Havant Borough Council Joint Human Resources Committee to 2022 Meeting

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Burns, Councillor Robinson, Councillor Smith and Councillor Standish.

The minutes of the meeting of the Joint Human Resources Committee held on 13^th July 2020 were agreed as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest relating to matters on the agenda.

The Head of Organisational Development opened the item by explaining that the pay awards for both councils were negotiated differently. The pay award for Havant Borough Council was negotiated nationally in August, and the pay award for East Hampshire District Council was negotiated locally and agreed at the end of September.

This pay award was to be backdated to April, and Senior officers were negotiated separately to regular officers.

Members of the Committee took the opportunity to thank officers of both councils for their hard work in keeping the councils running, especially during a pandemic. They were pleased that the pay award was a negotiated settlement, and understood difficult conversations were probably held so were grateful for those responsible for handling them well.

The Joint HR Committee NOTED that:

(1)  a 2.75% pay award for 2020-21 (backdated to 1st April 2020) for HBC employees and EHDC employees; and

 (2) a 2.75% pay award for 2020-21 (backdated to 1st April 2020) for Chief and Deputy Chief Officers.

The Head of Organisational Development opened the item with a presentation. They explained that the ‘Be the best you can be’ programme was about enabling staff to take initiative with their own development. The programme would have different areas of development which stemmed from it, in order to benefit officers with their own progress. There would also be online libraries which could be accessed with the headings ‘Power up your performance’, ‘Leadership learning’, Virtual working’ and ‘Ways to wellbeing’.

The personal learning record could help officers with their career development.

A similar programme for Councillors was planned to be launched in the new year and would be looked at by the Councillor Development Panel.

The Human Resources team were working on performance management strategies and they were aware these needed to be updated for more current ways of working.

In response to questions put forward by the Committee, the Head of Organisational Development responded that:

1)    it was intended to be embedded within the organisation and then rolled out to Councillors;

2)    the HR team had liaised with the Data Protection Officer to ensure that this would not create any GDPR breaches, and it would be up to the individual officer to share their personal information if they wished to; and

3)    whilst there was no current remuneration for excellent performance, an officer could have their pay increment held/given as appropriate depending on their overall performance.

Members of the Committee congratulated the HR Team for their work on the programme and the potential possibilities this could create in terms of career development and opportunities for staff.

The Joint HR Committee NOTED:

a) the overall programme concept ‘Be the best you can be’ as detailed at Appendix A; and

b) the revised L&D offer suitable for the virtual environment as detailed at Appendix B.