Issue - meetings

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillor Mace and Councillor Thomas)

Report of the Chief Executive.

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Mace and Thomas)

(It was noted that Councillor Langhorn had previously declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the following item in view of his wife’s employment with Lancaster City Council. He left the meeting prior to consideration of the item).

The Chief Executive called for nominations to chair the meeting for the item. Councillor Archer nominated Councillor Thomas and Councillor Ashworth seconded the nomination. There were no further nominations and Councillor Thomas took the chair.

The Chief Executive submitted a report to enable the Cabinet to consider the updated financial information in respect of the preferred pay and grading structure and to consider recommending to Council to approve the financial implications of the proposed fair pay package.

Councillor Farrow tabled and presented a detailed summary of the Joint Consultative Committee’s (JCC) involvement in this issue to assist Cabinet Members. The JCC is a Committee made up of the seven elected members of the Personnel Committee and seven Trade Union representatives.

The officer options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report of the Chief Executive as follows:-

Option 1

To recommend the Fair Pay package in total to Council including the preferred Pay and Grading structure.

Option 2

Whilst Officers would not recommend removing any elements of the Fair Pay package there are one or two elements that are not integral to the Pay and Grading Structure such as the proposals around Annual Leave (see paragraph 11 of Appendix One of the report) and those in respect of Pay Protection (see paragraph 4 of Appendix One of the report).

Option 1 is the preferred option.

It was moved by Councillor Mace and seconded by Councillor Thomas:-

“That the recommendation, as set out in the report, be approved.”

By way of addendum, which was accepted as a friendly addendum by the mover and seconder of the original proposition, it was moved by Councillor Barry and seconded by Councillor Blamire:-

“and that officers consider reviewing and amending the structure within the next two years.”

Members then voted:-

Resolved:

(8 Members (Councillors Archer, Ashworth, Barry, Blamire, Bryning, Fletcher, Mace and Thomas) voted in favour and 1 Member (Councillor Kerr) voted against)

(1)        That the financial implications of implementing the proposed Fair Package, incorporating the Pay and Grading structure 9.5.4.5 be recommended to Council and that officers consider reviewing and amending the structure within the next two years.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Executive

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision reflects previous considerations by the Personnel Committee, Cabinet and Council and is in line with the agreed process and revised timetable for implementing Fair Pay. The preferred grading structure is still considered to be the best structure to assimilate employees following the Fair Pay review. However, the financial implications in the medium to longer term of this structure are unsustainable. Therefore it will be necessary to review and amend the grading structure within two years of implementation.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Kerr and Mace)

Report of the Chief Executive.

(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.