Belfast City Council Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee Minutes 14 April 2005

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B3550

Policy and Resources Committee

Thursday, 14th April, 2005

MEETING OF POLICY AND RESOURCES (PERSONNEL) SUB-COMMITTEE

Members present: Councillor M. Clarke (Chairman); and Councillors Crooks, Kennedy, McCarthy, Moore, Patterson, Rodgers and H. Smyth.

In attendance: Mr. P. McNaney, Chief Executive; Mr. M. Elder, Director of Client Services; Mr. W. Francey, Director of Health and Environmental Services; Ms. M.T. McGivern, Director of Development; Mr. C. Quigley, Director of Legal Services; Mr. S. Black, Head of Human Resources; Mrs. C. Christy, Principal Human Resources Advisor (Development); Mrs. J. Minne, Principal Human Resources Advisor (Support); and Miss L. Hillick, Committee Administrator.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of 21st March, which had been printed and circulated, were taken as read and signed as correct. It was reported that the minutes of the meeting of 28th February, as adopted by the principal Committee at its meeting on 18th March, had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 11th April, subject to the omission of the minute under the heading “Revised Approach to the Recruitment and Retention of Craft Apprentices”, which, at the request of Councillor Crozier, had been taken back to the Sub-Committee for further consideration.

Revised Approach to the Recruitment and Retention of Craft Apprentices

The Sub-Committee considered further the minute of the meeting of 28th February under the heading “Revised Approach to the Recruitment and Retention of Craft Apprentices”, which, at the request of Councillor Crozier, had been taken back for further consideration by the Council at its meeting on 11th April. A copy of the minute in that regard is set out hereunder:

The Sub-Committee considered the undernoted report in connection with the recruitment and retention of craft apprentices:

'Purpose of report

To seek Members’ approval of a revised approach to the recruitment and retention of craft apprentices within the Building Services and Fleet Management units of the council.

Background

Subject to the approval of this committee, the revised approach is to be presented to the Contract Services Committee on 10 March 2005. Members are, therefore, requested to review the content of this full report (copy attached) when considering this item.

Implications for community outreach and recruitment activities

Having read the attached report, Members will be aware of the corporate policy implications relating to community outreach and recruitment activities. If the revised approach were to be approved, the council’s Human Resources section would support these two activities in the following way:

(1) Community outreach activities:

The council’s Community Outreach Programme strives to enhance the profile of Belfast City Council as an employer of choice, whilst specifically targeting areas of under representation in the council’s workforce. As at 1 January 2005, the gender and community background ratio of employees within the Building Services and Fleet Management units is as follows:

Gender Community Background Total Male Female P RC ND 104 1 77 27 1 105

The Human Resources section would therefore welcome participation in these community outreach activities as a targeted measure towards addressing current imbalances within the workforce. It would support members of management and the relevant trade unions in promoting the

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council as an equal opportunities employer and, more specifically, alerting school leavers of the eight apprentice vacancies which would be scheduled for public advertisement in early June 2005.

(2) Recruitment activities:

Whereas application forms for the apprentice vacancies would be encouraged from all interested parties on the basis of no prerequisite qualifications, the selection process would be augmented by a specific skills test. This skills test would include exercises relating to verbal comprehension, numerical computation, visual estimation, mechanical comprehension, technical understanding, numerical reasoning, fault diagnosis and spatial recognition. Thereafter, the council’s policy of appointing on the merit principle, following performance at interview, would apply.

The Human Resources section would support this approach to skills testing by sourcing training to enable officers to administer it on an in-house basis. It would also support the interview process and the contractual position in that offers of appointment would include a provision which will ensure that the apprentices, following successful completion of both the academic and occupational training elements, be either offered existing vacancies or have the opportunity to compete for such vacancies, prior to public advertisement where such vacancies exist.

Environmental implications

There are no environmental implications contained within this report.

Equality considerations

There are no equality considerations contained within this report in that an equality screening exercise has been carried out and no equality issues have been identified. It is, however, interesting to note that the Equality Commission for N.I. has indicated that this revised approach is not only acceptable but commendable in that it offers the best prospect of tackling historic imbalances within the relevant workforce units. In addition, the Equality Commission has also approached the council about featuring the revised approach in its bi-annual ‘best practice’ publication.

