Decision details

Cabinet will be asked to consider the financial aspects of the new Pay and Grading Structure which is currently the subject of discussion and negotiation with the trade unions.

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Mace and Kerr)

The Chief Executive submitted a report providing further information to Cabinet on the financial and human resource implications of the four possible structures previously circulated, to enable Cabinet to express a preference for the Council’s future pay and grading structure.

A supplementary report was provided to Members informing Cabinet of the views of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on the pay and grading structure, further to the JCC meeting held on 2^nd December 2008.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment, were set out in the report as follows:

The options open to Cabinet are to express a preference for any one or more of the four structures set out in Appendix 1, or to decline to express any preference at this stage.  Personnel Committee too, at its meeting on the 11th December, will be asked for its further views in the light of Cabinet’s preference(s).  If the options can be narrowed down in this way, so that there is a consensus that one or more of the options should be discounted at this stage, officers will continue to work on the financial and human resources implications of the preferred options only. This will ensure that detailed information and risk assessment is available for Members to consider before a final decision is taken.  If one or more preference is expressed, officers would not then intend to provide any further information to the January meetings on the discounted option(s), unless in the meantime any substantial changes to the information provided in this report came to light which might have affected the decision to discount.  If Members do not feel that they can express a preference at this stage, then work would continue on all four options, and these would then be brought back to the January meetings. In conjunction with expressing any preference or declining to express a preference, it is open to Members to request any further information that they may feel would assist in making a decision.

The Officer preferred option is structure 9.5.4.5.

It was moved by Councillor Kerr and seconded by Councillor Gilbert:-

“That Cabinet’s preference for Pay and Grading Structure 9.5.4.5 be noted.”

Members then voted as follows:-

Resolved:

7 Members (Councillors Archer, Blamire, Burns, Charles, Gilbert, Kerr and Mace) voted in favour and 2 Members (Councillors Barry and Fletcher) abstained.

(1)        That Cabinet’s preference for Pay and Grading Structure 9.5.4.5 be noted.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Executive

Head of Legal and Human Resources

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision allows Cabinet to express its preference for a particular pay and grading structure at this point in the fair pay process.