Issue - meetings

To consider a report by Councillor Julie Matthews, Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy and Equalities (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to adopt the Sexual Harassment Policy and the Redeployment Policy amendments.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      approve and adopt the Sexual Harassment Policy and the Redeployment Policy, and

(b)      confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 and 4 to the report) as part of its consideration.

Councillor Julie Matthews presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to adopt the Sexual Harassment Policy and Redeployment Policy amendments.

The report covered two positive policies to support staff and their wellbeing, and a brief summary of each policy was provided as follows –

Sexual Harassment Policy – this was a new policy created in line with the new Equality legislation which placed a duty on employers to take ‘reasonable’ steps to prevent sexual harassment.  The policy aimed to ensure all parties understood what sexual harassment was, identified the behaviour expected, and outlined the Council’s responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment.  It also explained how to report sexual harassment, the process to be followed, and support available.  The Wellbeing Impact Assessment concluded a positive impact.  To embed the policy in the culture of the authority, it would be supported by a Managers Prevention Toolkit, including training, a presentation document for team meetings and toolbox talks together with risk assessment templates for services to complete and keep live.

Redeployment Policy – this policy had been subject to a full review and the report provided a summary of the amendments made.  The policy focused on the three types of redeployment scenarios: capability, redundancy and medical.  The current policy only allowed employees with more than two years continuous service to be placed on the redeployment pool and the new version ensured all employees were placed on the redeployment list regardless of their length of service.  The policy also contained useful ‘frequently asked questions’ which had been updated.

The Head of Corporate Support Service: People and HR Services Manager were in attendance for this item.  The policies had been developed in consultation with Trade Unions and agreed by the Joint Consultative Committee for Health and Safety and Employee Relations (JCC).

Cabinet discussed the policies with the Lead Member and officers.  The Sexual Harassment Policy was an employment policy for staff and the conduct of elected members in respect of sexual harassment, etc., would be covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct.  At the Lead Member’s request, it had been agreed that the eLearning training module also be made available to elected members to support their understanding of the issue.  The Trade Unions had been actively involved in shaping the policy, which had been well received by the JCC, and Trade Unions had been appreciative of their involvement in that process.  The Lead Member thanked all stakeholders for their contributions and involvement with the new policy.  Next steps involved embedding the policy within the culture of the authority and raising awareness which was likely to give rise to an increase in reported incidents.  The effectiveness of the policy would mainly be measured initially by the number of reported incidents and over the longer term reflected in the staff survey.

Some clarity was sought over the wording of the Redeployment Policy and implications as a result of the change to move away from the minimum two years’ service before redeployment.  Councillor Emrys Wynne in particular highlighted the protections for staff under the current two-year policy, particularly as a result of redundancy and to safeguard against subsequent redeployments which could negatively impact some staff. Whilst acknowledging those concerns it was highlighted that the reasons for redeployment varied and the move demonstrated a positive benefit for staff who could request redeployment regardless of length of service and it was considered that the Council had a duty of care in that regard.  Assurances were provided that the Trade Unions had been fully supportive of the change and extending the protection to all staff from the first day of working.  It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6