Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Priya Patel  01344 353108

Items
No. Item

32.

Declarations of Interest

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or an Affected Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

33.

Minutes from previous meeting pdf icon PDF 140 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Special Employment Committee held on 16 January 2017.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 January 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

34.

Urgent Items of Business

Any other items which, pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman decides are urgent.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items of business.

35.

Update from the Chairman of the Local Joint Committee

A verbal update from the Chairman of the Local Joint Committee.

Minutes:

It was reported that trade union representatives had noted that the reports before them related to the Council’s budget proposals and had raised no issues. Trade unions representatives had been supportive of the amendment to the No Smoking Policy.

36.

Minutes of Sub Groups pdf icon PDF 218 KB

The Committee is asked to note the minutes of the Local Joint Committee held on 5 October 2016.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the minutes of the Local Joint Committee on 5 October 2016.

37.

Amendment to No Smoking Policy pdf icon PDF 314 KB

To update the existing no smoking policy to reflect Public Health England’s recommendation that staff using electronic vaporisers (e-cigarettes) should not be required to take breaks in the designated smoking areas.  The Council supports staff who wish to give up smoking and use electronic vaporisers as an aid to achieving this, and recognises it may be difficult for those giving up smoking to stand with people who are smoking.

Minutes:

The Director of Corporate Services reported that an amendment to the Council’s No Smoking Policy was proposed to comply with recommendations from Public Health England. The Council’s current policy was not conducive to encouraging those that vaped to give up smoking as they were expected to stand in the same area as smokers. The amendment to the policy proposed that Council staff who vaped could do so anywhere outside the building and did not have to go to the smoking area. Union representatives had been supportive of the proposed amendment.

 

In response to Members queries, the Director of Corporate Services advised that:

 

·         Managers of buildings would be responsible for ensuring that appropriate arrangements for smoking were made and that staff adhered to the policy.

·         Counselling sessions for staff wishing to give up would be held outside of working hours wherever possible.

·         The Council had a duty of care to its employees and as a result staff as passengers shouldn’t be exposed to vaporisers or cigarettes when travelling in a vehicle on Council business.

 

RESOLVED that the changes to the no smoking policy be agreed, as attached at Appendix A of the agenda papers. 

38.

Restructuring in the Assistant Chief Executive's Office

To identify the staffing implications arising from the budget proposals for 2017/18 which are not part of wider Transformation Programme reviews. 

Minutes:

The Director of Corporate Services reported that this report identified the staffing implications arising from the budget proposals 2017/18 which were not part of the wider Transformation Programme.

 

The Director of Corporate Services agreed to provide Councillor Angell with a breakdown of the figures relating to each redundancy payment, taking into account the multiplier that was applied.

 

RESOLVED that the Committee;

 

i)              approved the redundancy of a part time Administrative Assistant post in the Chief Executive’s Office, with effect from 31 March 2017, subject to the Council agreeing the budget proposals.

 

ii)             approved the redundancy under updated terms of an employee who was At Risk under last year’s budget changes, currently redeployed in a temporary contract as Performance and Partnerships Officer in the Chief Executive’s Office, with effect from the end of his contract on 24 April 2017.

39.

Edgbarrow and Sandhurst Sport Centres - Employment Implications pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To consider the proposed redundancies arising from the change of usage of Edgbarrow and Sandhurst Sports Centres beyond April 2017.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the proposed redundancies arising from the change of usage of Edgbarrow and Sandhurst Sports Centres beyond April 2017.

 

The Director Of Environment, Culture & Communities reported that there were five redundancies arising as a result of these changes. The Director advised that the transition arrangements were working well and that staff were working with the school to ensure that service users did not suffer as a result of the changes.

 

Redeployment opportunities were being explored for all affected staff.

 

Members asked if figures could be provided around the amount of multiplier that was being paid.

 

RESOLVED that;

 

i)              approval be given to the deletion of the posts identified in exempt Appendix B with effect from 31 March 2017.

 

ii)             subject to any redeployment opportunities offered to those affected, the post holders be declared redundant in accordance with the terms set out in the exempt Appendix B with the costs being met from the Structural Changes Fund.     

 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk