23 September 2024 – Minutes (draft)

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting held on 23 September 2024 at 3pm in the Meeting Room, Thame Town Hall.

Present:

Town Mayor, Cllr A Gilbert
Deputy Mayor, Cllr D Dawson
Chairman of Corporate Governance, Cllr M Dyer
Chairman of Community Services, Cllr P Cowell
Chairman of Planning, Cllr H Fickling
Chairman of Environment & Assets Committee, Cllr A Dite

Officers:

Town Clerk, M Sturdy
Environmental Project Officer, B Reid
Committee Services and Processes Officer, L Fuller

 

1) Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Cllr Dawson (personal).

 

2) Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations.

 

3) Public Participation and Public Questions

There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.

 

4) Minutes

The Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 8 April 2024 were confirmed as a correct record, and were signed by the Chairman.

 

5) Exclusion of the Public

RESOLVED: That under Section 1, Paragraph 2 of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.

 

6) Staff Training

a) Presentations were received from the Environmental Project Officer and Committee Services & Processes Officer who have completed or partially completed CPD Training. The content of the training was noted, and the committee commented on the quality of the content and professionalism within the presentations.

The Environmental Project Officer and Committee Services & Processes Officer left the meeting.

b) It was noted that in line with Thame Town Council’s Equality Objectives staff will be taking part in a morning of equality and diversity training on 26 September 2024, provided by our HR and H&S consultants Moorepay.

c) The Town Clerk provided an update on Thursday morning staff meeting / training which has proved to be a successful method of sharing best practice.

 

7) Flexi Time Policy

The Town Clerk provided an update on the Flexi Time consultation and revised policy.

RESOLVED:

  1. To approve the Flexi Time Policy.

 

8) Staffing Costs and Gradings

The committee noted that the new maintenance assistant joined Thame Town Council on 16 September 2024 following the resignation of the previous post holder.

The committee noted that the unions have still not agreed to the cost-of-living increase offered by the Joint Council for 2023-24; The current offer is within the allocated budget and will be backdated once confirmation of the increase is received form NALC (National Association of Local Councils).

The committee considered the budget proposal for the 2025-26 staff costs.

RECOMMENDED TO FULL COUNCIL:

  1. To approve the salary budget for 2025/26 of £792,440 which includes an allowance of 4% for any cost-of-living increase. This equates to a 0.1% increase on the 2024/25 budget.

 

9) Annual Appraisal

The Town Clerk provided an update on the annual appraisal process.

 

10) Staffing Matters

The Town Clerk provided an update on staffing matters including staff changes over the last 5 months, staff welfare and support, absence statistics including the introduction of a management model based on the Bradford Factor and a review of overtime costs.

RESOLVED:

  1. To note the report.

 

The meeting concluded at 4:45pm.

 

 

 

Signed …………………………               Date: ………………

Chairman