Archived decisions
At a meeting of the EMPLOYMENT in HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL | |||||||||
COMMITTEE HELD at THE CASTLE, WINCHESTER on WEDNESDAY | |||||||||
7 NOVEMBER 2007 | |||||||||
Present: | |||||||||
Councillors: | |||||||||
p |
T. K. Thornber CBE (Chairman) |
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p |
R. J. Baulk |
a |
R. J. Ellis |
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a |
A. P. Collett |
a |
K. Gill |
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p |
B. D. Dash |
a |
Felicity Hindson MBE |
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Councillor J. K. Glen, Executive Member for Human Resources, attended with the | |||||||||
agreement of the Chairman. | |||||||||
85 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE | ||||||||
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Collett, Ellis and Hindson who were otherwise engaged on County Council business and Councillor Gill. | |||||||||
86 |
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 the debate declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. | |||||||||
87. |
MINUTES | ||||||||
The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 31 July 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. | |||||||||
88. |
EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC |
RESOLVED: | |
That the public be excluded from the meeting as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the remainder of the meeting there would be disclosure to them of confidential and exempt information within Paragraphs 1-5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, being information relating to individuals or to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority and its employees, and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings. Further, it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing this information. While there may be a public interest in disclosing this information, namely transparency in the use of public resources, it is felt that, on balance, this is outweighed by other factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, namely the need to maintain confidentiality in relation to information which identifies or is likely to reveal the identity of individuals, the County Council's business or financial affairs, the maintenance of good employee relations in the interests of stability in service provision, and the protection of the Council's interests in any legal proceedings which may ensue. | |
89. |
PAY AND BENEFITS - "YES" VOTE |
The Committee received and noted the exempt report of the Director of Human Resources (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the positive outcome of the ballots carried out by UNISON, TGWU and GMB and the nature of the discussions that would continue to take place with them. Implementation of the new pay framework was backdated to 1 April 2007 and, following national agreement of the 2007 staff pay award with effect from 1 April 2007, appropriate adjustments would be made to the assimilation levels under the new pay structure. | |
90 |
EQUAL PAY CLAIMS |
The Committee received and noted the confidential and exempt report of the Director of Human Resources (Item 7 in the Minute Book) setting out the number of equal pay claims received to date and commenting on related issues. The Director of Human Resources reported developments since the distribution of the Committee's papers whereby the Employment Tribunal's timetable had changed such that their initial consideration of the claims would now be delayed until early in 2008. The Employment Tribunal would be considering procedural matters in December 2007. |
91 |
EARLY RETIREMENT POLICY FOR CHIEF OFFICERS | |
The Committee considered and approved the confidential and exempt report of the County Treasurer and Director of Human Resources (Item 8 in the Minute Book) in response to the requirements of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. The County Treasurer clarified the intention that the new policy would have a neutral impact on existing Chief Officers whose contracts required retirement at age 60 because the new policy would result materially in the same outcome as under the previous policy. Column 4 in Appendix 1 was accordingly revised to read "....proportionate to the position they would have been in under the previous policy." | ||
RESOLVED: | ||
That the new policy for early retirement and compensation payments to Chief Officers and deputies shall be: | ||
a) |
existing Chief Officers are allowed to continue in employment beyond age 60 with approval of the Executive Member for Policy and Resources; | |
b) |
existing Chief Officers whose contracts require retirement at age 60 will have their Local Government Pension Scheme membership augmented for the period between leaving employment at age 65, with a maximum of 5 years, provided retirement is no earlier than age 60 so that their position equates with that which would have prevailed under the County Council's previous policy; | |
c) |
new Chief Officers' contracts do not contain an early retirement age or consequent augmentation. | |
92 |
JOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR CHIEF EXECUTIVES - NATIONAL PAY AWARD 2007/08 | |
The Committee considered and endorsed the confidential report of the Director of Human Resources (Item 9 in the Minute Book) concerning the Chief Executive's pay 2007/08. | ||
RESOLVED: | ||
That the arrangements set out in paragraph 3.2 of the Director of Human Resource's confidential report be endorsed. | ||