Issue - meetings

To consider the updated Pay Policy Statement

The Committee considered a report on the updated Pay Policy Statement for 2012-13.

Cabinet had recently made some changes to the Council’s Termination and Severance policies and as a result the Pay Policy Statement Section 8 – Redundancy Payments and Payments on Termination, had been updated to reflect these changes.

Cabinet had decided to reduce the Council’s voluntary redundancy terms as follows:

• the payment for voluntary redundancies was to be reduced from a multiplier (of the statutory formula) of 2.0 to 1.8.
• the maximum number of weeks payable would be capped at 50 weeks rather then the 60 weeks currently.

Cabinet had also agreed to amend the application of the discretionary power relating to the termination of employment on the grounds of efficiency.  Under the Council’s current policy, employees can only be released on grounds of efficiency where they are aged 55 and over and are members of the Local Government Pension Schem.  Under the new arrangement, termination payments, on the grounds of efficiency, can be made up to the same maximum value applicable under the Council’s voluntary redundancy scheme to any employee regardless of age. 

The Committee was also asked to approve amendments to the Pay Policy Statement relating to Compromise Agreements. 

Currently the Pay Policy Statement confirmed that the final decision and approval for any compromise agreement and associated costs rests with the Chief Executive.  Given that the Chief Executive cannot approve a comprise agreement for themselves, the Pay Policy Statement had been updated to state that the final decision and approval for any termination payments and the terms of any associated compromise agreement for the Chief Executive would be subject to approval by the Staffing Committee.

The Committee suggested that additionally the details of the Chief Executive’s termination payment and terms of the compromise agreement should be reported for noting to the next meeting of full Council and that the indicative figures be included in the report.  The relevant paragraph is amended to read as follows:

“Termination payments in addition to a payment in relation to contractual notice pay (and including any outstanding holiday pay) for the Chief Executive and the terms of any associated compromise agreement will be subject to approval by the Staffing Committee and reported to the next meeting of full Council for noting and to include the indicative figures.”

RESOLVED: 

That, subject to the additional wording in relation to the approval of the Chief Executive’s termination payments, Council be recommended to approve the updated Pay Policy Statement for 2012-13.