that East Herts Council did not operate a blanket annual leave year for all staff. He said that instead each staff member’s annual leave year aligned with their start date. He said that the pay award which gave an extra day of annual leave to staff members effective from 1 April 2023 had therefore been administered on a pro rata basis.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that the ATS system was not currently being used for onboarding as a more personal approach for new starters was preferable at this time.

Councillor Alder applauded the council’s approach to having a non-fixed leave year and said that this was very sensible.

Councillor Dumont asked for more detail regarding the Payroll problems identified by the lean process review. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that efficiency was being looked at within Payroll. He said that a heavy reliance upon one individual within the Payroll team meant that back-up and an effective use of the system was necessary.

Councillor Dumont said that he had experience of using an outsourced payroll provider and warned of the mistakes and stress which can occur. He said that the council therefore needed to be sure that the outsourcing of payroll was the right decision.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development agreed with Councillor Dumont and said that he had been asked to make exploration into the option of outsourcing payroll. He said that any decision regarding such outsourcing would not be taken lightly, with costs, quality of service and in house requirements considered. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development added that any provider would need to have local authority experience and supply case studies.

Councillor Dumont said that the purpose of the Committee was to give steer, and he wished to express strong caution to the outsourcing of the Payroll Department.

The Chairman referred to paragraph 4.10 of the report and said that it was good to see the two elements of the Management Development Programme. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development thanked the Chairman for this and confirmed that the Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development had led on the first element of the programme, known as First Step, and that he had developed the five- day programme for the second element, known as Blueprint.

RESOLVED – that the Human Resources and Payroll Team Update Report be noted and received.