Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Human Resources Committee Meeting

Councillor Rhatigan sent his apologies.

Councillor Williams sent his apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent matters.

The Chair confirmed that the minutes of the meeting held on the held on the 21st November 2022 were confirmed by the Committee as a correct record.

The Head of Human Resources (HR) Communications and Policy introduced the report which set out key people indicators and management information to the end of the third quarter 2022/23 and made comparisons with the previous years’ performance.   She advised the FTE figures were similar to previous years’ with a slight decrease in headcount and FTE during the first three quarters of 2022/23

The workforce age profile remained stable with the majority of staff (50.09%) falling within the 35-54 age ranges, which was no change on previous years.

The number of staff that have left the organisation in the first three quarters of 2022/23 has reduced compared with 2021/22 as did the voluntary resignation rate.

The Office for National Statistics (ONR) reported that between October and December 2022 the estimated number of vacancies although having decreased during July to September 2022, remained historically high. In January 2023 the ONS reported on the fall in the number of vacancies and cited that there was uncertainty across industries, due to economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.  Of the 52 leavers so far in 2022/2023, five completed an exit questionnaire.

The average days lost in quarters one to three of 2022/23 was 4.32 which was a reduction to that of 2021/22 and below the pro-rated target for the period.  COVID and COVID Isolation was the most prevalent cause of sickness absence across the organisation during the period 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022, making up 16.93% of all absences during this period.

Anxiety, Stress and Depression was the second most prevalent cause of sickness absence between 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022.  Although there had been a reduction in the level of sickness absence when compared with the same period in 2021/ 2022 it remained an area of focus supported by the council’s comprehensive support package (both preventative and reactive).

The Council promoted a variety of health based initiatives which was organised by the Wellbeing Group.  This was made up of staff from across the Council and chaired by the HR team.  The purpose of the Wellbeing Group was to assist in the delivery of the Council’s Wellbeing Strategy by promoting a safe and healthy work environment.

The council remained committed to improving skills and provided training, education, and work-based experience through apprenticeships. There were nine apprentices in post currently, and four staff members who were undertaking training via an up-skill apprenticeship qualification. There were a further six apprentice opportunities in discussion for recruitment.

As a local employer, they continued to support employability at local schools, colleges, and community events within the borough, to help raise awareness of the soft skills employers were looking for.  Activities included, preparing for an interview or building on employability skills, helping to run mock interviews or team building events and included members of the HR team participating in careers evenings. 

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments which included:-

·         Commended Officers for a clear and easy to read report.

·         Pleased that there had been an increase in the number of staff reporting as being from Ethnic Minority Communities.

·         Agreed to amend Table 4.3 to include another column for the average number of staff.  This would assist members to decipher the information when they map across to the table 5.4 sickness by service area.

·         Turnover at an acceptable level was positive to ensure there were new people and ideas coming into the organisation.

Resolved that: 

·         The Committee notes the report.

·         The layout of the report be reviewed to compare sickness against resignations.

The Human Resources Manager introduced the report and explained that there was a requirement for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) to publish information relating to the relative pay gap between male and female employees which was within The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 and Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

Overall, the council was in a good position and compared favourably with the gender pay gap of other organisations.  It reflected the council’s aspiration to be a fair and inclusive employer, making best use of its talent regardless of gender.

The Committee said it was a positive report with a favourable gender pay gap.

Resolved that:  The Committee notes the report.

The Human Resources Manager introduced the report and advised that the purpose of the pay and benefits review was to provide a fair and transparent system for establishing pay grades and relevant allowances which ensured the council could attract and retain staff, respond to market changes and comply with equal pay legislation.  It also sought to enable a full review of spans of control across the organisation with a view to rationalising the current structure.

To achieve the purpose, the pay and benefits review had been designed with four workstreams which are inextricably linked:

§  Introduction of a new job evaluation system to enable a fair and transparent system for assessing the worth of job roles within the council moving forward;

§  Review of existing job roles within the council in line with the job evaluation system as job families;

§  Review of full benefits package including pay benchmarking; and

§  Review of spans of control across the organisation.

The council were working in partnership with KornFerry to deliver the two workstreams associated with the new KornFerry Hay job evaluation system.

Since the commencement of the review all existing roles had been evaluated and pay modelling undertaken.

In addition to the review of all roles in-line with the KornFerry Hay system, engagement work had been undertaken with staff from across the council to ascertain both their feedback on the current benefits package and an understanding of which types of benefits/ rewards were most beneficial as part of an overall staff retention approach. A survey was sent out to all members of staff in December resulting in 340 responses (61%).

The responses to the survey enabled an understanding of which benefits were used and valued the most by colleagues.  In addition, there were 367 comments related to ideas for new benefits or changes to existing ones.

Consultation was planned to be undertaken with staff in March on the proposed new pay and benefits system. This would enable the proposed new system to be fully explained in addition to enabling staff to understand the potential impact of it for them as individuals.  She also confirmed there would be continual engagement with UNISON on the project.

Resolved that:  The Committee notes the report.

The Human Resources Manager introduced the report and advised, constitutionally, the HR Committee were responsible for the approval of a set of policies that had a significant impact on staff and/or on costs to the council.

Two policies have had minor updates made to them which the HR Committee  requested to review and approve, the Disability and Accessibility Policy and the Grievance Policy and Procedure. The minor revisions had been made to those policies which were outlined within the report

In addition, the previous updated schedule for policies went to the HR Committee was part of a report in September 2021 had now been completed. As such a schedule for September 2023 onwards had been drafted and wass set out in the report.

The Committee were pleased to see an update on the latest ACAS guidelines in the Grievance Policy and Procedure and the involvement of UNISON was very welcomed.

Resolved that:  The Committee

1.    Review and approve the following updated policies:

·         Disability and accessibility policy

·         Grievance policy and procedure

2.      Review and approve the updated policy review schedule to ensure these can be timed across the scheduled committees as outlined in section 2.5 of the report.

The Head of Human Resources (HR) Communications and Policy and Human Resources Manager introduced the report which proposed a pay policy statement for 2023/2024 for the Human Resources (HR) Committee to recommend to the Council.  It was based on the statement for 2022/2023 with changes made to ensure consistency throughout the statement and to update the statement with regards to the BDBC pay and benefits review.

Any national pay award offer for 2023/2024 had not been determined. Annual pay awards for all employees would be agreed by the Human Resources Committee having regard to any agreement reached by the relevant national negotiating bodies.

The Head of Human Resources, Communications and Policy had delegated authority to make amendments to the pay policy statement as a result of any national pay awards which the council was contractually bound to agree.

            The Committee queried the rate for apprentices as they could be aged 25 or above and it was felt the pay was very low.  It was highlighted that the scale would be evaluated in the pay and benefits review.

Resolved that:  The Committee

1.     Recommends the pay policy statement at appendix 1 to the council.

2.     Note the existing delegation to the head of human resources, communications and policy to update the pay policy statement as a result of any pay awards which the council is contractually bound to agree.

The meeting ended 19:15

Chairman