HR - 8th March 2021
Minutes of an HR Committee meeting held remotely on Monday 8 March 2021 via MS365 Teams
Present: Chairman Cllr White, Cllr Cunningham, Cllr Conway, Cllr Tonge, Cllr Ditch
Also, present Kathryn Locke (Clerk)
No members of the public were present.
The Chairman of the Committee opened the meeting at 10.03am
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
All members of the Committee were present.
2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.
None were declared at this time.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last HR Committee meeting held remotely on Tuesday 2 March 2021.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept the notes of the meeting as an accurate record and Minutes of the meeting. Proposed by Cllr Cunningham seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
4. To receive an update on DBS requirements for council operatives.
Information had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend that, for good practice, all new recruits to the Council workforce would undergo a DBS check to check for any criminal activity.
5. To receive an update on a video body camera for use by the environment warden and agree any expenditure.
Information on body video cameras had been circulated prior to the meeting, including an exemplar privacy notice for use with bodycams. Costs of the video cameras varied.
Action: Information on the best body video camera to be sought from NKDC, Sleaford Town Council and the PSCO, plus advice on their use.
6. 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 following staffing matters. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.15am. As no members of the public or press were in attendance, the Chairman re-opened the meeting at 10.15am.
7. To receive an update on the review of the documentation and procedure for staff recruitment.
The Chairman thanked Cllr Ditch for producing an aide-memoire to be used in the process of staff recruitment. This had been produced from information from within the staff handbook and from LALC.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept the recruitment process aide-memoire for use in staff recruitment, and for the document to be shared with full council.
8. To review the proposed operative roles.
The operative roles had been circulated prior to the meeting and were reviewed in detail and amended at the meeting. The new role would require a different skill set to the current handyman.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the two job specifications following the amendments: A caretaker for building and play equipment, and a caretaker for grounds maintenance. Although each role would have specific tasks, some jobs would require both personnel to work together.
9. To consider a redundancy following a rationalisation of the Council’s workforce.
Action: Following a request by Council for the HR Committee to consider a rationalisation of the workforce, the HR Committee had reviewed the current roles, defined two new roles, and recommended a redundancy for one role. Proposed by Cllr White, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
10. To consider the next steps in the rationalisation and recruitment process.
Cllr White had shared information on the Local Government Services Pay Agreement 2020-21, (dated 24 August 2020) and Cllr Conway had circulated a draft person job vacancy advertisement and suggestions for amendments were agreed.
Action: Council would need to consider the recommendation for a redundancy before the next steps could be considered by the HR Committee. The Committee RESOLVED to recommend that the Local Government Pay Agreement be used for all future positions. The pay scale would depend on experience and qualifications.
11. Date of the next HR Committee meeting.
Thursday 1 April 2021 at 10.00am.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 11.17am.