Agenda and minutes

It was noted that Councillor Thorpe had resigned and Councillor Burke had replaced him.

Apologies for absence were received from David Shamma, Graham Boues, Adrian Axell, Phil Gooden and Jill Goude.

IT WAS AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2001 were a correct record subject to the correct spelling of Lawrence Wright and Dawn Sadler not Doreen Sadler.

(i)      Travel and Subsistence

                   The Head of Human Resources advised that the revised travel and subsistence scheme would be discussed at the next Joint Consultative Fora (JCF).

          The Secondment Policy had been subject to extensive consultation and negotiation with officers of the Employment Working Group which has representatives from all departments of the Council and also with the Trade Unions on the JCF.

          The Unions indicated that they had no further comments.  IT WAS RECOMMENDED that the Secondment Policy for employees as presented be agreed by the Employment and Appeals Committee with effect from 1 April 2002.

The Attendance Policy has been subject to extensive consultation, although we are close to agreement, some minor amendments are necessary following further consultation.  To ensure that effective implementation of the policy from 1 April 2002 a training strategy had been approved from January 2002 for all managers.

          The section on managing short-term sickness absence had been discussed further and it was proposed to extend the 3 months trigger period to 6 months and the 3 months review period to 6 months.  The Unions indicated that they would support these amendments.  IT WAS RECOMMENDED that subject to the amendments on the trigger and review period being amended to 6 months the Attendance Policy as presented be agreed by Employment and Appeals Committee with effect from 1 April 2002.

          The Unions mentioned the right of appeal for employees regarding ill-health, we were advised that there would be a procedure and this would be discussed with the Unions shortly.

The following policies and procedures have been jointly agreed between the Council and the TGWU, GMBU and Unison:-

          Worklife Balance, Family Leave Policy and Procedure

          Relocation Policy

          Childcare Vouchers

          Secondment Policy (if agreed)

          Attendance Policy (if agreed)

          The following policies and procedures have been jointly agreed between the Council and the AEEU:-

          Worklife Balance Family Leave Policy and Procedure

          Travelling and Subsistence Guidance notes

          Code of Conduct

          Whistleblowing Procedure

          Annual Leave

          Bereavement Leave

          Secondment Policy (if agreed)

          Attendance Policy (if agreed)

IT WAS RESOLVED that any jointly agreed procedures highlighted above, if approved by Employment and Appeals Committee, be formally signed by the Chairman of Employment and Appeals Committee, Head of Human Resources, and representatives of the GMBU, Unison, TGWU and AEEU after the meeting.

          The meeting have commenced at 3.00 pm concluded at 3.20 pm.

Chairman