Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE held at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Eastleigh on 15 June, 2007.
PRESENT:
Councillors: K. Chapman (Chairman); R.J. Baulk; M.G. Cooper; E.F. Gale; S. Jackson; D. Horne; Keith House; R.J. Kimber; R.C. McIntosh; Sam Payne.
Also present: Mr Rikki Noble, Chairman of the Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) Hampshire and Mr Steve Tolley, Officer in Charge at New Milton Station.
101 APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Lord Conrad Jordan, HFRS Fire Brigade Union (FBU) Secretary and Sue Brumitt, UNISON Representative.
102 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of debate, declare their interest and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Fire Authority's Code of Conduct consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.
There were no declarations of interest made by members under this item.
103 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 April, 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
104 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman informed the Committee that interviews for the post of Director of Human Resources were to be held on 19 June, 2007. There were four short-listed candidates from a variety of backgrounds.
The Chairman also welcomed Councillor Sue Jackson onto the Committee.
105 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations made under this item.
106 ESTABLISHMENT
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) setting out the actual and authorised establishment of the Service as of 30 April, 2007.
RESOLVED
That the changes to the establishment, under the Chief Officer's delegated powers, be noted.
107 EQUAL PAY AUDIT HFRS STAGES 1-7
The Committee received a presentation by the Deputy Head of Human Resources and considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the equal pay audit process. The audit had been carried out in partnership with the trade unions.
There was a wide-ranging discussion on the process and potential outcomes of the equal pay audit. Issues included morale, pay protection and the range of equality factors being looked at by the Hay consultants. Members were reassured that, despite not yet knowing the results of the audit, significant provision had been made in the current year's budget to cover the potential financial implications.
RESOLVED
1. That the work achieved to date be noted.
2. That the potential financial implications required to meet any equal pay issues arising from the equal pay audit analysis be understood and reported to a future meeting of the Committee.
3. That the possible implications on certain Service terms and conditions of employment, resulting from the equal pay, audit be noted.
108 WORKING TIME REGULATIONS
The Committee received a joint presentation by the Deputy Head of Human Resources and the Chairman of Hampshire RFU, and considered the report of the Chief Officer on the actions being taken to meet Working Time Regulations (Item 8 in the Minute Book).
Members were supportive of the individualistic approach taken by the Service in meeting the Working Time Regulations, whereby employees were encouraged to work with their line managers on a one-to-one basis to discuss the impact on their own circumstances. The Committee also embraced the regulations for their beneficial health and safety impact, especially important to the Fire and Rescue Service where lives depended on the alertness of employees. Due to the significance of adhering to the Regulations members requested that a report detailing the progress made with their implementation be put to the Committee in a year's time.
The Committee thanked all members of the core team, which comprised officers and trade union representatives, for their hard work and collaborative approach which had resulted in a pro-active and workable system.
RESOLVED
1. That the actions being undertaken to meet the Working Time Regulations within the Service as detailed in Service Order 1/21 and the collective agreement be noted.
2. That a full report on the progress of implementing the actions be received by the Committee at its meeting in June 2008.
109 REWARDS REVIEW PROJECT
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the conclusions and recommendations of the Rewards Review Project.
RESOLVED
1. That Green Book personnel that are required, and have agreed, to work a system that consists of `stand by' and `active' hours be paid an allowance for the provision of such commitment. (`Stand by hours' refer to the provision of a 24/7 response and cover the period outside the normal working day).
2. That each department construct a rota for Green Book personnel who are required to provide a 24/7 response.
3. That the minimum number of personnel that can provide a 24/7 response on a rota basis be four personnel.
4. That any rota be offered on an equal basis to those who have the requisite skills and qualifications.
5. That Green Book managers required to be available for telephone contact, and on occasions where there attendance at a site would be beneficial, be paid an allowance for such an undertaking.
6. That all Contracts of Employment and Job Descriptions incorporate the conditions and expectations applicable to that post, including any `out of hours' commitment.
7. That any pre-arranged overtime occurring on a regular basis be reviewed in order to ascertain if this is the best method of meeting the needs of HFRS. All overtime, whether recompensed by payment or time back, be strictly monitored and controlled by managers.
8. That all landline telephone allowances cease unless a business case exists for such a provision. This includes Flexible Duty System officers.
9. That honorariums continue to be an option available for recognition of commitment, as deemed appropriate by senior managers, and that a written policy outlining the circumstances in which an honorarium should be considered be established.
10. That nominal allowances available for Green Book Fire Marshalls and First-Aiders be maintained.
11. That where activities are being remunerated outside of the job evaluated role, then the full range of activities conducted by Green Book personnel be incorporated into the role and rewarded through pay as determined by the job evaluation process.
12. That the provision of market supplements, when needed to attract personnel with the right level of skills, knowledge and experience, be maintained.
13. That current allowances which are in accordance with Green and Grey Book national conditions of service be maintained.
14. That formal consultation and, where necessary, negotiation take place prior to the implementation of the above recommendations.
110 ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCES
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the payment of additional responsibility allowances (ARAs) as part of the rewards review project.
Members discussed the costs and benefits of retaining and reviewing additional responsibility allowances. Flexibility would be built in to ARAs through an annual review of all posts which attracted such allowance. Members agreed that paying ARAs would encourage professional development, increasing the expertise available from within the Service and therefore minimising the use of external specialists. The Authority would consider the financial scale of ARAs when setting the budget in February 2008 for implementation from 1 April 2008.
RESOLVED
1. That the following activities attract an Additional Responsibility Allowance:
· Personnel who undertake specialist fire investigation
· Personnel who are qualified and undertake the duties of a Hazmat Officer
· Hazmat Officers that are qualified and undertake Detection, Identification and Monitoring responsibilities
· Crew Managers who are qualified and undertake the activity of a National Vocational Qualification AI Assessor
· Station Managers who are qualified and undertake the activity of a National Vocational Qualification V1 Internal Verifier
· Retained Duty System Watch Managers that have the responsibility of Officer in Charge
· Firefighters who are qualified and are required to undertake specialist instructional activities
· Members of the Marine Incident Response Group (MIRG)
· Those personnel who have responsibility for dog handling and care
· Personnel who undertake the role of Co-Responder
2. That, subject to securing a growth bid, payment of ARAs be applicable from 1 April 2008.
3. That the policies and procedures detailed in the report be adopted as HFRS policy in relation to ARAs.
4. That all future requests for ARAs be supported by directors and approved by the Senior Management Team.