Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The non-exempt minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2023 were confirmed as a correct record.

Lee Gregory, Head of Human Resources Services introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval to increase paid leave for term time workers in line with the current interpretation of legislation and to update the Council’s Normal Holiday Pay Framework (NHPF) to ensure it remained a viable solution to calculate additional holiday pay entitlement.

Consultation with recognised trade unions had been undertaken. Suggestions and comments had been discussed and where appropriate, had been incorporated into the Code.  All staff who were affected had been identified through a detailed analysis of the payroll and any claims for backpay would be made in line with the current legislation.

RESOLVED to:

1)   Approve increasing annual leave entitlement for 38-week workers as outlined within the report to 5.6 weeks per annum in line with the current interpretation of legislation and approves the proposals to pay backpay for holiday entitlement not paid in the two years preceding the date of implementation.

2)    Approve the amendment to the Normal Holiday Pay Framework to increase the calculate of holiday pay to 12.07% on all eligible pay.

Sally Pearson, Head of Learning and Development introduced the report which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval of the revised Induction Policy to ensure a positive and consistent induction approach for all employees. This included the addition of a specific leadership induction for all newly recruited or internally promoted employees with line manager responsibilities.

The Policy had been simplified to ensure a more structured programme for new employees, as well as those moving into a new role internally.  Changes in the performance management policy and the introduction of a new probation policy were reflected within the document.

Consultation with recognised trade unions had taken place with some suggestions being incorporated into the document, where appropriate.  Despite their broad agreement with the principles of the Policy, they disagreed with the inclusion of the performance management and new probation policies.

It was recognised by Committee that a blended approach in the delivery of the programme, to include both of face-to-face and on-line instruction would be beneficial to the differing needs of people, job roles and necessary impact on resources. 

RESOLVED to: approve the proposal to implement a revised Induction Policy and incorporate the changes to the core induction process for all employees, including the additional leadership induction process for line managers.

Jen Skila, Director of Organisation Resilience, People and Communication introduced the report which had been circulated in advance of the meeting asking Committee to note that, in line with the Managing Director Appraisal Process, the annual formal Performance and Development Review (PDR) meeting had been completed for the 2022/23 performance year.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked everyone who was involved in the process and recognised the amount of detailed work undertaken to complete the appraisal.

RESOLVED to note the completion of the Managing Director’s annual formal PDR meeting on 19th June 2023 for the 2022/23 performance year.

Lorraine Booth, Head of HR Operations introduced the report which had been circulated in advance of the meeting asking the Committee to note the current position in relation to the determination and evaluation of job roles across the Council that were employed in accordance with the Schools Teachers Pay and Conditions Document or the Soulbury Pay Scales.  The Committee was also asked to consider and approve the application of a Pay Principles Framework applicable to Centrally Employed Teachers, Education Improvement Professionals and Educational Psychologists.

The new framework would formalise the existing arrangements and ensure consistency was applied when introducing new roles and making new appointments.  Consultation with recognised trade unions had been undertaken and Committee recognised, but did not agree with, the trade unions’ stance to defer the right to challenge.

RESOLVED to: approve the application of a Pay Principles Framework applicable to Centrally Employed Teachers, Education Improvement Professionals and Educational Psychologists which reflects and formalises the existing arrangements.