Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR

Contact: Phil Garnett 0113 39 51632 

Items
No. Item

1.

Appeals against refusal of inspection of documents

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an appeal the press and public will be excluded).

 

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

 

Minutes:

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

2.

Exempt Information - possible exclusion of the press and public

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

 

2   To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

 

3   If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

 

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered the designation of Appendix 3 to Agenda item 7 (minute 7 refers) as exempt under the Access to Information Procedure Rules 10.4 (4) and (5).

 

RESOLVED  - That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following part of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business transacted, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

 

Appendix 3 to Agenda item 7 because it contained information relating to negotiations in connection with industrial relations and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings. It was considered in these circumstances that the public interest in maintaining the exemption from publication outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

3.

Late items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

 

Minutes:

There were no late items submitted to the agenda for consideration.

 

4.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2000 and paragraphs 13-18 of the Members’ Code of Conduct. Also to declare any other significant interests which the Member wishes to declare in the public interest, in accordance with paragraphs 19-20 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

No declarations were made.

5.

Apologies for absence

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Blackburn, J Blake and J Procter.

 

6.

Minutes - 28th May 2014 pdf icon PDF 58 KB

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 28th May 2014

 

(Copy attached)

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held 28th May 2014 be approved as a correct record.

7.

HR Challenges 2014 - Proposed Changes to Terms and Conditions pdf icon PDF 89 KB

To receive a report of the deputy Chief Executive which seeks approval from the Committee to changes to employment terms and conditions including; removing current pay protection arrangements and having no pay protection policy going forward, removing the Managing Workforce Change Policy and replacing it with a Managing Staff Reductions Policy and changes to some of the Council’s existing travel arrangements. In addition to this the Council intends to make use of existing flexibility clauses in employment contracts and develop a flexibility protocol to support and enable a flexible workforce and proposes to withhold incremental progression where there is an adverse report on an employee.

 

(Report attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Officer HR submitted a report which sought approval from General Purposes Committee to changes to employment terms and conditions as outlined in Appendix 1 of the submitted report.

 

 

RESOLVED – Following detailed consideration of the report General Purposes Committee unanimously resolved to:

 

(a)  Note the contents of this report and consider the detailed legal advice in exempt Appendix 3 of the submitted report;

(b)  Note the continued consultation with the TUs with a view to trying to reach a collective agreement;

(c)  Agree the changes to terms and conditions outlined in paragraph 3.3.3 of the submitted report and detailed in appendix 1 of the submitted report.

(d)   Agree that the new proposals will be put into effect for new starters to the Council as soon as practicable after the 1st August 2014. For current staff offered new contracts following internal changes, the new terms would apply from 1st September 2014;

(e)  Note, in the absence of a collective agreement, for current staff the options available to implement these proposals are: to seek individual consent; to give notice of the changes; or to dismiss and immediately re-engage staff on new terms and conditions of employment. Different options may apply to each proposal and to all or groups of affected staff in scope; and

(f)  Note that authority to implement these changes rests with the Deputy Chief Executive in accordance with the approved delegation scheme.