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Decision required

Members are requested to approve the revised approach to the recruitment and retention of craft apprentices within the council.'

'Purpose of Report

To apprise the Committee of the Section’s proposals in respect of a revised approach to the recruitment of craft apprentices within the Building Services and Fleet Management units, subject to the agreement of the Policy and Resources (Personnel Sub) Committee.

Background

Members will be aware that both the Building Services and Fleet Management units have in the past occasionally recruited a limited number of craft apprentices in the fields of joinery, electrical, plumbing, painting and vehicle-fitting. This was done on an ad hoc basis, usually only in circumstances where a skills shortage was approaching as a result of the age profile of the work-force. In addition, these units have been wary of creating new apprentice posts because of the Council’s stated position in the matter, namely that all craft apprentices must be paid the nationally agreed rates (as per the ‘Red Book’) and, crucially, that all apprentices who successfully completed both the academic and occupational training elements must be offered a permanent position. This reluctance of the units involved to engage in a more comprehensive apprenticeship scheme is understandable, because both these current requirements inevitably lead to increases in establishment and increased costs, at a time when both are under considerable pressure and scrutiny.

However craft apprenticeships play an important role in equipping young people with valuable and marketable skills, in alleviating the skills shortage which is fast developing in the industry generally (as identified in the recent APSE document ‘Construction Skill Shortages in the Public Sector’ and in promoting the Council’s role as a major local employer and civic leader. Seeking to train and recruit in this way would also offer the real prospect of addressing, over time, the historic imbalances within the existing craft work forces in a way which is unlikely if we simply recruit from the existing pool of qualified trades-people.

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Consequently, the Section has been seeking other ways in which craft apprenticeships across a range of disciplines might be achieved on an ongoing basis, rather than the sporadic way in which it has happened in the past. Recently, in consultation with the European Unit of the Development Department, an application for European funding to set up an alternative scheme was made through the Belfast Local Strategic Partnership (BLSP). Although initially unsuccessful, the application was recently re-considered and most of the funding sought (a total of £123,977) has been made available in principle. This funding makes the prospect of a revised approach a reality, although the Council will still have to incur some additional expenditure (detailed overleaf).

However, before accessing this funding the issues raised above must now be addressed. There is of course no real difficulty with the requirement that both units continue to pay the nationally agreed apprentice rates for all posts, although these do make the overall scheme expensive. For Members’ information the current rates are:

Trade Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Joiner 139.71 215.88 241.32 Plumber 149.58 217.56 244.77 Electrician 154.44 224.61 252.69 266.73 Fleet Fitter 154.44 224.61 252.69

The real difficulty arises with the requirement that all apprentices completing their training must be offered permanent posts; clearly an enhanced scheme would actually exacerbate the difficulties described above, in that it would cause systematic increases in establishment (with no guarantee that work would be available for them to do) as well as increasing costs significantly.

The Section is therefore proposing that the requirement to automatically provide permanent employment at the end of each apprenticeship be dropped. However, it is also proposed that the contract of employment of apprentices would provide that, where a relevant vacancy exists at the time of the satisfactory conclusion of any apprenticeship, an offer of permanent employment would be made to the apprentice involved.

In circumstances where more apprentices than relevant vacancies exist, a selection process would be initiated amongst the relevant apprentices only. External recruitment would only take place in circumstances where no newly qualified apprentices exist at the relevant time or

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where there are not enough newly-qualified apprentices to fill all vacancies. The Equality Commission have indicated that this approach is acceptable and indeed desirable, in that it offers the best prospect of tackling historic imbalances within the relevant workforces.

The relevant Trades Unions (AMICUS and UCATT) have also both indicated their enthusiastic support for this approach.

Were this recommendation to be followed, the scheme could commence with a total of 8 apprenticeships in September 2005, these being 2 x Joiners, 2 x Electricians, 2 x Plumbers and 2 x Vehicle Fitters.

The offer of grant from BLSP also makes clear that the funding is conditional upon the Section targeting its recruitment processes at areas of significant socio economic deprivation. We have made it clear to BLSP that, while we must accept applications from all interested parties, the outreach and other activities to which we would be committed will be targeted at schools located within areas of significant deprivation. The ‘Noble Index’ will therefore be used to identify the relevant wards. As Members will be aware, these indices rank the various wards within BCC electoral areas in terms of a range of socio-economic indicators. In selecting the wards to be targeted, the Section will use the ‘employment domain score’ as being the most relevant to the project. Schools located within the relevant wards or which are situated nearby and draw a significant proportion of their input from the identified wards will be visited by a team of Officers to raise awareness and encourage participation.

