Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the PERSONNEL PANEL of the POLICE AUTHORITY held at Westgate Chambers, Staple Gardens, Winchester on Tuesday, 6 November 2001.
PRESENT:
Mr. G.M King, JP (Chairman); Mrs. R. Atkinson; Councillor D. Gillett; Councillor P. Mason; Councillor Mrs. J. Rayment.
Also present: Mr. P. Robertson (Clerk); Mrs. M. Adamson, (Director of Personnel); Mrs. C. McKenna (Assistant Director of Personnel); Ms L. King (Learning and Development Manager); Ms A. Hinkley (Occupational Health and Safety Manager); Mrs. M.
Boyes (Clerk's Office).
112 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 11 September 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Councillor Mrs. J. Rayment advised the Panel that she had met with the Team in connection with the Equal Opportunity and Community and Race Relations Training.
113 UPDATE ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 2 in the Minute Book) outlining recent events and future plans in the provision of Occupational Health and Safety Services.
The Occupational Health and Safety Manager presented the report to the Panel. She advised Members that the Occupational Health Physician was due to retire and therefore a tendering exercise would need to take place. She further advised the Panel that the numbers of staff within the Occupational Health Department had grown and that a Health and Safety Officer had been appointed. In addition, a member of the administration team had increased their hours and that presently the whole time equivalents were 5.35.
Members confirmed that they were happy to hear about the improvements in the department and were also pleased to hear that the accommodation issues were a high priority of the ACPO Team. The tender for Occupational Health Physician Service would include an increase from 1.5 to 2 days per week. It was noted that a fast track system was currently being operated on an individual case basis and that private medical treatment was still being utilised.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
114 EXIT INTERVIEW RESULTS AND STAFF TURNOVER - APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 2001
The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 3 in the Minute Book) outlining the staff turnover from April to September 2001, with an analysis for the reasons for leaving, by gender, race, age and service profiles of both Police and support staff leavers.
The Assistant Director of Personnel introduced the report and advised the Panel that the current staff turnover was stable as indicated in table 2.1, although the position would be consistently monitored. There was a slight increase in the number of retirements and a significant increase in the number of transferees from the Force. The retirements account for 44% of leavers, however, the estimated figure for retirements for this year was 45%, therefore, the figures were slightly down. It was noted that a number of amendments needed to be made to the tables that appeared in paragraph 3.6 and 3.3.6 and that the total number of Police leavers in Appendix C should read 153 and not 108.
Members asked for some further information regarding the numbers transferring in from the Metropolitan Police Service.
The Assistant Director of Personnel advised the Panel that there was a need to improve the information gained at an exit interview rather than rely on the questionnaires that were currently being utilised.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted and a further report be provided to the Panel in May 2002.
115 POLICE STRENGTH FORECAST 2001 - 2002 UPDATE
The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on the updated forecast at the end of September 2001 showing the expected position on Police Officer numbers for the remainder of this financial year.
For the first six intakes of recruits the forecast has proved remarkably accurate. The number of leavers expected had, however, exceeded the number forecast.
The Director of Personnel advised the Panel that by the end of the year there would be approximately 150-160 fewer Police Officers, taking into consideration the Crime Fighting Fund. This could mean that the Constabulary would need to recruit 458 new officers next year.
The Panel was advised that when the Force heard of any major redundancies they contacted the organisations concerned. It appeared that the Force was not doing anything significantly different than any of the other Forces across the country although research was taking place to look further into this. Currently a questionnaire was being sent out to those who had not returned a completed application form, as a high proportion of application forms were not being returned. It was hoped that this would provide some reasons why people were not applying.
Members discussed the recruitment difficulties and emphasised that, whilst a lowering of the standards was not an option, they would like to know how, as a Force, Hampshire compared with others. The Director of Personnel indicated that this information would be made available at the next meeting of the Panel.
The Director of Personnel advised the Panel that the recruitment difficulties were recognised as a national problem and that the chart attached to the report had been sent to the Home Office to advise them that the £1,000 additional allowance was not having any impact on recruitment.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
116 GRIEVANCE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE - ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the analysis of grievances registered under the Grievance Resolution Procedure (GRP). The analysis covered the periods 1 January to 31 December 2000 and 1 January to the end of September 2001 and was generated from the standard grievance form which was submitted with the grievance file to the Personnel Officer Equal Opportunities. A total of 70 grievances had been registered during 2000 and a total of 25 had been registered for the 9 month period in 2001.
The Assistant Director of Personnel presented the report and advised the Panel that most grievances were successfully resolved at a local level. The number had dropped significantly from last year and further grievance training was being programmed for Managers.
Members enquired how Police staff were made aware of the grievance procedure and were advised that the information was made available when people joined the Force. In addition, managers were made aware, leaflets had been sent to all staff, and it was also referred to within contracts of employment.
Members asked for reassurance on how grievances were dealt with. They were further advised that staff needed to consistently be made aware of their rights and that it was important to train managers to enable them to deal with grievances at a local level. The data showed the number of grievances recorded and it could not be assumed that all claims of harassment/bullying were upheld.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
117 EQUALITY TRAINING/POLICE AUTHORITY LIAISON
The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the current position in relation to the Equality Training Programme. The Learning and Development Manager presented the report to the Panel and advised that Phase I of the Equality Training Programme was intended for all staff and primarily concentrated on the issues of discrimination and equality of opportunity internally, but also covered aspects of service delivery. All staff with supervisory responsibility undertook the two day course, whilst those without, did the one day course. Phase II was primarily intended for those staff who had any contact with the community, although internal issues of discrimination were still a consideration. The overriding objective was to ensure that equality and community and race relations was a mainstream issue in all aspects of the Constabulary's work.
Phase II would be delivered across divisions by Christmas to include the grievance resolution training.
Councillor Mrs. Rayment advised that she had met with the department and was very pleased with the way forward and the prepared roll-out across divisions, but reaffirmed that the process needed to be firm and robust to ensure people did not slip through the net and everybody received the appropriate type of training.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted and that regular progress reports on Phase II and future plans for further equality training be received.
118 PERSONNEL PANEL - ESTABLISHMENT REPORT - PART I
The Panel received and noted a report of the Chief Constable (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on various personnel matters.
119 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
RESOLVED:
That, by virtue of paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting.
120 ESTABLISHMENT REPORT PART II
The Panel received and noted a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on various personnel matters.
121 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL STATISTICS - 1995 TO PRESENT
The Panel considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 10 in the Minute Book) setting out details of Employment Tribunal statistics for 1995 to present.
Members asked that in future reports, the previous figures should appear in brackets alongside the current costs on the total Employment Tribunal Costs sheet.
RESOLVED:
That the data on the Employment Tribunal cases be noted.
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