Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Wright and Councillor Ovenden.

To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on 30 January 2024, copy attached.

Councillor Austin proposed, Councillor Albon seconded and Members agreed the minutes as a correct record of the General Purposes Committee meeting that was held on 30 January 2024.

To approve the Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on 14 March 2024, copy attached.

Councillor Albon proposed, Councillor Davis seconded and Members agreed the minutes as a correct record of the extraordinary General Purposes Committee meeting that was held on 14 March 2024.

To approve the Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on 30 July 2024, copy attached.

Councillor Austin proposed, Councillor Davis seconded and Members agreed the minutes as a correct record of the extraordinary General Purposes Committee meeting that was held on 30 July 2024.

Sonia Godfrey, Head of HR introduced the report and made the following comments:

·  It was essential for the council to review HR policies and procedures after taking into consideration best practices;

·  ACAS guidelines had been considered as well in updating these polices;

·  Probation policies would no longer be linked to disciplinary procedures;

·  A new Travel and Expenses Policy had been drafted to replace the current one as this would also provide for claims for electric vehicles. The current policy made it difficult to process claims for electric vehicles due to the unavailability of receipts as evidence for charging these vehicles;

·  A 30 day staff consultation to remove the payment for working from home had been undertaken;

·  A staff consultation on all the proposed policies had been undertaken and CMT had agreed the draft policies;

·  Reviewing of policies was important for supporting staff by providing clarity at the work place.

Members asked questions and made comments as follows:

·  Members strongly supported the flexibility working policy;

·  Probation arrangements: Could there be more clarity on whether this was with reference to new employees coming from other local councils or individuals new to local government working;

·  Travel Policy: This had climate implications. The policy should be saying that the Council encourages staff to use public transport or car share where they can;

·  Would the Council support travel cards for those who use public transport?

·  Another Member said that it was difficult to use public transport in some areas at times;

·  They further said that para 6.6-6.7 needed rewording to clarify. Should 6.7 be 6.6 and 6.6 be the new 6.7?

·  There was a need to specify what the accounting year was. The assumption was that it was April to March of the following year;

·  Disciplinary action for carrying over too much flexi time: The policy should be clear on what would happen to the manager who supervised staff that carried over too much flexi time;

·  The accounting period should be clearly defined. Would it be a month?

·  The use of the words ‘will’ and ‘may’ should be clear as well;

·  Could the monthly issues first and then yearly issues at the end?

·  Flexible working arrangements/application: Would staff be using the same form as for flexible working if they wanted to apply for reasonable arrangements?

·  Disability issues should be specifically mentioned in that section on flexible arrangements;

·  Flexible working: Members were concerned about access to staff homes;

·  EV charging: There was an issue about providing evidence. Charging vehicles at home. There should be a recognition that it would not be possible to document the evidence of the costs;

·  Rail cards/travel cards: This facility would require careful thought before setting it up due to travel times and pricing differences;

·  Flexible working: para 5 – Was this reference to evening weekend working actually meant to be weekend and or evening?

·  Length of probation: This provision should be placed higher up in the section;

·  Record of training, para 14.4: Could more positive wording be used?

·  There were benefits  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.