Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors

It was noted that there were too few Members that were present at the previous meeting to vote on this item.

RESOLVED:

To defer the decision until the next meeting of the Joint Consultative and Safety Committee.

None.

None.

To move 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 ensuing reports on the grounds that the reports involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED:

That, the 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 the consideration of the ensuing report on the grounds that the report involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Report of the Assistant Director of Workforce.

The Assistant Director of Workforce introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, seeking approval from the Committee to close formal consultation on the revisions to policy changes in response to the changes in employment law for Sexual Harassment, and revisions to HR policies to improve effectiveness.

Members considered the sexual harassment policy and queried whether there were alternative reporting procedures available to staff where harassment was received from a manager.

It was noted that staff could approach HR in circumstances where they were unable to report through their manager.

Members considered the learning and development policy and asked how closely the policy aligned with those of other councils.

It was noted that this could be something to consider going forward. Members were pleased that the Council had been focussing on training and suggested contacting the TUC if we were looking for good training providers.

Members considered the Absence Management Policy and requested that staff were given skills assessments if they could not do their manual roles before having to leave the Council.

It was noted that HR conducts skills assessments throughout the different stages of absence to try to redeploy them rather than leave on sickness absence. There could be issues if the employees did not have the transferable skills required to align to available work.

Members noted that 3.1.4 second sentence, a space should be included between for and absence. It was agreed to amend this.

RESOLVED:

To receive the comments and recommendations of the Joint Consultative and Safety Committee for consideration by the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee, prior to its decision relating to the approval of and implementation of the changes to existing policies.

The Assistant Director of Workforce delivered a verbal update, informing Members in summary of the agreed pay award for 2025-26.

RESOLVED:

To note the information provided.