Minutes of an HR Committee meeting held on Tuesday 19 March 2024 at Ruskington Parish Office at 12 noon.

Present: Cllr C Bain (Chairman), Cllr AE Jennings, Cllr D Conway

Also in attendance: Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)

No members of the public or press were present.

The Chairman opened the meeting at 12.10pm.

1. To elect a Chairman for the Committee for the remainder of the civic year.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to elect Cllr Bain as the Chairman of the HR Committee. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.

2. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.

Cllr Cox was not present at the meeting. No apologies had been received.

3. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.

None were declared.

4. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last HR Committee meeting held on 18 April 2023.

The notes could not be approved as only one councillor had been present at the previous meeting.

Action: The notes to be considered for approval at the ordinary meeting on 18 April 2024.

5. To elect a Vice-chairman for the committee for the remainder of the civic year.

This was deferred.

6. To review the draft Terms of Reference for the Committee for recommending to Council at its next meeting.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the Terms of Reference following two amendments. Proposed by Cllr Conway, second by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.

7. To consider the new sexual harassment information and requirements for councils as published in the LALC e-news dated 9 February 2024.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the amendment of the Civility and Respect Policy to incorporate the latest sexual harassment information as provided by LALC. Proposed by Cllr Bain, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.

8. To arrange a consultation with the Environment Caretaker regarding proposed changes to his job description in view of his chain saw training in May 2024.

Action: Cllr Jennings and the Clerk to meet with the Environment Caretaker at a time of his convenience to review and amend his job description for the tree and hedge work he would be qualified to undertake.  

9.  To resolve whether to exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, to discuss the following staffing matters.

Action. The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press to discuss the staffing matter below. Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 12.31pm. The meeting reconvened at 12.32pm.

10. To consider staff health and welfare.

Independent HR advice had been obtained.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the sickness management policy provided by LALC’s HR Adviser.  The Clerk to provide the Committee with a summary of employee’s responsibilities and job descriptions.  Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.

The next HR Committee meeting would take place on Tuesday 30 April at 12 noon at the Parish Office.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 1.14pm.