Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence was received from Councillor M Jones.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

Members were requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interest, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

There were no declarations made at this meeting.

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the Minutes of the Organisation Scrutiny Committee held on 22 October 2019

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting of the Organisation Scrutiny Committee held on 22 October 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

10.00 am – Leisure Operations Manager/Lead Facility Officer

10.30 am – Estates Manager

11.00 am – Joint Street Scene and Waste Services Manager

11.30 am – Strategic Partnership Co-ordinator

Leisure Operations Manager/Lead Facilities Officer

The Committee welcomed the Lead Facility Officer and the Leisure Operations Manager to the meeting to discuss the Council’s Sickness Absence Management Policy.

The Officers informed Members that there were over 125 staff in leisure services, and they found that the policy supported both management and staff when attempting to run a busy service.  The Officers stated that they thought the triggers were appropriate and fair, and that it did help reduce overall sickness absence.  They did, however, comment that the process could sometimes be time consuming.

Members noted that the Authority provided support for staff who were experiencing symptoms of mental ill health.  This support included counselling and access to an occupational health provider.  There was also  wide ranging support available to management staff.  This included advice from the HR Team, as well as external and internal training courses.

The Officers recommended a number of ways in which employee health and wellbeing could be improved, such as outside or walking meetings.

Members thanked the Officers for attending the meeting.

The Officers then left meeting.

Estates Manager

The Committee welcomed the Estates Manager to the meeting to discuss the Council’s Sickness Absence Management Policy.

The Officer informed Members that he managed a relatively small team, and as such he felt that the processes and policy worked well.  Members heard that HR Services provided wide ranging support to service managers, and that in his experience staff were well aware of the policy. 

Members had a varied discussion on the trigger points in the policy, as well as the effectiveness of targets.  The Officer commented that it was a policy similar to that in other organisations and that on the whole it worked well.

Members thanked the Officer for attending the meeting.

The Officer then left the meeting.

Joint Streetscene and Waste Services Manager

The Joint Streetscene and Waste Services Manager was present at the meeting to discuss the Council’s Sickness Absence Management Policy.

The Committee heard that there was over 100 staff in Streetscene and that due to the labour intense nature of the work there was a relatively high sickness absence rate when compared with other services at the Authority.  The Officer stated that the process could be time consuming, and involved repeated review interviews after an employee had hit a trigger point. 

Members discussed ways in which attendance could be improved, as well as a positive cultural attitude that promoted attendance at work.  The Officer suggested that adjustments could be made to the policy to accommodate for larger service areas, as a ‘one size fits all’ approach may not work for all.

The Committee heard that HR often assisted service managers in difficult meetings, and were pro-active in assisting employees who had on-going health issues. 

Members noted that Streetscene allowed phased returns for employees, as well as placing them on lighter duties if they were returning from long term injury or illness.  It was stated that agencies were sometimes used to cover for those  ...  view the full minutes text for item 464.

To consider last year’s review on Communications and Marketing

The Committee agreed that they would like to consider the review after the meeting and feedback any comments to the Overview and Scrutiny Manager.  Members acknowledged that there had been some organisational change since the previous Scrutiny Review on Communications and Marketing.

Members had a wide ranging discussion on Member and Officer communications, and felt that ward issues could be better communicated with Ward Members.  The Head of Corporate Governance and Monitoring Officer informed the Committee of a Member and Officer Communications Protocol that had recently been established and would be circulated to Members in the near future. 

To consider the List of Key Decisions – Issue No 91

RESOLVED – That the List of Key Decisions Issue No 91 be noted.

To consider the Work Programme for the Organisation Scrutiny Committee 2019/20 and review the proposed workload.

The Committee agreed that they would like to strengthen the review by inviting employee representatives such as union officials to the Committee to discuss employee health and wellbeing.

RESOLVED – That the Work Programme be noted.

To consider any other matter which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no additional urgent items for discussion at this meeting.

The next meeting of the Organisation Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to take place on 24 March 2020 at 10.00 am.

The date of the next scheduled meeting of the Organisation Scrutiny Committee is 24 March 2020 at 10.00 am.