Agenda item

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its two appendices and to make the following resolution namely that:

(1)  The proposed Pay Policy Statement as outlined in appendix 1 be approved.

(2)  A comprehensive review of posts based on the Pay Policy Statement to ensure a consistent and fair pay structure be authorised.

(3)  The release of £25,000 from reserves be authorised to fund temporary staffing within the Human Resources service to support the implementation of this project.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the proposed Pay Policy Statement as outlined in appendix 1 to the agenda report be approved subject to the following amendment highlighted in yellow in the ‘Job Profiles’ para namely:

‘Job Profiles

In order to ensure consistent evaluation and to focus authors of job documentation to consider the three factors required to evaluate a post, a new Job Profile template has been developed (see Appendix 1 Job Profile template).  This combines the job description and person specification into one document and is also used where necessary for recruitment advertising and contracts of employment.  This new Job Profile will be used by future Hay panels when evaluating posts.  Each council post will have a Job Profile written for it by the service manager in consultation with the relevant staff member if applicable and this will be used to commence the evaluation process.  Service managers should refer to the re-evaluation process managers guide and will receive support as necessary from the HR or Corporate Improvement teams.’  

(2)  That a comprehensive review of posts based on the Pay Policy Statement be authorised to ensure a consistent and fair pay structure.

(3)  That the release of £25,000 from reserves be authorised to fund temporary staffing within the Human Resources service to support the implementation of this project.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its two appendices (copies attached to the official minutes).

The report was presented by Mr Wilding.

Mrs Dodsworth and Mr Radcliffe were in attendance for this item.

Mr Wilding said that in order to deliver efficient, effective yet affordable services to its customers CDC needed to be able to recruit and retain good quality staff.  At its meeting on 6 September 2016 the Cabinet considered an options appraisal aimed at achieving that outcome.  A number of factors were taken into account in considering each of the options:

·       CDC’s existing grading structure had not been reviewed for 29 years. 

·       The need to include the national living wage rate within the grading structure.

·       The results of a recent salary benchmarking exercise across the public and private sector.

·       The need to ensure CDC had a fair and consistent salary structure.

·       The need to remain an attractive and competitive employer

Section 6 of the report set out the options considered by the Cabinet. As a result of the options appraisal, the Cabinet authorised officers to undertake a comprehensive review of posts against a set of agreed principles on a service-by-service basis. The new pay policy was now before the Cabinet. It stipulated CDC’s principles which would be applied when evaluating a job role and associating a salary to that role.  It set out the legal statutory requirements and commitment to the national salary framework and was designed to give staff an understanding of the factors which were taken into account in determining a salary grade for any job role.

The Joint Employee Consultative Panel (JECP) received a report at its meeting on 22 August 2016, setting out the benchmarking data and options appraisal and it had continued to have regular updates at each subsequent meeting. The JECP considered the proposed pay policy and proposals at its meeting on 26 June 2017.  Minor changes were incorporated into the Pay Policy Statement as a result of that consultation.  The staff representatives had requested at the JECP’s recent meeting that there should be no reductions in staff salaries as a result of the pay review and that CDC’s longer-term aspiration should be to achieve the median public sector pay level for all posts.  Those points were not supported by the CDC councillor JECP members because the option of aiming to achieve median public sector pay for all posts was considered as part of the options appraisal but not supported as it was unaffordable when costed.  The primary objective of undertaking a comprehensive review of all posts was not about saving money but ensuring a fair and consistent approach. 

Mrs Dodsworth advised that there was one minor change to the Job Profiles para in the Employment Policy Statement in appendix 1 (page 67) namely that the words ‘in consultation with the relevant staff member if applicable’ would be added after ‘the service manager’ and before ‘and this will be used’. This change was made at the request of the JECP and was supported by officers; it reflected current practice in any event.

The amended text is highlighted in yellow in the first of the Cabinet’s resolutions below.

This amendment was noted and accepted by the Cabinet.

In a brief discussion the work in producing the new pay policy was commended.

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the proposed Pay Policy Statement as outlined in appendix 1 to the agenda report be approved subject to the following amendment highlighted in yellow in the ‘Job Profiles’ para namely:

‘Job Profiles

In order to ensure consistent evaluation and to focus authors of job documentation to consider the three factors required to evaluate a post, a new Job Profile template has been developed (see Appendix 1 Job Profile template).  This combines the job description and person specification into one document and is also used where necessary for recruitment advertising and contracts of employment.  This new Job Profile will be used by future Hay panels when evaluating posts.  Each council post will have a Job Profile written for it by the service manager in consultation with the relevant staff member if applicable and this will be used to commence the evaluation process.  Service managers should refer to the re-evaluation process managers’ guide and will receive support as necessary from the HR or Corporate Improvement teams.’  

(2)  That a comprehensive review of posts based on the Pay Policy Statement be authorised to ensure a consistent and fair pay structure.

(3)  That the release of £25,000 from reserves be authorised to fund temporary staffing within the Human Resources service to support the implementation of this project.