The Trades Unions have also indicated their willingness to participate directly in this outreach activity, including attendance by shop stewards at the various schools together with colleagues from management, and in assisting in facilitating open-days for pupils.

Finally, the Section would intend to liaise with a number of other bodies (most notably the Department of Education & Learning, the Construction Industry Board and the Joint Industry Board) to develop apprenticeship documentation which would be widely accepted within the industry to be issued to all apprentices who successfully complete their training, together with a CITB Construction Skills Register (CSR) card where appropriate.

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Additional sources of funding will also need to be sought during the lifetime of this pilot scheme in order to ensure that this approach can continue beyond the initial 3-year timescale.

Financial Implications

The overall staffing cost of the scheme based on 8 apprentices as set out above is £299,977 (assuming 3% annual inflationary increases). Set against this is the total BLSP grant of £123,977, and the fact that approximately 25% of final-year apprentice time is typically chargeable. Taking all this into account the overall nett staffing cost to the Section is £97,981 over 3 years (or £3,768 per post per year). The Unit would therefore have to increase overall expenditure on average by £32,660 (or 0.76%) per year for 3 years.

Additionally, expenditure of £9,504 in total would be needed to pay for the academic portion of the apprenticeship with Belfast Institute of Further & Higher Education, however these costs could be met from existing training budgets and would require no increase in expenditure.

Environmental Implications

There are no direct environmental implications arising from this proposal.

Equality Considerations

An Equality Screening exercise has been carried out in respect of this proposal but no equality issues have been identified at this time.

Decisions Required

The Committee is requested to note the apprenticeship initiative as outlined above.'

After discussion, the Sub-Committee approved the revised approach to the recruitment and retention of craft apprentices within the Council as set out in the foregoing report."

After discussion, during which the Members were advised that Councillor Crozier had received further information about the proposal and was now satisfied, the Sub Committee agreed to affirm its decision of 28th February to approve the revised approach to the recruitment and retention of craft apprentices within the Council as set out within the foregoing report. In addition, the Sub-Committee agreed that the Head of Human Resources proceed with the outreach and recruitment activity to ensure that apprentices could be in post prior to the commencement of the academic year for enrolment of their respective craft training courses.

Management of the Reduction of Agency Workers; and Establishment and Management of Baseline Overtime Figures

The Sub-Committee considered a report in relation to the Management of the Reduction of Agency Workers. A copy of the report, with the exception of the appendix referred to therein, is set out hereunder:

“Purpose of Report

To provide Members with departmental proposals and timeframes for the management and reduction of the use of agency workers.

Background

At the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee meeting on 21 March 2005, the Head of Human Resources presented a report which outlined the reasons for using agency workers across departments and plans to facilitate a reduction in their use by about 160 by September 2005, depending on the resolution of the Client/Contract split.

At the meeting Members requested more detailed information on when permanent vacancies will be filled and a timeframe for the reduction in the use of agency workers being used for other reasons. Members also asked that Chief Officers be asked to attend a meeting with the Committee to advise Members of their proposals to reduce the use of agency workers within their respective departments.

Analysis

Appendix 1 summarises how and when departments plan to reduce the current agency staff which are being used.

Based on the information provided by Departments it is anticipated that there will be a reduction on current figures of 74 by the end of May, a further 40 by the end of July and a further 7 by the end of September, with the possibility of a further 40 by the end of September or shortly thereafter depending on the stage reached with the Client/Contract split implementation.

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It must however be emphasised that whilst these planned reductions are made other situations may arise which will require the use of agency staff to maintain services. Principle among these situations will be the vacating of permanent posts which given our current recruitment procedures, i.e. recruitment only initiated after a vacancy occurs, can take up to three months to fill a post.

Where there are circumstances prevailing, such as structural reviews, which may preclude the filling of posts within the 6 months time frame these are annotated in the tables.

Environmental Implications

There are no environmental implications to this report.

Equality Implications

There are no equality aspects to this report.

Decision Required

Members are asked note the contents of this report.”

