Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 June 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 28 June 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest received.

To answer any public questions

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

To answer any member questions

There were no Member questions.

To receive a report regarding the proposed new pay element: Anti Social Shift Allowance - Enforcement & Safety Service.

The Board considered a report regarding a proposed new pay element: Anti Social Hours Allowance – Enforcement and Safety Service.

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

·       The Interim Assistant Director HR and OD commented that the Council had given notice on the Public Protection Partnership in March 2021.  As part of bringing the service in house, and particularly around being more responsive to anti-social behaviour incidents, a new allowance was proposed to compensate staff working in this area, for working weekends and out of hours.

·       Research had been carried out regarding other local authorities’ positions.  The costings were listed within the report.

·       Option one, a flat rate percentage of 15%, was the preferred option because it was a flat rate payment that compensated workers equally for the disruption to their lives.  Payment would be in line with market rates which would help make the roles more attractive should further recruitment be required in the future.

·       Councillor Jones asked about the rate of the allowance paid by West Berkshire Council for those working anti-social hours and was informed that they did not, because officers in the relevant team were not available out of hours.

·       Councillor Weeks questioned whether time off in lieu or other options would be put in place should option one not be agreed.  The Interim Assistant Director HR and OD indicated that time off in lieu would create scheduling problems and necessitate a larger staff complement, which was less cost effective.

·       Councillor Bishop Firth asked about part time team members and whether the allowance would be pro rata, and if so if it would be included in the terms and conditions.  The Interim Assistant Director HR and OD indicated that the terms and conditions could be clarified to reflect this.

RESOLVED:  That Personnel Board

1)     agrees a proposal for a new Anti-social Hours Shift Allowance at 15% of spinal point 27, equivalent to £4,700 per annum for each shift worker from the Enforcement & Safety Service. 

2)    notes the financial implications which will be considered as part of the Medium-Term Financial Plan.

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) as appropriate.

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) as appropriate.

To receive a report regarding the structure of the senior team.

The Board received a report regarding the structure of the senior team.

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations detailed in Part 2 of the report be agreed.