Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE Item 19

MINUTES OF THE FAIRNESS AND DIGNITY GROUP MEETING

HELD AT COPNOR FIRE STATION ON THURSDAY 22 JULY 2004

PRESENT

Chief Officer John Bonney (Chair)

T/ACO Bob Ratcliffe - SHQ

SDO Kevin Butcher

SDO Mark Rayner

T/SDO Andy Kettle

ADO Bob Wythe

Ms Jenny McNeill - SHQ

Shanti Waas - SHQ

Lord Conrad Jordan - FBU

Sue Brumitt - UNISON

Copnor TFS Staff

Copnor and Southsea Fire Stations - Duty Crew

Mrs Lee Joss - Minute Secretary

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllr M Cartwright, Ms Sarah-Jane Taylor, StnO Officer Gary Roe (Gosport), Lud Ramsey (FBU)

1

INTRODUCTION

CO Bonney welcomed members of Copnor and outlined the format of the Fairness and Dignity Meetings. He advised that the Chair will now circulate amongst the Service Management Team and then will be offered to other members of the Fire Service.

2

GUEST SPEAKER - RUTH LAMBE, SENIOR ADVISER/CONCILIATOR, ACAS

2.1

Ruth gave a presentation on the Implications of the Employment Equality (Religious Belief) and Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations which came out in December 2003 which raised a number of issues and prompted questions.

2.2

CO Bonney thanked Ruth for her presentation on such a challenging subject.

3

HFRS FAIRNESS AND DIGNITY UPDATE

3.1

Mr Waas advised that HFRS was running Emergency Services Access Courses where people can get recruitment information and access to numeracy and literacy classes, based in Southampton.

3.2

Portsmouth College and Portsmouth Council are involved in similar areas as above and offer a self-teaching plan which is open to everyone to try and improve their employability.

3.3

A volunteer Community Outreach Team had been created to assist in promoting the Service to minority groups. A Retained Awareness Team had also been formed to attend various events promoting the Service and recruitment of Retained staff and positive feedback had been received.

3.4

Bullying and Harassment Training had been conducted and some extra courses will be arranged for those personnel who had not received the training. Mr Waas advised that feedback on the Training was favourable. It was now planned to conduct training on Sexual Orientation/Religious Beliefs in 2005.

3.5

Mr Waas advised that the new Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was coming into effect on 1 October 2004.

4

OPEN FORUM

4.1

Lord Jordan queried if any work was being undertaken to address the new DDA. Jenny McNeill said that a consultation document had been circulated to Fire Services to comment on.

4.2

Jenny said that the changes to the Act are likely to impact on the provision of the Firefighter Pension Scheme.

Fairness and Dignity Committee Business

CO Bonney was called away and T/ACO Bob Ratcliffe took over as Chair.

5

PERSONNEL AND DIVERSITY TIMELINES UPDATE

5.1

Jenny McNeill gave an update on activities currently being undertaken by the HR Function. The timelines are accessible on our website. Andy Kettle encouraged Station personnel to use the website as they would gain useful insight into the plans of the Service.

6

LOCAL DIVERSITY GROUP (LDG) - UPDATE

6.1

T/SDO Andy Kettle explained that the LDG was made up of representatives from all functions at senior management level and its role was to make progress on diversity issues and ensure the organisation was operating effectively and within the law.

6.2

The LDG Minutes are available on the website and again, Station personnel were encouraged to access them.

6.3

The LDG were currently ensuring that the Service complies with the Local Government Equality Standard and the support of all the Function Heads was required to do this. Polices and Procedures will be discussed and aligned with legislation.

6.4

The next LDG meeting will be on 30 September at SHQ at 1000 hours.

7

NETWORKING WOMEN IN THE FIRE SERVICE CONFERENCE 2004

7.1

Sue Brumitt and Steve Ransley had recently attended the fifth National Conference at the Fire Service College. This organisation is now a mature body and deals with issues faced by women in the Fire Service. The Conference was a opportunity to network as well as attend workshops and hear outside speakers. There was a broad representation at the Conference and the information gained will be fed throughout the Service.

8

ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS

8.1

There was no other business..

9

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday 21 October 2004 - venue to be confirmed