The Committee considered a report presenting four of the ‘core’ HR Policies which had been under review to ensure that they were fit for purpose and aligned with current ACAS guidance. The four Policies were as follows:

• Bullying and Harassment;
• Grievance;
• Managing Poor Performance;
• Disciplinary Policy.

The report explained that a range of stakeholders and the trades unions had been asked for their input into the four Policies that were under consideration and extensive input had been received from the Council’s in-house Employment Lawyer. Each Policy had been discussed and improvements had been suggested, which had then been collated and tested back with participants. It had been clear very early on that there was significant agreement amongst stakeholders about where improvements should be made. Many of the proposed improvements had applied to all Policies and their application as apposed to a single Policy; where there were suggestions about specific changes that needed to be made to individual Policies, these had also been captured.

The report stated that final changes were now being incorporated into the four Policies and had been shared with the trade unions. It was believed that the revisions that had been proposed would improve the application of each Policy and that there would be benefits in introducing them as soon as possible. For this reason the report proposed that authority was delegated to the Head of Paid Services, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee/Lead Councillor for Corporate Services and Resources and the Leader of the Council to approve the changes to the Policies.

Resolved:       That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Councillor for Corporate Services and Resources be authorised to agree the following revised Employment Policies:

·       Bullying and Harassment Policy;

·       Grievance Policy;

·       Managing Poor Performance Policy;

·       Disciplinary Policy.

subject to the revised policies being circulated to all members of the Personnel Committee for comment before they were agreed.