Agenda item

This report details new reorganisations of services and transfers under the TUPE regulations for the period 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025 and updates on on-going reviews.

Discussion

The Chief Organisational Culture Officer introduced the report which detailed new reorganisations of services and transfers under the TUPE regulations for the period 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025 and updates on on-going reviews that have previously been reported at Employment Matters Committee but not concluded.

Fostering The deletion of vacant roles in the fostering team was queried and assurance sought that capacity was not adversely affected. It was also queried whether staff were signposted to Trade Unions (TUs) for help and support and whether TUs were actively engaged in the consultation process. In response, the Chief Organisational Culture Officer Officers confirmed the changes were part of a broader restructure to meet long-term service needs. She also confirmed that the TUs were involved in the consultation period and invited to the initial meeting, and staff were signposted to the various points of advice and support on offer in the letters which were sent out which included Trade Unions.

Public Health Intelligence In response to a query, it was confirmed that despite the outcome of the consultation being extended due to the volume of responses, there was no reason to believe this had had a negative effect and no concerns had been raised.

ICT In responses to queries, the Chief Organisational Culture Officer advised that under council policy, if a job changed by more than 30%, the postholder was considered to be at risk. This was because the revised role may no longer align with the individual’s current responsibilities. However, affected staff were supported through the process and could be eligible to apply for alternative roles at their existing salary level, where available. In this instance, although staff were formally placed at risk, there were roles available within the new structure that individuals could be matched to.

The  MedPay implementation had been paused within the ICT team to allow for a reorganisation, after which MedPay was applied. Due to the overlap of these processes, the officer was unable to confirm whether any roles were regraded but agreed to follow up with this detail.

Additionally, a joint initiative with ICT was underway to identify the digital skills required in the future which would ensure job profiles remained flexible and responsive to evolving needs, whilst also identifying any training requirements.

Parking & Transport The Chief Organisational Culture Officerconfirmed that if offers of suitable employments were declined then resignation was the normal course of action as redundancy was not an option due to alternative suitable employment. No alternative offers would changeterms and condition and put an individual at detriment.

Short Breaks & Assisted Living In response to a query raisedas to why the  Operational Manager post would be advertised internally across Medway Council and the three Support Worker posts would be advertised externally, the Chief Organisational Culture Officer advised that posts were advertised internally where usually where there was succession in place.  She undertook to check whether that was the case in this instance.

Members noted the Joint Consultative Committee comments from the earlier

meeting.

Decision:

The Employment Matters Committee noted the present position and the support arrangements for staff.