Meeting documents

To sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2012.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Appointments and Implementation Committee held on 24 September 2012 were agreed by the Committee and signed by the Vice-Chairman (in the Chair) as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Committee had agreed on 24 September 2012 to establish a Personnel Principal Officer.  In order to address capacity issues it had also been agreed to appoint an Interim (Joint) Personnel Officer for a six-month period.  The Committee had further requested a further report prior to the recruitment of the established post.

The positive impact of the Interim Joint Principal Personnel Officer was noted.  The critical ongoing work areas around harmonisation of terms & conditions and augmentation - amongst others - were also acknowledged, and the need to maintain momentum in these areas was emphasised.  Members also considered that continuing with the interim arrangement would provide the necessary experience to facilitate not only harmonisation of terms & conditions but also the initial Phase 2 Service Reviews, whilst also providing a knowledge transfer to existing staff.  The importance of continuity given the critical work underway was also acknowledged, and it was suggested that providing that there was sufficient funding available, a handover period would be beneficial to the Personnel Principal Officer once recruited.

After noting that continuing the existing interim arrangement for six-months should provide sufficient time to recruit - subject to an appropriate candidate - and that the costs of continuing with the interim arrangement were within budget, it was

RESOLVED -

That the interim approach to filling the newly established post of Principal Personnel Officer - as set out in the report - be continued, and an open recruitment process to fill the permanent post be undertaken during the next six months.

Note: to enable the Interim Joint Principal Personnel Officer to attend the meeting for the report on Harmonisation of Terms & Conditions, the Agenda order was re-arranged.

The Committee were asked to note the intention of Chiltern’s Personnel Committee to remove the Council’s Augmentation Policy subject to legal advice and consultation.

RESOLVED -

That it be noted that subject to legal advice and consultation, Chiltern District Council’s Personnel Committee are minded to remove the Augmentation Policy.

The Committee received an update on progress towards achieving harmonised terms & conditions for staff across Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils.  Also included were the notes of meetings on 20 December 2012 and 28 January 2013 between Management Team, UNISON (Chiltern) and Staff Side (South Bucks).  Subsequent meetings had been arranged for 4 March and 15 April.

It was noted that South Bucks District Council did not currently have Union recognition; however, this was being considered and a formal decision was expected shortly.

Concern was expressed that whilst harmonisation of terms and conditions was a significant piece of work, progress was slow and a greater sense of urgency was required.  In particular, Members considered that it would be helpful for harmonisation to have been achieved in time for the outcome of the first two service reviews in April.  Whilst understanding the concerns of staff, and hoping that they would be happy with the harmonised terms & conditions once agreed, it was noted that harmonisation remained a Member decision.

In response to the concern, the Chief Executive endorsed the need for continued momentum towards harmonised terms and conditions.  The meetings held so far between Management Team, Staff Side and UNISON had been constructive; however, there remained complex negotiations ahead.    The lack of Union recognition had complicated matters at South Bucks since the staff-side representatives did not formally represent staff.  At Chiltern, there were also ongoing issues around augmentation.  However, it was important to note that discussions on harmonisation would not impact on the progress of the first two service reviews.  Whilst harmonised terms & conditions would help facilitate the move towards shared services, there were existing shared services - for example, waste with Wycombe District Council - where staff initially had different terms & conditions.

It was emphasised that it was important to see the financial implication (if any) of each element that made up the respective terms & conditions so that Members could identify the larger cost items.  It was intended that harmonisation of terms & conditions between the two authorities would be cost neutral as a minimum.

Consideration was given to imposing an end date for the harmonisation of terms & conditions.  However, it was considered that it would be more appropriate to agree a date whereby the negotiated schedule of proposed harmonised terms & conditions would be ready for consultation.

In relation to Job Evaluation, it was noted that both authorities utilised different Job Evaluation schemes to assess the level and grading of posts.  The Committee considered it important that whichever Job Evaluation scheme was utilised - and it was acknowledged that there were alternatives to those in operation at both authorities - that value for money was achieved for the taxpayer in a timely fashion.

It was agreed that a briefing note would be circulated to all JAIC Members following the 15 April meeting between Management Team, UNISON (Chiltern) and Staff Side (South Bucks) giving the latest position.

After re-emphasising the need to maintain momentum, it was