Agenda and draft minutes

To Approve as a Correct Record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 27 February 2023.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 27 February 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made at this point in the meeting.

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Committee received a report which asked that consideration be given to a request for a change in terms and conditions for the post of Chief Executive.  Members noted that the original request had been part determined in February 2023, when it had been resolved that: -

(a)    the Terms and Conditions attached to the post of Chief Executive be amended as follows: -

In addition to the nationally agreed Terms and Conditions

·     Three days additional annual leave be granted for the year 2022/23 and a carry forward of these additional days be permitted over and above the five days allowed by the current policy (8 in total).

·     Three days additional annual leave be granted for the year 2023/24 onwards and each subsequent year; and

(b)    the request for a change in Terms and Conditions of the Post of Chief Executive be reviewed again in six months’ time, by the Chief Officer Employment Committee, when more comparable data is available and the outcome of any 2023/2024 pay award has been finalised.

Committee were now asked to determine whether or not to grant the outstanding request in light of having received the comparable data previously requested.

Given there had been an all-out election and change in administration, since the Committee had last met, the Chairman took the opportunity to recap to Members, the report previously considered, the rationale that had been put forward by the Chief Executive previously in support of his request, the Chief Executive’s current package and what that package would look like if the further changes, as detailed at section 1.5 of the report were approved, and finally how the Chief Executive’s current and requested package compared to the benchmarking data.

It was also confirmed that the 23/24 pay award for Chief Executives had been determined and finalised at 3.5%, with Members noting the Chief Executive’s current salary as a result.

In light of the information to-date, the Chairman outlined to Committee a number of questions she considered needed responding to, and areas where further probing may be needed in advance of the Committee being in a position to determine the matter, namely, and in connection with the rationale relating to personal development of other Management Team Members and resilience: -

·       Does the Chief Executive have a clear structure for deputising? How is this managed and measured?

·       Have the Chief Officers a clear understanding of who will take overall responsibility in the Chief Executive’s absence and are they clear on the delegations in place?

·       Is this reflected in Chief Officer Personal Development Reviews so that it can be properly measured on an annual basis?

·       Does the Chief Executive have a clear succession plan?

·       What is the Chief Executive’s vision for his replacement in time?

The rationale of Health and Well-being was also questioned, given the data demonstrated the Chief Executive’s annual leave package was already in the top quartile of those who had responded to the East Midlands Council survey.

As such it was suggested that the decision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.