Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Howells, Sweeny, Turner and Walklate.

It was noted that Councillor Astle had replaced Councillor G Williams as a member of the Staffing Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the Employees Consultative Committee held on 17 January 2014 were submitted for information.

Resolved:     That the proceedings of the meeting be noted.

A report was submitted regarding a review of the Employee Recognition Scheme.

At the previous meeting of the Committee (2/10/2013) a number of revisions to the scheme had been agreed which had included:

·        Executive Management Team and Wider Management Team members not to be eligible for awards

·        Individuals who are nominated for an award to be able to opt not to be considered for an award if they so wish

·        It to be made clear to the winner of ‘The Person that makes me Smile’ award that they are not obliged to be a member of the Judging Panel.

·        The composition of the Judging Panel to include the Chair of the Employee Consultative Committee (ECC) or their nominee (the nominee being either an Elected Member or a Trade union Representative from the ECC).

The number of nominations made by staff over the previous three years together with the number of votes cast by employees in relation to the ‘Person who makes me Smile’ award were reported.  It was noted that no feedback had been received from employees. Councillor Shenton fed back on the process regarding nomination and judging.

Members of the Employees Consultative Committee had considered the results of the 2013 awards at their meeting on 17 January 2014.  The Employees Consultative Committee noted that the number of nominations received for 6 out of the 7 categories of award were considerably lower than the previous and recommended that staff should be consulted regarding the review of the Scheme.

Resolved:     That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Staffing Committee setting out the views of staff in relation to the Employee Recognition Scheme and including options for review.

A report was submitted which set out proposed revisions to the current Lone Working arrangements which included the introduction of 49 Identicom specialist Lone Worker devices.

Resolved:     That the reviewed Lone Working Arrangements set out in Appendix C and attached to the report now submitted be approved. 

A report was submitted which sought approval to the proposed revised No-Smoking Policy to incorporate prohibition of e-cigarettes.  The policy, which was attached as an appendix to the report, also clarified the position in relation to homeworking. It was noted that the proposed revised policy was approved subject to an amendment to clarify that non-compliance may result in disciplinary action rather than the imposition of a fixed penalty or fine.

Resolved:     That the revised Lone Working Arrangements set out in Appendix C and attached to the report now submitted be approved.