Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

Joint Report of the County Solicitor and the Head of Human Resources outlining the proposed and revised Pay Policy Statement for 2019/2020, attached.

The Committee considered the Joint Report of the County Solicitor and the Head of Human Resources outlining the proposed and revised pay Policy Statement for 2019/2020, and consequential amendments to the Chief Officer Employment Procedure Rules and Disciplinary Policy, for ratification by the County Council.

The Committee were reminded that the Localism Act 2011 required Councils to prepare and approve, annually, a Pay Policy Statement setting out its policy for each financial year relating to remuneration of Chief Officers and other employees and the relationship between the pay of Chief Officers and the lowest paid employee.

The draft Pay Policy Statement was attached at Appendix 1 to the Report and continued to reflect the Government’s proposal to implement various pieces of legislation to restrict exit payments for public sector workers. The implementation date was yet to be confirmed, but proposals included:

·         a £95,000 Exit Payments Cap, covering all types of exit payment including those for voluntary and compulsory redundancy and other severance payments as well as employer funded contributions to access a pension early;

·         the Public-Sector Exit Payment Recovery Regulations, which proposed the recovery of public sector exit payments where high earners (over £80,000 per annum) returned to any part of the public sector within 12 months of receiving such a payment; and

·         the Further Reforms to Public Sector Exit Payments, which proposed changes to limit the amount of redundancy compensation payments and limiting the amount of employer funded top-ups for early retirement across the various public sector compensation schemes.

An updated Report had been circulated to the Committee highlighting that as a result of the 2018 and 2019 NJC 2 year pay award, from April 2019 new pay spines were being introduced to accommodate the new minimum rate of pay of £9 per hour.  This resulted in the requirement to assimilate the new spinal column points (SCPs) into the Council’s existing pay and grading structure.  Following extensive consultation with the Trade Unions, a proposal had been agreed and staff consultation would begin shortly. The changes, however, had no significant impact on the Pay Policy Statement.

The draft Pay Policy Statement continued to reflect a potential future review of terms and conditions and the Authority’s wider reward strategy, bearing in mind the pay and grading implications of the National Living Wage, the current National Joint Council (NJC) Review of the Pay Spine and other issues such as recruitment and retention and the changing nature of work and roles within the Authority.

It was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Hannaford, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the proposed amendments to the Pay Policy Statement be endorsed and the revised Statement for 2019/20 be commended to the Council; and

(b) that the leadership roles and salary rates, which are unchanged except for the nationally agreed 2018/20 Pay Award of 2% each year, be noted.

County Solicitor to Report.

The Head of Human Resources reported that, following the retirement of the previous Head of Service for Communities, there had been a redistribution of duties, particularly relating to Human Resources functions, which would now come under the remit of the County Solicitor.

The job title of County Solicitor was no longer commensurate with all the duties included within the role, therefore the title would be revised to ‘County Solicitor: Chief Officer for Legal, Human Resources and Communications’ and the Constitution amended to reflect this. 

Members noted there was no change in remuneration in relation to the role.

It was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Hannaford, and

RESOLVED that the revised job title of ‘County Solicitor: Chief Officer for Legal, Human Resources and Communications’ be endorsed.