The Sub-Committee considered also the undernoted report in relation to the Establishment and Management of Baseline Overtime Figures:

“Purpose of Report

To advise Personnel Sub-Committee of timeframes to manage the reduction of overtime within departments to the proposed revised baseline levels.

Background

At the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee meeting on 21 March 2005, the Head of Human Resources presented a report outlining baseline overtime levels to be achieved by each department during 2005/6.

The total reduction proposed by the baseline figures was £235,085. While Members emphasised the importance of maintaining service standards and not compromising on Health and Safety, they expressed the need for overtime savings of £250,000 and requested that all Departments contribute to this target. Members also requested that quarterly reports be submitted to monitor progress.

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Departments were advised of the Sub-Committee’s desire to target a reduction in overtime of £250,000 to which all departments would contribute.

Update from Departments

The baseline overtime figures have been reviewed by departments. The total anticipated reduction in overtime costs is now £251 443. Appendix 1 sets out the baseline figures for each department, compared to the estimate for the current year.

Some departments have advised that their baseline figures are provided on the basis of current service standards and that if their controlling committees approve any variations which require premium time working they will require to adjust their baseline accordingly.

A recurring issue highlighted is the difficulty of addressing premium rates of pay whilst complying with National Joint Council terms and conditions of payment for premium time working. As Members will be aware the proposed scheme for Flexible Working has been formulated in order to increase flexibility in terms of the working week with a view to reducing reliance on overtime or other premium time working.

Departments have profiled the baseline figures now provided over the four quarters of the coming year and quarterly reports to Sub-Committee will report on variances against targets.

Environmental Implications

There are no environmental implications to this report.

Equality Implications

There are no equality aspects to this report.

Decision Required

Members are asked note the contents of this report.

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Appendix 1

Department /Service Estimate for Current Year (Hours and Cost) 2004/5 Baseline Total Set (Hours and Cost) 2005/6 Reduction on Previous Year Hours £s Hours £s Hours £s Chief Executive’s 4800 £185 200 4545 £178 050 5.3% £7150

Legal Services 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A Client Services (now including Grounds) 135370 £1381600 127100 £1283700

6.1% 97900 Health and Environmental Services (now including cleansing) * * 196977 £1781777 * £70000 Development 3200 £43 630 2830 38630 11.5% £5000 Corporate Services (now including Operational Services) 71883 £632874

56464 561481 21% £71393 Total £251443”

• Data only partially available

The Chief Executive drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to various aspects of the reports and pointed out that the Chief Officers were committed to reducing the use of agency workers and also the level of overtime. He reported that, based on the information which had been provided by the Departments throughout the Council, it was anticipated that there would be a reduction in the number of agency workers of 160 by the end of September, 2005. He pointed out, however, that forty of these were dependent upon the stage reached with regard to the implementation of the Client/Contract split. He referred to the fact that it was possible that there might be some variation in the overall figure due, in particular, to the timescales associated with the filling of permanent posts, the undertaking of structural reviews and any Committee decisions which might require short-term agency support to be provided.

The Chief Executive then referred to the establishment and management of baseline overtime figures. He reported that each Department had reviewed its overtime figures bearing in mind the importance of maintaining service standards, as well as health and safety issues, and that it was anticipated that overtime costs would be

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reduced by £251,443, during the 2005/2006 financial year. He advised the Sub Committee, however, that the Departments had based their baseline figures on current service standards and that these would require to be adjusted if the controlling Committee approved any variations which would require premium time working.

A discussion ensued, during which a Member pointed out that the use of agency workers throughout the Council prevented many posts from being filled on a permanent basis and, whilst it was recognised that there was a need to utilise agency staff in some instances, efforts should be made to ensure that posts were recruited on a permanent basis. A further Member referred to instances when agency staff were being contracted to cover short-term absences and suggested that the engagement of agency staff should be undertaken by the Council’s Human Resources Section and not by individual Departments.

In response, the Chief Executive stated that, whilst he acknowledged that information in respect of the engagement of agency staff should be centralised, there was a need for a flexible policy which would not hinder the efforts of senior management to operate their services effectively. He advised the Members that Departments would be advised that agency workers should only be used to cover essential services and stated that a set of principles for the use of such workers would be developed. The Chief Executive informed the Sub-Committee that the Head of Human Resources would submit for its consideration proposals to reduce delays in filling vacancies and cover by Council employees rather than agency workers. He referred to the Council’s Improvement and Efficiency Agenda by which Chief Officers were committed to improving performance management and front-line services and commended dedicated staff throughout the organisation who worked significant periods of time after hours and did not claim overtime.

