| 247 | RECORD OF THE MEETING |
| | | The record of the meeting held on 23 July 2009 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct. |
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| 248 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE |
| | | Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs Shaw. |
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| 249 | DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST |
| | | Councillor Maple declared a personal interest in all items on the agenda insofar that he is a Trade Union employee (GMB) and retained his right to speak and vote on the items. |
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| 250 | SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS EMPLOYMENT POLICIES |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Head of HR Services submitted a report which detailed the Council's proposals to implement the revised Vetting and Barring arrangements following the establishment of the Independent Safeguarding Authority. She gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the key issues arising from the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (the Act), the core purpose of which was to prevent unsuitable people from working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults.
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| The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) had been set up in response to the Act and the report set out details of the new Vetting and Barring Scheme and the Council's work towards the implementation of the scheme including the financial implications of registering with the scheme.
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| Members discussed a number of issues including the costs of the scheme, training, notice periods, schools' issues such as volunteers, older people's carers and whether Elected Members should be required to have Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. It was noted that HR will be responsible for administering the scheme across the Council. |
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| | > Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Employment Policies (pdf file 551.1kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | | (1) | The Committee agreed to the implementation of the ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme and the Policy attached at Appendix 1 to the report.
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| | (2) | The Committee agreed to the implementation of the CRB Policy and Procedure attached at Appendix 2 to the report
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| | (3) | The Committee instructed officers to ascertain information on the national picture on whether or not authorities are funding the costs of ISA registration and report back to this Committee in due course.
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| | (4) | The Committee recommended that when the policy is implemented, that all Members be required to have CRB checks. |
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| 251 | AGE DISCRIMINATION POLICY |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Employee Services Manager submitted a report which reviewed and sought agreement to replace the current Age Discrimination Policy Statement. It was reported that the Employment Matters Committee agreed the Age Policy Statement in June 2007, following the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which came into force on 1 October 2006. At that meeting it was agreed that the policy statement would be reviewed in 2009 and following the review it was noted that the main proposed changes to the policy related to the retirement process and the age group where the Council would take positive action to attract vacancies applications.
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| Members discussed a number of issues including citing examples of where there was an occupational requirement to advertise for certain age groups, redundancy, selection and payments issues, and age discrimination statistics. |
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| | > Age Discrimination Policy (pdf file 396.7kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | | (1) | The Committee agreed to the adoption of the revised Age Discrimination Policy Statement, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.
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| | (2) | The Committee agreed to officers reviewing the Age Discrimination Policy Statement bi-annually and report to Members when necessary with any changes.
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| | (3) | The Committee agreed to amend the age group where the council will take positive action to attract to its vacancies applications from persons under age 28 to persons between the age group 16 to 24. See the Diversity Impact Assessment and accompanying data for further details. |
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| 252 | EMPLOYEE CODE OF CONDUCT |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, submitted a report which provided a number of proposed changes to the Employee Code of Conduct. It was reported that Local Authorities were still awaiting details of the national model code of conduct, and that the changes proposed in the report could be considered as an interim update.
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| It was noted that given the Employee Code of Conduct was part of the Council's Constitution, it would be a matter for Full Council to agree the revised code of conduct. |
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| | > Employee Code of Conduct (pdf file 334.1kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | | (1) | The Committee recommended that Council approve the revised Employee Code of Conduct, as set out in Appendix 1, replacing the existing code as set out in Part 3 Chapter 5 of the Constitution.
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| | (2) | The Committee agreed to review the policy once the new statutory Code of Conduct is introduced or in 2011, whichever is the earliest. |
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| 253 | WORKFORCE STRATEGY |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Head of Workforce Development submitted a report which set out details of the Workforce Strategy for Members' approval. The strategy was developed in response to a number of issues;
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| | • | The need to plan for future workforce needs
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| | • | The requirement to demonstrate under the new inspection arrangements (CAA) that the Council has a robust workforce plan
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| | • | The desire for the Council to be an employer of choice
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| | • | The aim to have a workforce which is representative of the local community
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| It was noted that the strategy would be used as the over-arching workforce development document and identified a number of priority areas over the next three years.
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| Members discussed a number of issues including the need for comparative sickness data, the "London effect" on Medway's employees, the need for skills transfer when employing external consultants, talent management and succession planning, and recruitment and retention policies.
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| It was noted that the strategy had been circulated to Members in a supplementary agenda. |
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| | > Workforce Strategy (pdf file 90.9kb) |
| | > Workforce Strategy - Appendix 1 (pdf file 175.1kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The Committee approved the Workforce Strategy subject to the inclusion of "Apprentices and their development" on page 6 of the Workforce Strategy.
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