Meeting documents

Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee
Thursday 2 August 2012 3.00 pm

Date:
Thursday, 2nd August, 2012
Time:
3.00pm
Place:
Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold
 

Attendance Details

ItemDescriptionResolution
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
 
2 TO APPROVE AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 9 FEBRUARY 2012.
RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the above meetings, having been circulated, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
3 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
 
4 REVIEW OF ABSENCE MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES.
RESOLVED to:

Adopt the new policies and procedures relating to the management of sickness absence as detailed in the Background Papers Appendix A1 with the following amendments and modifications:

1) Exclusions from "trigger points" in absence management to be allowed not only for conditions relating to disability as defined in the Equality Act and for absence relating to pregnancy or maternity, but also for gynaecological conditions.

2) A statement be included in the Absence Management Policy to confirm that any referral to Occupational Health will be sensitively handled and the need to refer be assessed on an individual case-by-case basis

3) The absence management procedures be amended to include the requirement that the Health and Safety Officer is informed of any cases of absence relating to work-related stress.

4) Withdraw in its entirety all reference to the proposal to allow unplanned home visits but to recognise that outside the policy, where there are genuine concerns about employees' wellbeing and safety, home visits by a manager will still take place.

5) The timescale for implementation be amended to allow sufficient time to serve notice on the existing policy and procedures and to properly notify employees of the new arrangements and to deliver appropriate training in support of this; a target date of 1 January 2013 is proposed for full implementation.
5 RETURNING OFFICER FEE FOR LOCAL AND PARISH ELECTIONS
RESOLVED to:

1) Approve the level of fees associated with the post of Returning Officer for local elections and parish elections as detailed in Appendix One;

2) Note the scale of fees for all roles other than that of Returning Officer; and

3) Note that the Returning Officer's fees for parliamentary elections and other national polls are set nationally.
6 ANY OTHER ITEMS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT.
 
7 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
RESOLVED that:

Members being satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
8 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S DELEGATION TO VARY APPLICATION OF THE REVISED PAY PROTECTION POLICY
  • (Attachment: 6)Report of the Chief Executive
RESOLVED:

To note the information.

Attendance Details

Present:
W J Clarke (Chair), C P Barnfather, P A Hughes(a), M Paling, M R Payne, C J Powell(a), M Weisz

Business

Business
ItemBusiness
1Apologies were received from Councillor Hughes and Powell.
3None.
4Consideration was given to report of the Chief Executive and the Service Manager, Organisational Development, which has been previously circulated, introducing both the management proposals relating to the Council's Absence Management Policy and procedures together with the recommendations made by the Joint Consultative and Safety Committee (JCSC) following a 30-day consultation exercise with trade unions, in order to inform this Committee in its decision to adopt revised policies relating to the management of sickness absence.
5Consideration was given to a report of the Service Manager, Elections and Members' Services, which had been previously circulated, proposing the level of fee for the position of Returning Officer for local and parish elections.
6None.
8Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Executive, which had been previously circulated, notifying the Committee of a decision to amend the application of the Pay Protection Policy in the case of two employees.