Minutes of an HR Committee meeting held on Friday 9 October 2026 at Ruskington Parish Office at 9am.

Please note: These are DRAFT minutes and liable to amendment up to and including the next committee meeting. 

Present:  Cllr S Hislop (Vice-chairman of Committee), Cllr Conway, Cllr L Sheldon

In attendance: Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)

No members of the public or press were present.

Cllr Hislop, as the Chairman of the Meeting, opened the meeting at 9.06am and welcomed the delegates.

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

Cllr Bain and Cllr Jennings had been unable to attend the meeting and had sent valid apologies.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept Cllr Bain and Cllr Jennings’ apologises. Proposed by Cllr Sheldon, seconded by Cllr Hislop and approved unanimously.  

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 7 September 2026.

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

4.  To review the following policies and agree any amendments for recommending to Council.

The policies had been circulated prior to the meeting.

   4.1. Complaints procedure

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to record the complaints procedure to Council at its next meeting. Proposed by Cllr Sheldon, seconded by Cllr Hislop and approved unanimously.

   4.2. Vexatious Complaints Policy

Two draft policies were available for review. These were discussed and the Committee decided on the best policy and the amendments required.

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend a Vexatious Complaints policy to Council at its next meeting, following the agreed amendments. Proposed by Cllr Sheldon, seconded by Cllr Hislop and approved unanimously.

5. To receive information on changes to the Employment Rights Act 2025 from 30 October 2026 regarding employer’s responsibilities to sexual harassment and third part harassment in the workplace.

The Clerk provided an update. Please see Appendix A.

Action: The current Dignity at Work policy to be reviewed and updated as required. Staff to record and report to their line manager any incidents of sexual harassment they have been subjected whilst in work and conducting council business.

6. To agree a date for the next HR Committee meeting. (Review of staff pay and pensions)

Action: The next meeting to take place on Monday 2 November at 1pm at the Parish Office.

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

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

The meeting closed at 9.35am and reconvened at 9.35am.

8. To consider staff health and wellbeing, consider ways to protect staff from harassment and intimation by members of the public, and agree any actions and expenditure required.

To help reduce harassment and intimidation from the public, Council was holding weekly “Coffee with a Councillor” sessions, where members of the public could raise any issues about the village, and the HR Committee were recommending a Vexatious Complaints policy to Council for its consideration.

Action: Staff to record and report incidences of harassment and intimidation to their line manager so relevant actions can be taken. 

9. To consider the sick pay arrangement for employees following changes to sick pay legislation from 1 April 2026.

The Clerk provided information on the current process and advised of the changes to sick pay legislation. The RFO was invited to join the meeting to give further information and to answer questions on sick pay.

Action: This was deferred until the next meeting to enable the Clerk and RFO to provide additional information.

The meeting closed at 9.55am.

Appendix A: New Workplace Sexual Harassment and Third-Party Harassment Duties Coming into Force on 30 October 2026

Changes to workplace harassment legislation takes effect from 30 October 2026. The strengthened requirements place greater responsibility on employers to prevent sexual harassment and protect workers from harassment by third parties such as customers, clients, contractors, suppliers and visitors.

Strengthened Duties to Prevent Sexual Harassment

The changes build upon the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which introduced a preventative duty requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

From 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens this duty by requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, replacing the previous requirement to take “reasonable steps”.

The duty applies to both in-person and online sexual harassment and places greater emphasis on prevention rather than simply responding to incidents after they occur.

Increased Focus on Third-Party Harassment

From 30 October 2026, employers will also be liable where workers are subjected to harassment by third parties unless all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent it.

Third parties may include:

• Customers
• Clients
• Contractors and consultants
• Suppliers
• Visitors
• Members of the public

This means employers should look beyond internal workplace risks and consider how employees interact with external parties as part of their role.

What Are “All Reasonable Steps”?

Employers should be able to demonstrate that they have considered the risks within their business and implemented all steps that are reasonable for their particular circumstances.

What constitutes all reasonable steps will vary depending on factors such as:

The size of the business

The sector in which it operates

The type of work employees undertake

The level of risk faced by workers

There is no single checklist that applies to every organisation. Employers should consider the risks specific to their workplace and take all reasonable action to prevent both sexual harassment and third-party harassment.

What Should Employers Be Doing Now?

ACAS recommends that employers take proactive steps now to prepare for the strengthened requirements. Depending on their current arrangements, employers may need to:

• Implement or review anti-sexual harassment and third-party harassment policies.
• Carry out workplace risk assessments
• Deliver employee and manager training
• Establish clear reporting procedures
• Maintain training and complaint records
• Raise awareness across the workforce
• Address risks associated with customers, clients and other third parties

Information provided by CQMS by email on 2 October 2026.