Agenda and minutes

Mr AJ King proposed and Mr N J Chard seconded that Mr R W Gough be elected as Vice- Chair of the Committee.

                                                Carried unanimously

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 13 May and 20 July 2009 be agreed as a true record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

( report by Director of Personnel and Development) (The chairman declared consideration of this item to be urgent on the grounds that the Committee needed to reach a decision on this report at this meeting and therefore its consideration could not reasonably be delayed.)

(1)               In support of this report Amanda Beer gave a presentation highlighting the procedures currently in place for the appraisal of senior officers and suggested ways in which extra rigour could be brought to the assessment process.

(2)   During the course of discussion members spoke about the need to ensure that the County Council had in place a clear methodology for the gathering and collation of performance data.  Also it needed to be   recognised that Cabinet members had a part to play in assessing the performance of Managing Directors and those senior managers which came within their portfolio responsibilities.  It was also said that officers appointed to senior roles and who were new to KCC should have an assessment of their performance undertaken within the first six months of them taking up their post.  

(3)       Following further discussion the Committee RESOLVED that taking into account the views expressed during the course of the debate a more detailed report should be submitted to its meeting on 27 January 2010 putting forward for  consideration and approval a protocol for undertaking the appraisals of senior managers.  This protocol also needed to formalise the appraisal process for the Chief Executive.  

(report by Director of Personnel and Development)

 (The chairman declared this item to be urgent on the grounds that the Committee needed to reach a decision on this report at this meeting and therefore its consideration could not reasonably be delayed.)

(1)               The Personnel Committee agreed a one year pilot from 1 June 07 providing contractual paternity leave and pay which was extended until 31 August 09 to allow for full evaluation.  It was one element of a wider family leave pilot which included provision for carer leave; this has now been incorporated into terms and conditions on a permanent basis. This report presented the evaluation of paternity leave and pay and recommended they be adopted on a permanent basis.

(2)       During the course of discussion Ms Beer said that the benefits proposed under this scheme were part of a wider suit of employment policies which were in keeping with the County Council‘s employment strategy of ‘ Making Kent a Great Place to Work’.  One member spoke in favour of implementing the proposals but others expressed the view that before reaching a final decision the Committee should have before it some more detailed data on the roll out and cost of the scheme. This was agreed. 

(3)       RESOLVED that this matter be deferred and discussed again in more detail at the Committee’s next meeting.

(report by Director of Personnel and Development)

(1) This report invited the Committee to consider and endorse a set of protocols to apply to the way the County Council dealt with Compromise Agreements.

(2) During the course of discussion members raised a number of points of detail to which the Director of Personnel responded accordingly. As part of this it was agreed that paragraph 3.2 of the Protocol would be strengthened by adding specific reference to the relevant Cabinet portfolio holder in the list of those to be consulted. 

Note:

 This report was originally placed in the “exempt” section of the agenda but the Committee   agreed with Mr Prater that its content was such that it was apparent that it did not meet the legal criteria for inclusion in the exempt section of the agenda.  Mr Prater subsequently raised this point in correspondence  and the  Chairman advised  him  that he would arrange for the report to be formally re-submitted to the next meeting of the Personnel Committee on 27 January 2007 so that its content could be properly placed in the public domain. In the meantime and given the circumstances Mr Carter said he had advised the Director of Personnel and Development that as Chairman of the Committee he would be guided by the principles set out in the Protocol on a case by case basis. The Chairman had also given assurances regarding the timely despatch of committee reports to members, be those reports ‘unrestricted’ or ‘exempt.

(report by Director of Personnel and Development )

(This is an unrestricted minute of a report which was exempt on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

(1)     Members had before them an exempt report which invited the Personnel Committee to consider an exit package for a member of staff within the Environment, Highways and Waste Directorate.

(2)  Following discussion the Committee agreed that consideration of this item should be deferred pending further discussions.

(report by Director of Personnel and Development)

(This is an unrestricted minute of a report which was exempt on the grounds that it involved the  likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

RESOLVED   that authority be granted to the creation of a new senior funded post in Strategy, Development and ICT Department.