Minutes of an HR Committee meeting held on Monday 7 September 2026 at Ruskington Parish Office at 6.30pm.

Present: Cllr C Bain (Chairman), Cllr D Conway, Cllr S Hislop (vice0chairman), Cllr L Sheldon, Cllr A Jennings

In attendance: Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)

No members of the public or press were present.

The Chairman opened the meeting at 6.34pm.

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

All councillors were present.

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

None were declared.

3.  To approve as a correct record the notes of the last HR Committee meeting held on 1 June 2026.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the previous meeting as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Hislop, seconded by Cllr Sheldon and approved unanimously. The Chairman signed the Minutes.

4.  To review the Training & Development policy and consider any amendments for recommending to Council.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the policy to Council following corrections to the numbering. The policy to be reviewed in three years (2029) or earlier if this was required. Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Hislop and approved unanimously.

5. To receive / note the Joint National Council Pay Award of 3.3.% from 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027, for all Council’s employees. (Award announced on 27/8/2026 by NALC.)

The Clerk advised that a 3.3% pay award for FY 2026 had been agreed. This would be back dated to 1 April 2026 and would be included in the staff’s September pay, unless they requested this to be paid earlier.  

Action: The RFO to provide the new annual salaries for the next HR and Finance Committee meetings when pay scales and pensions were reviewed for the FY 2027-2028. 

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

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press to discuss the staffing matters below. Proposed by Cllr Hislop, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 6.45pm. The meeting reconvened at 6.45pm.

7. To consider the draft Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Employer Discretions. (This is a mandatory document.)

The Clerk had circulated a draft policy prior to the meeting, and the Committee considered this to be fair to both employees and the Council.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the Employer Discretions Policy to Council with the addition of agreed responses to items 7.4 and 7.5. These had been left unpopulated for the Committee to consider and agree the wording. Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.

8. To consider staff health and wellbeing, receive any updates, and consider any actions and expenditure.

Cllr Bain gave an update. One matter had now successfully concluded.

9. To receive and consider any comments from staff appraisals undertaken in 2026.

All annual staff appraisals had been conducted for 2026, and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman had received copies for review.  Anonymised comments were considered by the Committee. Comments were mainly positive and it was noted that staff enjoyed their working roles and their involvement in improving the community and life for residents. Staff concerns were noted, and it was considered that some of these were personal views. Suggestions for improvement were agreed where appropriate.

10. To undertake the annual review of staff job descriptions and agree any amendments for recommending to Council.

The Clerk had reviewed job descriptions with staff members during their annual appraisals, and their comments had been made available to the committee alongside job descriptions.

Action: Amendments were agreed for the Environment Caretaker and Office Cleaner’s job descriptions for recommending to Council.  These would be made in consultation with the staff members.

11.  To confirm the date of the next HR Committee meeting as 22 September 2026. (Review of pay, pensions.)

Action: The next HR Committee meeting to be held on Thursday 1 October 2026 at 6.30pm at the Parish Office.

   11.1. To consider/agree dates and times for additional HR Committee or working party meetings, if required.

No additional committee meeting or working party meeting was required at this time.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.27pm.