Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary and /or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Members of the Committee were requested to declare whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in the item on this agenda and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of such interest.

No such declarations were made.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October, 2016.

The Committee was requested to approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting of 11 October, 2016.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of 11 October, 2016, be approved.

The minutes of the Employment and Appointments Panels’ meetings for:

·  Assistant Director: Community Services, held on 15 August, 2016;

·  Assistant Director: Health and Care Outcomes, held on 1 September, 2016;

·  Assistant Director: Commissioning Support, held on 23 September and 11 and 27 October, 2016;

·  Transformation Director, held on 23 September, 3 and 27 October and 4 and 14 November, 2016,

are submitted for information.

The minutes of the Employment and Appointments Panels’ meetings for:

·  Assistant Director: Community Services, held on 15 August, 2016;

·  Assistant Director: Health and Care Outcomes, held on 1 September, 2016;

·  Assistant Director: Commissioning Support, held on 23 September and 11 and 27 October, 2016; and,

·  Transformation Director, held on 23 September, 3 and 27 October and 4 and 14 November, 2016,

were submitted for information.

Resolved – That the minutes be noted.

The Senior HR Manager - Policy Strategy Change introduced a report which outlined proposed changes to the Council’s Probationary Policy and Performance Management Policy and supporting procedures.

It was common practice for organisations to have a probationary policy for new employees. By setting a probationary period, an employer could alert a newly recruited employee that his or her performance would be under continuous review during the first weeks and months of employment and that continued employment was subject to satisfactory completion of the probationary period.

Probationary periods had no legal status and an employee who was on probation had the same statutory employment rights as other employees. It was the length of continuous service that defined an employee's statutory employment rights, including his or her rights in the event of dismissal. The Council’s policies and procedures had been reviewed and benchmarked to ensure it met best practice in Local Authorities and large organisations. A number of and a range of changes had been proposed to the policies and procedures on this basis.

It was also proposed to change the title of the Performance Capability policy to Performance Management. This was to reflect the requirement of managers to manage performance of employees and for employees to understand that it was a requirement of management to do so. This policy and procedures set out the process for managers to follow if there were concerns about an employee’s performance.

The Council’s policy and procedures with regard to both of these had been reviewed and benchmarked to ensure they met best practice in Local Authorities and large organisations.

Responding to comments from Members, the Senior HR Manager - Policy Strategy Change, informed the meeting that consultation had taken place with the trades unions. Both policies strengthened current arrangements and would apply to all employees. Initial briefings would be held with all line managers around the policies and there would be dedicated training from January on performance management including actions to follow if there were concerns about under performance.

The Assistant Director: Human Resources and Organisational Development confirmed that training for managers would involve structured workshops which would be run for all managers. The aim was to improve performance not to manage people out of the organisation. With regard to Performance Appraisals, this had shown significant improvement with the percentage completed now in the high nineties.

Resolved – That the changes to the Council’s Probationary Policy and Performance Management Policy and supporting procedures, be approved.

The Chair has agreed to this item as a matter of urgent business in view of the need for a decision prior to the next scheduled meeting of this Committee.

The Chair had agreed to this item as a matter of urgent business to enable its consideration prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee.

The Assistant Director: Human Resources and Organisational Development submitted a report which sought the Committee’s approval to delegate authority to the Appointment Panel for the Deputy Director Children’s Care Services, to agree the appropriate salary for the role, should it be required to secure the best candidate for Wirral.

On 11 October 2016 the Committee agreed the following:

“The re-grading and re-designation of the vacant post ‘Assistant Director: Children’s Care Services to Deputy Director: Children’s Care Services to ensure the level of remuneration reflects the size and scope of the role in line with market rates, will attract high quality candidates and supports retention to provide the longer term stability required for the service.

(Grade: D2 Salary range: £82,741 to £91,935)”

The D2 salary range was recommended based on the market information available at the time, including a benchmarking exercise of comparative roles.

Penna had begun the executive search on 31 October 2016 for a period of 6 weeks up to 12 December 2016. The longlisting and shortlisting processes would take place throughout December, with final assessments taking place in January 2017. Market feedback via Penna, conducted as part of the executive search had shown the following:

·  Positive feedback in relation to the challenges the role presents, particularly from those already working at this level who welcomed a challenge and were excited about being a part of Wirral’s improvement journey.

·  The salary was an issue in terms of attracting these individuals as some were already on a similar or higher salary.

·  The pool of candidates interested in a sideways move was limited: those who had operated at this level for some time were usually looking to move to Director level.

·  The market was largely populated with Assistant Directors who were fairly new to the role.

Members agreed that it was important to get the right candidate for the post but queried what parameters would be set to vary the salary range and would it lead to an erosion of differentials with other managers.

The Assistant Director: Human Resources and Organisational Development commented that there was always the possibility that other chief officers could look at comparability, however, this was a very specific role and the differential, if applied, could be justified against other posts in the authority. She assured the Committee that should a candidate who was currently earning less than the top of the D2 grade be appointed then the variation to the salary would not be required and it would only be used should a successful candidate be appointed who was on a similar or slightly higher salary than that being offered. The post had been advertised with a D2 salary.

Concerns were expressed that the Committee had already met to agree the grade for this post and now the Committee was being asked to take another step. It was suggested that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.