After further discussion, the Sub-Committee noted the contents of the foregoing reports and the comments of the Chief Executive thereon.

Proposed Flexible Working Arrangements

The Sub-Committee considered the undernoted report in respect of proposals regarding a revised means of remuneration for flexible working.

The Sub-Committee adopted the proposals contained within the foregoing report as the management preferred position, subject to consultations being undertaken with the relevant Trades Unions.

Application to Elected Members of the Revised Belfast City Council Smoking at Work Code of Practice

The Sub-Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 1st December, 2004, had agreed to introduce, with effect from 1st April, 2005, a total ban on smoking within all Council buildings.

The Head of Human Resources reported that, in order to progress the Council’s decision, a revised Smoking at Work Code of Practice had been drafted for implementation, which detailed how the restrictions applied to different groups, including employees, contractors, members of the public and Elected Representatives. He pointed out that the paragraph which addressed how the restrictions applied to Elected Members was as follows:

“7.4 Elected Members: The smoking restrictions will apply to Council areas used by Elected Members, such as Party Rooms and the Lord Mayor’s Parlour, which is in accordance with Council decision to introduce a ban on smoking in all Council buildings.”

He reported that the Head of Committee and Members' Services had agreed to act as the point of contact for any enquiries relating to the enforcement of the smoking restrictions to the Elected Members, including any concerns which the Members themselves might have. He stated that it was proposed that each Political Party would deal within their Party Groupings, with any issues arising in respect of Members being in breach of the policy with any final arbitration on unresolved issues of this nature being referred to the Policy and Resources (Members) Sub-Committee. Accordingly, he requested the Sub-Committee to approve the proposed mechanism for the application of the smoking restrictions in respect of Elected Members.

During discussion, several Members expressed concern that, due to the smoking restrictions which had been imposed, some employees and visitors to the City Hall were smoking at the front of the building and in the Courtyard area. They suggested that it might be preferable if an area outside the building were to be designated for this purpose.

After further discussion, the Sub-Committee approved the proposed mechanism for the application of the smoking restrictions to the Elected Members and agreed that a further report in relation to smokers at the City Hall be submitted to a future meeting for consideration.

Usage of the Learning and Development Centre

The Sub-Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 22nd September, 2003, it had agreed that the Council’s training accommodation be transferred from The Cecil Ward Building to the Maysfield Water Sports Centre.

The Head of Human Resources reported that a portion of the ground floor within the Centre remained occupied currently by the Lagan Boat Company as workshop and office space and that an area on the first floor had been temporarily loaned to the Company in order to assist with storage requirements when the tenancy arrangements had been amended to accommodate the training facilities. He outlined the areas of the Centre which were being utilised currently by the Council for training purposes and as meeting rooms and pointed out that the demand for additional facilities within the Centre had increased to such an extent that an additional room, which had been utilised previously to store training equipment, was being renovated for use as a small training room in order to cater for the demand. He reported that the increase in development activity during the past year had resulted in a demand for larger training rooms and that it was anticipated that this would continue to rise as the development programmes for operative and administrative staff were rolled out.

As it was likely that the current facilities at the Learning and Development Centre would be unable to meet the demand for future development activity, the Head of Human Resources recommended that, rather than hiring additional facilities at a cost to the Council, discussions take place with the Lagan Boat Company with a view to its vacating the area which it currently utilised for temporary storage purposes on the first floor.

The Sub-Committee adopted the recommendation and agreed that a report in this regard be submitted to a future meeting.

Last Meeting

The Chairman (Councillor M. Clarke) thanked the Members of the Sub Committee and officers for their support and assistance during the term of the Council. In particular, she paid tribute to the work of Councillors Crooks and McAuley, long-term Members of the Sub-Committee, who would not be seeking re-election to the Council in the forthcoming Elections.

The Chief Executive referred to the fact that the Chairman (Councillor M. Clarke) also would not be seeking re-election to the Council and he thanked her for the contribution which she had made to the Council and wished her well in the future.

Chairman