Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting, Members were invited to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they may have had in the business on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following:

Annexes to Agenda Item 5 (Redundancy) and an Annex to Agenda Item  7 (Market Supplement for the Assistant Director) on the grounds that they contains information relating to individuals and the financial affairs of particular persons. This information is classed as exempt under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

Resolved:  That the press and public be excluded from the                         meeting during the consideration of annexes to Agenda               Item 5 (Redundancy) (Minute Item 28 refers) and an                    annex to Agenda Item 7 (Market Supplement                                       Payment for the Assistant Director of Children’s                         Specialist Services) (Minute Item 30 refers) on the                              grounds that it contains information relating to                                  individuals and the financial affairs of particular                            persons. This information isclassified as exempt                       under Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the                             Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by the Local                Government (Access to Information) (Variation)                            (Order)).

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee held on Monday 8 July 2013.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting of the Staffing                             Matters and Urgency Committee held on 8 July 2013                   be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct                           record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is Friday 2 August 2013 at 5.00 pm.

It was reported that there had been two registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Councillor Mark Warters spoke regarding Agenda Items 6) & 7) (Changes to Terms and Conditions of Chief Officers and Market Supplement Payment for the Assistant Director of Children’s Specialist Services). He felt that the proposal for a Market Supplement was distasteful to Council Taxpayers, particularly given that the additional money would come from service budgets without the say of the public, and questioned if a precedent would be set through approval of the recommendations.

Gwen Swinburn felt that the changes set out in Agenda Item 6) were not transparent, and that issues about size of a council, quality of life and deprivation in the area should be taken into consideration when setting a policy for a Chief Officer Market Supplement. She also expressed concerns at how the comparative Local Authorities in Annex A to the report were chosen.

This report advises the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee of the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of an employee on the grounds of redundancy.

Members considered a report which advised them of the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of an  employee on the grounds of voluntary redundancy.

Resolved:  That the expenditure associated with the redundancy              be noted.

Reason:     In order to provide an overview of the expenditure.

Members considered a report which set out proposed arrangements for the introduction of a market supplement policy for Chief Officers. 

The report also sought agreement to commence consultation with Staff and Trade Unions regarding a proposed 4 day reduction to annual leave entitlement and to introduce a link between incremental progression and the Chief Officer Performance Development Review (PDR) process. It was envisaged that these proposed changes would be introduced by April 2014 to align with the next round of PDR meetings.

Officers recommended that a Market Supplement policy was needed to address a disparity between the Chief Officers and Local Government staff, as Local Government staff already had a market supplement policy.

It was stated that a market supplement policy would, in very specific circumstances, allow CYC to attract and retain the highest quality staff in circumstances when it could be demonstrated that CYC were paying below the market rate for a particular role.

Some Members expressed concerns about the Market Supplement policy questioning whether its usage would set a precedent. In addition, they questioned how much implementation would cost and who would be affected.

Further concerns were raised regarding the removal of automatic increments and the replacement of these with Performance Related Pay. Members felt that Performance Related Pay should only be introduced for Chief Officers.

Other Members agreed with the recommendations in the report and felt that a market supplement policy was the most effective and cheapest way of helping to retain and attract people of a high calibre to work in York. They added that the policy should only be used in exceptional circumstances.

Resolved:  (i)      That the report be noted.

                   (ii)      That consultation with Chief Officer staff and                                       trade unions regarding a 4 day reduction to                                annual leave entitlement commence.

                   (iii)     That consultation with Chief Officer staff about                          the implementation of a process of                                           progression through salary grades be changed                        to be based on assessment of performance                              (Performance Related Pay) rather than time                               served, but that this be solely used for Chief                               Officers and not other Local Government staff.

Reason:              In order for there to be flexibility within the                                   Chief Officer terms and conditions in order for                                      us to           respond to           market forces and recruit and                           retain talented staff.

This report sets out a proposal for a market supplement payment to be made to the Assistant Director of Children’s Specialist Services under the Market supplement policy for Chief Officers to retain an outstanding post holder.

Members considered a report which set out a proposal for a market supplement payment to be made to the Assistant Director of Children’s Specialist Services under the Market supplement policy for Chief Officers to retain an outstanding post holder.

Officers provided information to demonstrate that the salary for this post was below the current market rate and that a market supplement would help retain an exceptional and high performing post holder. Some Members felt that although they were against the principle of using Market Supplement payments, that the case of the individual concerned was exceptional. Others expressed support of the critical importance that the individual played.

Resolved:  (i)      That the report be noted.

                   (ii)      That the implementation of a market                                            supplement payment, as                                                               outlined in exempt Annex B, to the                                         Assistant Director of Children’s Services be                                agreed, subject to approval at Full Council of                                       the market supplement policy.

Reason:              In order to retain an outstanding post holder.

This report sets out proposed arrangements for the introduction of a market supplement policy for Chief Officers to be implemented with immediate effect. 

It  is also seeking agreement to commence consultation with Staff and Trade Unions regarding a proposed 4 day reduction to annual leave entitlement and to introduce a link between incremental progression and the Chief Officer Performance Development Review (PDR) process.  It is envisaged that these proposed changes would be introduced by April 2014 to align with the next round of PDR meetings.

Members considered a report which set out proposed arrangements for the introduction of a market supplement policy for Chief Officers. 

The report also sought agreement to commence consultation with Staff and Trade Unions regarding a proposed 4 day reduction to annual leave entitlement and to introduce a link between incremental progression and the Chief Officer Performance Development Review (PDR) process. It was envisaged that these proposed changes would be introduced by April 2014 to align with the next round of PDR meetings.

Officers recommended that a Market Supplement policy was needed to address a disparity between the Chief Officers and Local Government staff, as Local Government staff already had a market supplement policy.

It was stated that a market supplement policy would, in very specific circumstances, allow CYC to attract and retain the highest quality staff in circumstances when it could be demonstrated that CYC were paying below the market rate for a particular role.

Some Members expressed concerns about the Market Supplement policy questioning whether its usage would set a precedent. In addition, they questioned how much implementation would cost and who would be affected.

Further concerns were raised regarding the removal of automatic increments and the replacement of these with Performance Related Pay. Members felt that Performance Related Pay should only be introduced for Chief Officers.

Other Members agreed with the recommendations in the report and felt that a market supplement policy was the most effective and cheapest way of helping to retain and attract people of a high calibre to work in York. They added that the policy should only be used in exceptional circumstances.

Recommended:       That a market supplement policy for Chief Officers be recommended to Full Council for agreement and implementation as set out in the report.

Reason:              In order for there to be flexibility within the                                   Chief Officer terms and conditions in order for                                      us to           respond to           market forces and recruit and                           retain talented staff.