Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors D Brown, J Jackson, M Jones, B Murphy and H Murray.

Councillor D Flude declared she was a retired member of UNISON.

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 consider the arrangements for the establishment and running of the Corporate Leadership Board Appraisal Board

The Committee considered a report on the establishment and running of the Corporate Leadership Board Appraisal Board.

Council, at its meeting on 10 April 2014, had agreed to delegate responsibility for the establishment of a Corporate Leadership Board Appraisal Board to the Staffing Committee.

The Staffing Committee would be required to take a lead role in developing and implementing a challenging and robust approach to managing and accessing the performance of the Council’s senior leadership team, which could then be used to underpin the approach to, and payment of, performance related pay.

With the exception of the Chief Executive who reported directly to the Leader, it was proposed that the Corporate Leadership Board (CLB) appraisals would continue to mirror the existing PDR system with the involvement of a ‘parent manager’ i.e. the immediate line manger of the CLB member, with the Appraisal Board taking the place of the ‘grandfather’ manager in the process. 

The Committee discussed the proposals for the membership of the Appraisal Board and proposed that the membership should be all the members of the Staffing Committee and that there should be named substitutes to ensure consistency in the processes.

It was proposed that three person sub panels carry out the Appraisal Board role for CLB members with the exception of the Chief Executive’s appraisal which would be carried out entirely by the Appraisal Board, with input from the Leader.  The sub panels would have the authority to make the final decisions in the appraisal process. 

RESOLVED:  That

(1)       the membership of the Corporate Leadership Board Appraisal Board be all members of the Staffing Committee, with named substitutes.

(2)       the Appraisal for the Chief Executive be carried out by the entire Appraisal Board

(4)       sub groups of three members to carry out the appraisals for Corporate Leadership Board members with the exception of the Chief Executive .

To receive an update on the review of the Staffing Committee Terms of Reference

The Committee considered a report on the review of the Staffing Committee’s Terms of Reference.

A Notice of Motion had been submitted to Council on 18 July 2013 which had requested a review of the Staffing Committee’s Terms of Reference with a view to widening its remit to encompass matters that were normally entailed in the work of a Staffing Committee, such as corporate culture, employee relations and communications, senior appointments, disciplinary matters and management structures.

The Motion has been referred to the Constitution Committee for consideration, which subsequently referred it to the Constitution Members Working Group, who in consultation with the Chairman of Staffing Committee, had reviewed the terms of reference and prepared new draft terms of reference.

The Committee considered the draft terms of reference and following discussion, it was agreed that the Constitution Committee should be advised that the Staffing Committee supported the Terms of Reference as set out below.

RESOLVED:

That the Constitution Committee recommend to Council that the following terms of reference for the Staffing Committee be adopted:

Draft Terms of Reference for Staffing Committee

Statement of Purpose

1          The Staffing Committee is a key component of Cheshire East’s corporate governance.  It provides an independent and high level focus on the Human Resources, Organisational Development and Health & Safety matters affecting Council.

2          The purpose of the Staffing Committee is to provide independent assurance to the members of the adequacy of the HR service and staffing related matters.

Functions of the Committee

Recruitment and Selection

3          To undertake the recruitment and selection for the appointment of all members of the Corporate Leadership Board and formulating recommendations to the Council regarding the appointment and dismissal of the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer.

4          To approve the designation of an officer to act as Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer, in accordance with legislation and the appropriate procedures set out in the Staff Employment Procedure Rules.

HR Policies

5          To have the opportunity to review the Council’s HR Policies and Procedures as required and to make recommendations to the Portfolio Holder.  It is noted that the authority to approve HR Policies remains with the Executive

Appeals

6          For a Staffing Appeals Sub Committee to consider appeals from Staff in the following circumstances:

·        Appeals against dismissal

·        Appeals against grievance

·        Appeals against policy (but only the first appeal where the appeals are based on the same issues/circumstances)

·        Group appeals covering more than one Department

·        Appeals which have initially been heard by the Chief Executive, e.g. appeals raised by members of the Senior Management Team

·        Exceptionally where both sides agree referral to Members is appropriate

Corporate Leadership Board Appraisal Board

7          To establish and oversee an Appraisal Board for all members of the Corporate Leadership Board.

HR Performance

8          To receive HR and Health & Safety performance measures, as detailed below, on a quarterly basis in order to assess the effectiveness of current HR and Health & Safety arrangements.

·        Headcount Data

·        Sickness Absence

·        Turnover

·        HR Casework (including  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.