Agenda and minutes

Personnel Committee - Tuesday, 3rd February 2015 6.10 p.m.

Venue: Morecambe Town Hall

Contact: Peter Baines, Democratic Services - telephone 01524 582074 or e-mail  pbaines@lancaster.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

25.

Minutes

Minutes of meeting held on 27th November and 8th December 2014 (previously circulated). 

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meetings, held on 27th November and 8th December 2014, were agreed as a correct record.

26.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

27.

Items of urgent business authorised by the Chairman

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

28.

Corporate Health and Safety Arrangements and Members' Responsibilities pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Environmental Health Manager addressed members about Personnel Committee’s responsibilities for health and safety, and outlined the council’s broader legal and financial responsibilities.

 

In the course of discussion members requested regular, anonymised, updates of accidents which had occurred in the workplace.  Further, it was agreed that Personnel Committee’s representative on the Safety Committee required additional training, and that a full member briefing should be arranged in the new municipal year about the organisation’s responsibilities with regard to health and safety.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)          That the report be noted;

 

(2)          That regular update report be brought to future meetings, with anonymised summaries of accidents at work;

 

(3)          That additional training be arranged for Personnel Committee’s representative on the Safety Committee;

 

(4)          That a member briefing be requested on health and safety in the new municipal year (2015/16).

29.

Officer Employment Procedure Rules pdf icon PDF 78 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report on the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, part 4, section 6 of the Lancaster City Council Constitution, which were in need of revision to ensure that they complied with statutory requirements and the needs of the council.

 

It was noted that a report had been prepared for Council, about which the Committee’s comments were sought.

 

Resolved:

 

That the draft report to Council be noted.

 

 

30.

Human Resources Policy Development and Review pdf icon PDF 106 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Committee considered a report on new and amended human resources policies, which had been referred from the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) for approval.

 

It was noted that the JCC had recommended the following policies for approval:

 

i.              Probation and Appointment Review Policy and Procedure;

ii.             Early Termination of Employment Policy and Arrangements; and

iii.            Flexible Working (Right to Request) Policy and Procedure;

 

Further, JCC had determined that the Shared Parental Leave Policy and Procedure be recommended for approval, subject to it being amended to advise potential applicants to seek information on the pension implications.  JCC resolved that the Job Grading, Regrading and Appeals Procedure be reviewed by the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager, in consultation with the trade unions, and brought to a future meeting of this Committee for approval.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)          That the following policies be approved:

i.              Probation and Appointment Review Policy and Procedure;

ii.             Early Termination of Employment Policy and Arrangements; and

iii.            Flexible Working (Right to Request) Policy and Procedure);

 

(2)          That the Shared Parental Leave Policy and Procedure be approved, subject to the policy being amended to advise potential applicants to seek advice on the full pension implications;

 

(3)          That the JCC’s decision be noted that the Job Grading, Regrading and Appeals Procedure be reviewed by the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager, in conjunction with trade union representatives, and referred to a future Personnel Committee meeting for approval.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31.

Recruitment for On-call Fire-fighters at Lancaster Fire Station pdf icon PDF 116 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a request from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service for support with the recruitment of on-call firefighters.

 

Should the Committee approve the request, it was noted that this would involve use of the council’s internal marketing function to distribute publicity materials and advertise the posts on the intranet.  In the course of discussion, members considered the likely impact on delivery of council services, should a member of staff successfully apply to become an on-call firefighter.

 

Resolved:

 

That the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager be requested to write to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service with an expression of support for their work, and a request for further information on the likely time implications for people who successfully applied to become on-call firefighters.