Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Human Resources Sub Group - Thursday, 4th October, 2018 2.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension

Contact: Mike Williamson 

Items
No. Item

19.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 240 KB

To receive the minutes of the HR Subgroup on 14 June 2018.

Minutes:

Decision

 

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2018 as a correct record.

20.

HR Policy Review pdf icon PDF 124 KB

Report of the Director of HROD

 

This report provides an update on work to deliver the agreed £3.2M savings target from employment policies, procedures and working arrangements across the 2017-2020 budget period. It also sets out progress to date and the key future actions for consideration.

Minutes:

The Sub Group considered a report of the Director of HROD, which provided an update on work to deliver the agreed £3.2M savings target from employment policies, procedures and working arrangements across the 2017/20 budget period.

 

The Director of HROD referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

 

·                The saving target of £200,000 for 2017/18 had been achieved through the introduction of a five day voluntary annual leave purchase scheme;

·                The savings target of £1.5million for 2018/19 had been achieved and exceed through a number of measures which included:-

·      an adjustment to the standard vacancy factor used across the Council from 2% to 2.5%;

·      the release of long term vacancies in the Core;

·      a review of Council funded car parking passes and the creation for clear criteria for allocation; and

·      additional annual leave purchase, supported by an enhancement of the scheme to enable a further five days to be purchased and a voluntary Christmas closedown of non-essential Council services.

·         Planned savings for 2019/20 included:-

·      a review of the Essential Car User (ECU) Allowance as an analysis had revealed that the vast majority of ECU recipients were not compliant with the minimum miles eligibility threshold in place under the scheme;

·      an increase of the income target for annual leave purchase based on projected performance in 2018/19; and

·      the introduction of a salary sacrifice model for pension AVCs

·         Taking account for the above, there remained a £690K savings gap and an analysis of opportunities to close this gap was currently underway.

 

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

 

·           Clarification was sought as to was meant by the term standard vacancy factor and what impact might this have on service areas where there was not high levels of vacant posts;

·           What reassurance could be given that the Council effectively managing the staffing needs of the Core if posts that had been vacant for some time were now being removed;

·           How many staff were likely to be affected by the review of the essential car user allowance;

·           Had consideration been given as to the possible impact that he review of essential car user allowance may have on staffing levels;

·           There was concern with the amount of agency and consultancy staff being engaged by the Council and it was felt that this was an area that required scrutinising further;

·           What assurance could be given that the annual leave purchase scheme was not conflicting with demand within services

·           Where was the additional £690,000 savings going to come from; and

·           Could further explanation be given on what the proposal to introduce a salary sacrifice model for pension AVCs would entail.

 

The Director of HROD explained that for staff who were employed in NJC graded posts, the Council traditionally budgeted salary costs at the top increment of these grades less 2%.  However, from analysis of the number of current vacancies and work force underspend it had been identified that that further budget savings could be made by adjusting the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Workforce Equality pdf icon PDF 268 KB

Report of the Director of HROD

 

This report outlines the key workplace equality priorities that the Council has identified for specific action in 2018-19 and beyond in support of both the Council's corporate Equality Objectives and the Our People Strategy.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

C agenda Can oen of you cover RGSThe Sub Group considered a report of the Director of HROD, which outlined the key workplace equality priorities that the Council had identified for specific action in 2018-19 and beyond in support of both the Council's corporate Equality Objectives and the Our People Strategy.

 

The Head of Workforce Strategy referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

 

·                The Council’s workforce representation priorities;

·                Achievement of an ‘Excellent’ re-accreditation against the Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG) resulting in being one of a very select number of authorities to have retained the award in consecutive terms;

·                The outcomes from the Workforce Equality Review undertaken in early 2018;

·                The proposed response actions to the review which also aligned with the workforce outcomes of the EFLG reassessment process;

·                How the Council would  use its affiliation with the Disability Confident Employer framework to provide impetus to its disability-related activity;

·                A programme of work to address the underrepresentation of BAME employees across the workforce;

·                Apprenticeship opportunities;

·                A refresh of the information and guidance of equality related information available on the Council’s intranet which would provide an opportunity to undertake a gap analysis of areas where information or guidance needed refreshing, was not available or needed to be created; and

·                Gender Pay Gap Reporting

 

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

 

·                Was any work being undertaken on or around social class as part of workforce equality;

·                Was there any plans to enact upon the comments made in the Council’s Workforce Equality review on how reflective or unbiased a recruitment panel could be if it lacked diversity;

·                Had the council undertaken any form of mapping exercise to identify where employees lived within Manchester communities and the posts they held, with specific reference to those who may live in low super output areas;

·                Did equality training differ dependent on the seniority of staff;

·                It was suggested that Officers should undertake a piece of work looking at class of origin and class of destination within the workforce;

·                How did the Council intend on ensuring that senior leadership opportunities existed for BAME and disabled staff;

·                Had there been any monitoring of the level of protected characteristics across the workforce and those that have accessed voluntary redundancy in the last eight years;

·                How did the Council promote its position as an equitable employer of choice;

·                An explanation was requested on what was meant by reverse mentoring;

·                What was being done to identify employees as disabled following return to work interviews in order for reasonable adjustments to be made;

·                What could be done to address the negative perceptions that the Councils recruitment process was not necessarily fair to all and that promotion opportunities were sometimes biased;

·                Did the Council collect data on those staff who had caring responsibilities;

·                Did the Council monitor satisfaction levels of its staff; and

·                It was suggested that more could be offered to by ways of flexible working/job sharing.

 

The Equalities Team Leader  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 205 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

To review and approve the Subgroups work programme.

Minutes:

The Sub Group considered a proposed work programme for its next meeting on 29 November 2018.

 

Decision

 

The Sub Group agrees the work programme of its next meeting.