Agenda item

The Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager introduced the report and apologised for its non-inclusion of sickness data. He explained that the Human Resources reporting tool was down at the time when the report was written, but assured Members that employee’s absence could still be logged at this time. He said that there had been no trend changes in sickness absence and that data for both Quarters Two and Three would be included within the next Committee report.  

The Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager said that vacancies had remained static, and at the request of the Chair data pertaining to ‘on hold’ and ‘hard to recruit to’ posts would be separated out within the next report. He said that the ‘hard to recruit to’ posts remained those within the Environmental Health and Planning Departments, which continued to be a national issue. He said that the Local Government Association (LGA) were running a recruitment campaign to encourage career uptake, which would include radio advertisements.

The Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager said that the council was relaunching its East Herts Together learning and development initiative, alongside its new intranet site and the opportunity for staff to attend mental health training bootcamps. He said that the Personal Development Review (PDR) deadline had been extended to 31 December 2024, to give staff time to have the required conversations, and that all these points had been publicised.  

The Chair thanked the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager for his report.

Councillor Swainston observed from the report that the Communications Department had seen one person leave but had six new appointments. She asked for the reasoning of this.

The Section 106 Programme Manager said that the recruitments within the Communications, Strategy And Policy Service were in respect of the new Corporate Support Hub, which had been created to form a central team responsible for the administrative tasks of the council. She said that this was an ongoing project, and part of the Transformation Programme. 

Councillor Dunlop asked if the council would have access to monies from the Government’s Planning Skills Delivery Fund to help with recruitment to the Planning Department.

The Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager said that details of the fund’s framework had not yet trickled down to the council, but some monies were expected.

The Chair said that it was encouraging to see the council’s focus on apprenticeships, which were both positive for the community and the council’s development. She drew Members attention to the report’s appendix which contained the minutes from the Health and Safety Committee, and asked if there were any questions for officers.

Councillor Swainston asked if the broken door mentioned in the Health and Safety Committee minutes had been repaired.

The Section 106 Programme Officer confirmed that the door in question had been repaired immediately after the meeting of the Health and Safety Committee.  

The Chair said that for good governance the minutes of the Health and Safety Committee should be seen by Leadership Team. 

The Interim Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development agreed with the Chair and said that the minutes were previously seen by Leadership Team and that this process needed to be restarted.  

It was moved by Councillor Hollebon and seconded by Councillor Swainston, that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED -that A) the Management Report for Quarter 2 (July - September 2024) be considered and any comments be provided to the HR Officer / Head of HR and OD regarding the content or formatting of the report.