Decision:
1. To recommend to Full Council that until permanent arrangements have been adopted Joint Posts will be appointed by Waverley Borough Council on Waverley Terms and Conditions of employment with a 10% uplift on salary as set out in para 6.3 of this report and Appendix 1;
2. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Policy for creating Joint Posts until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.4 of this report;
3. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Joint Posts job evaluation competency framework until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.5 of this report;
4. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Joint Post Salary Grades and Scales Structure until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.6 of this report and Appendix 2;
5. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Restructure Policy for joint posts until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in out in para 6.7 of this report;
6. To recommend to Full Council the revisions to the statutory Pay Policy documentation for GBC and that these documents be presented to Full Council for approval as set out in this report and Appendix 3.
7. To receive a report back from the Head of Paid Service within a two year period setting out recommendations for permanent arrangements and an update on the wider collaboration programme within a six month period.
Reason(s):
1. The salary benchmarking exercise undertaken concludes the outstanding action from the Officer Resource: Legal & Democratic Services paper presented to GBC Executive on 16 May 2024 and WBC Executive on 7 May 2024.
2. The salary benchmarking paper sets out findings which reduces the costs of the new Legal and Democratic Services structure. This is set out in Appendix 1.
3. Corporate Leadership Board (CLB) has recognised that we need to make long-term decisions relating to how we best harmonise working practices across GBC and WBC. However, we also need to be able to respond to short term pressures from across the councils to implement joint roles across both councils, where CLB agrees that it is appropriate and that there is an urgent and evidence-based need for joint posts to be implemented.
4. Therefore, we need to ensure that for a temporary period of time we have appropriate policy, process, and systems in place to ensure that any joint post arrangements are applied consistently, are underpinned by sound governance, are affordable and in line with both councils’ statutory duties relating to best value. Additionally, we need to mitigate against any possible risks associated with collaborating across two councils with different job evaluation and salary structures (e.g. equal pay).
Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:
None.
Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:
None.
Minutes:
The creation of joint posts presented a further enhancement in the collaborative working across both councils. Officers were actively working on scoping a programme of work around the harmonisation of working practices and a separate report would come to the Executives of both councils later in the year.
During the restructure of Legal and Democratic Services there was a dependency on a salary benchmarking exercise to confirm what salary uplift should be applied to these new joint posts. To assist, the Corporate Leadership Board had agreed a number of key principles including that an additional payment be made called a ‘Special Responsibility Payment’. This definition would only be used in the context of new joint posts as under normal circumstances an honorarium payment was made for special responsibilities for an agreed period of time.
It was proposed that all future joint posts should be created using Waverley terms and conditions of employment and that there should be updated interim policies and processes that would underpin the creation of new joint posts and they would remain valid only until the conclusion of the broader terms and conditions of employment programme.
It was noted that there were revised recommendations and legal comment set out in the Supplementary Information Sheet.
The Executive thanked officers and noted the flexibility the proposed temporary arrangements offered both councils.
RESOLVED:
1. To recommend to Full Council that until permanent arrangements have been adopted Joint Posts will be appointed by Waverley Borough Council on Waverley Terms and Conditions of employment with a 10% uplift on salary as set out in para 6.3 of this report and Appendix 1;
2. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Policy for creating Joint Posts until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.4 of this report;
3. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Joint Posts job evaluation competency framework until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.5 of this report;
4. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Joint Post Salary Grades and Scales Structure until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in para 6.6 of this report and Appendix 2;
5. To note the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to introduce a Restructure Policy for joint posts until permanent arrangements are approved as set out in out in para 6.7 of this report;
6. To recommend to Full Council the revisions to the statutory Pay Policy documentation for GBC and that these documents be presented to Full Council for approval as set out in this report and Appendix 3.
7. To receive a report back from the Head of Paid Service within a two year period setting out recommendations for permanent arrangements and an update on the wider collaboration programme within a six month period.
Reason(s):
1. The salary benchmarking exercise undertaken concludes the outstanding action from the Officer Resource: Legal & Democratic Services paper presented to GBC Executive on 16 May 2024 and WBC Executive on 7 May 2024.
2. The salary benchmarking paper sets out findings which reduces the costs of the new Legal and Democratic Services structure. This is set out in Appendix 1.
3. Corporate Leadership Board (CLB) has recognised that we need to make long-term decisions relating to how we best harmonise working practices across GBC and WBC. However, we also need to be able to respond to short term pressures from across the councils to implement joint roles across both councils, where CLB agrees that it is appropriate and that there is an urgent and evidence-based need for joint posts to be implemented.
4. Therefore, we need to ensure that for a temporary period of time we have appropriate policy, process, and systems in place to ensure that any joint post arrangements are applied consistently, are underpinned by sound governance, are affordable and in line with both councils’ statutory duties relating to best value. Additionally, we need to mitigate against any possible risks associated with collaborating across two councils with different job evaluation and salary structures (e.g. equal pay).
Supporting documents: