Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Brown and H Murray.

Councillor J Jackson declared that she was a member of GMB.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a total period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the Committee on any matter relevant to the work of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.  It is not required to give notice of the intention to make use of public speaking provision, however, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours notice is encouraged.

There were no members of the public present.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 8 April 2014 and 24 April 2014

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings held on 8 April 2014 and 24 April 2014 be approved as a correct record.

To consider an update on Health and Safety matters within the Council

The Head of Governance and Democratic Services, aided by the Senior Corporate Health and Safety Advisor presented a report which provided details on health and safety matters.

The Council had been awarded a second consecutive Gold RoSPA Recognition Award.  The certificate was presented at a RoSPA ceremony on 14 May 2014 and is displayed in the foyer at Westfields.

The Quarter 1 accident and incidents statistics showed that 1138 accidents and 258 incidents had been entered onto PRIME between 1 April and 30 June 2014. Of these 10 were RIDDOR reportable to the Health and Safety Executive.  Appendices 5 - 8 to the report gave details of the RIDDOR accident/incidents and the number of accidents and incidents by type.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

To consider a report on the progress with Human Resource and Organisational Development issues.

The Head of People and Organisational Development, aided by the Organisational Development Manager, presented a report which provided a general update on Human Resource issues.

The key findings from the Staff Survey had been shared with managers and staff.  The results had revealed areas of strength which could be built upon and also had identified areas of challenge for the Council which would require focus and committed action for improvement.  Managers were currently taking to their teams about the results and discussing ideas about what actions could be taken at a local level or corporately to turn answers into actions. 

The Council’s employee recognition scheme had been reviewed and a new scheme ‘Making a Difference’ was launched on 1 July 2014.  The revised approach included ‘Make my Day’ Instant Recognition, ‘Making a Difference’ Employee/Team of the month and ‘Making a Difference’ Employee/Manager/Team of the year.  The staff survey results had indicated that employees did not always feel valued for the contribution they made and the new recognition scheme aimed to start to re-address some of these concerns.

The A Team Apprentice of the Year Awards ceremony had taken place on 10 July 2014. The A Team Apprentice of the Year had been awarded to Dean Burrows, Social Media apprentice working within the Connecting Cheshire Partnership. The runners up were Aaron Green, Business Admin apprentice working in Procurement, and Chloe Green, Social Media Apprentice working in Workforce Development.

Following the change in legislation regarding the right of apply to work flexibly, which came into force on 30 June 2014, the Policy had been amended to reflect that all employees now had the right to request flexible working regardless of their reasons, as long as they had at least 26 weeks service and had not made a previous application in the last 12 months.  The Committee was asked to provide feedback on the revised policy.  Comments were made in relation to the right of appeal and the effect of the policy on health and safety issues including lone working.

The Corporate Leadership Board (CLB) Appraisal Board had meet in full on 23 June to review the 2014/15 objectives for the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and Strategic Director of Commissioning.  Smaller sub groups of the Committee had also meet to review the 2014/15 objectives for the other members of the CLB.  Mid year reviews with each member of the CLB would be set up for October 2014 followed by end of year assessments during March/April 2014. 

Following the establishment of ANSA, Orbitas, Everybody Sport and Recreation Trust and CoSocius the headcount of staff employed by Cheshire East Council had reduced by 13.72%.  A total of 351 employees had TUPE transferred to ANSA and 24 employees TUPE transferred to Orbitas on 1 April 2014.  On 1 May 2014 693 employees, including casuals, TUPE transferred to Everybody Sport and Recreation Trust and 106 employees TUPE transferred to CoSocius.  Excluding TUPE transfer staff, the staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.