Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Adrian Collett and Keith House.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore all Members with a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 March 2017.

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no deputations on this occasion.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman welcomed new Members of the Committee and extended thanks to the former Members of the Committee for the work they had done.  For the benefit of new Members, the Chairman summarised the remit of the Committee.

To consider a report of the Director of Corporate Resources providing an update on a number of pay, policy and legislative matters including Mandatory Gender Pay Gap reporting obligations and pending employment legislation.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Resources (Item 6 in the Minute Book) outlining the likely impact on the EHCC pay framework arising from the projected increase to the National Living Wage (NLW) and updates on the latest position with Government policy changes.

EHCC Pay Framework

For the benefit of new Members of the Committee, the Head of HR and Workforce Development provided some background to the latest position and  drew attention to the summary set out in section 2 of the report together with the impact on the EHCC framework, as set out in section 3 of the report.  Attention was also drawn to key tables at paragraph 5.2 illustrating the pressures over time on the pay framework resulting from the NLW (projected to reach £9 per hour by 2020), and at paragraph 5.4 illustrating an option to manage the impact of the NLW whilst maintaining a pay step in each of the grades in the pay framework.

During the course of discussion, Members acknowledged the complexity of the pay structures, the uncertainty of the national landscape and the additional financial burdens arising, for which there was unlikely to be any central government support.  Whilst some concern was raised regarding the loss of steps within grades and the resulting impact, it was recognised there was not a lot of room for manoeuvre.  It would be important going forward for the Council to be involved in negotiations at the national level, albeit it was recognised that any proposal to move away from the national pay framework would also have implications for the Council’s financial position.

Apprenticeship Pay

Members noted that a project team had been established to ensure that the County Council and schools can take full advantage of the Apprenticeship Levy that was introduced in April 2017.  One element of that project is to review the existing pay structure for apprentices.  It was further noted that work was progressing with departments and schools and an update would be brought to the next meeting of the Committee.

Mandatory Gender Pay Gap Reporting

Members noted that a requirement exists for employers in the public sector with more than 250 employees to report annually on the gender pay gap.  The first report is to be published by 31 March 2018.

Work to analyse the snapshot of data as at 31 March this year was progressing well.  Members noted the reporting timeline set out in paragraph 13.2 of the report, which had been set to take account of SAP updates and to facilitate reporting to the EHCC Committee at their March meeting.

Update on employment legislation

This update covered the £95K exit payment cap on the total value of an exit payment made to an individual and public sector exit payments recovery for those earning £80,000 or more who return to the public sector within 12 months.

Members noted that neither of the above are yet in force and a definitive timescale for implementation of the legislation is still  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.