24 June 2014 – Minutes
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting held on 24 June 2014 at 6pm in the Meeting Room, Thame Town Hall.
Present:
Town Mayor Cllr J Matelot Green, Deputy Mayor Cllr N Dixon, Chairman of Policy and Resources Cllr M Dyer and Chairman of Planning & Environment Cllr H Fickling.
Officer: Mrs H Stewart (Town Clerk)
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Champken-Woods (Holiday).
2 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3 Public Participation
There were no requests for public participation.
4 Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
5 Loyalty Card Rewards
The local petrol station operated a loyalty card scheme. It was put to the Committee that if the Council joined such a scheme it could use the loyalty points towards the refreshments for the annual meeting of councillors and staff.
RESOLVED that:
i) The Council join the loyalty card scheme and any rewards be used towards the refreshments for the annual meeting of councillors and staff.
6 Pensions Policy
Changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), had highlighted the requirement to have a policy statement on a number of discretionary policies such as flexible working and early retirement.
The Committee agreed that any such statement had to allow for a decision on a case by case basis and based on any additional costs to the Council.
RESOLVED that:
i) A policy would be drafted reflecting these conditions and present to Full Council for approval.
7 Local Government Pension Scheme
Notice had been received that the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) Pension Fund was seeking the approval of the OCC Cabinet to explore the potential merger of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire Pension Funds.
The option was being explored because officers believe it offers potential to improve the cost effectiveness of the three funds through the combination of reducing costs and improving investment performance. Ay such merger would not impact on the benefits payable to individual scheme members since these are protected under Statute.
8 Exclusion of the Public
RESOLVED that :
i) Pursuant to Section 1 (2) of the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 that because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted, the public and press leave the meeting during consideration of: Agenda Item:8 Staff Structure and Grades and Agenda Item:9 Staff Contracts
9 Staff Structure and Grades
Having agreed the salaries and grades of staff for 2014-2015 at its meeting held on 29 October 2013 two amendments were presented for consideration. The changes involved the position of a Maintenance Supervisor and the Committee Services Officer. These had arisen after discussions with both and the changes would benefit both the Council and themselves.
RESOLVED that:
i) The changes to the structure and grades as presented be approved.
10 Staff Contracts
There were a number of service developments that were required to ensure the Council was serving the residents of Thame to its best ability. This included a regular opening of the Information Centre on a Saturday morning.
In times gone by when the Information Centre opened once a month to support the councillor’s surgery, it operated through a voluntary time off in lieu agreement. This arrangement would be difficult to implement if the Information Centre were to open every Saturday so it was necessary to consult staff on this change to the contract that would include an element of Saturday working.
Ellis Whitahm, the Council’s HR advisors had also recently reviewed staff contracts and had suggested a number of other changes to ensure the Council was best protected in its agreements with staff.
RESOLVED that:
i) Consultation with staff on proposed changes to their employment contracts be undertaken in line with the advice provided by Ellis Whitham.
The meeting concluded at 7.00pm
Signed …………………………
Chairman
Date…………………………….