Report of Managing Director
To
COUNCIL
On
8 SEPTEMBER, 2009
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE – AMENDMENT TO TERMS OF REFERENCE
1. SUMMARY
To seek approval to amend the existing Terms of Reference of the Personnel
Committee and matters reserved to Council in respect of the recruitment and
dismissal of Head of Paid Service, Corporate Directors and Heads of Service.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
(i) That the Terms of Reference of the Personnel Committee, in respect of
recruitment and dismissal of the Head of Paid Service, Corporate
Directors and Heads of Service, be amended as follows:-
“3. To approve the appointment of the Head of Paid Service, Corporate
Directors and Heads of Service in accordance with relevant
regulations.
4. To approve the dismissal of Corporate Directors and those Heads
of Service who are not Statutory Officers
5. That in respect of the dismissal of any of the Statutory Officers,
namely the Head of Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer and the
Section 151 Officer, the Personnel Committee make a
recommendation to Council which would be supported by a report
from an independent person.”
(ii) That the Functions and Responsibilities of the Council contained in
the Constitution be amended as follows;-
That (9) relating to the approval of the appointment of the Head
of Paid Service, Corporate Directors and Heads of Service be
deleted and (10) be amended to read “ Approving the
dismissal (including redundancy) of the Statutory Officers, namely
the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Section 151
Officer, following a recommendation from the Personnel
Committee supported by a report from an independent person.”
3. BACKGROUND
3.1 Members will be aware that, currently, the Constitution states that the
Personnel Committee only has the authority to recommend for the
Council’s approval, the appointment and dismissal of the Head of Paid
Service, Corporate Directors and Heads of Service. The actual
appointments themselves being a matter reserved to Council.
3.2 It is considered that this process is not efficient as delays in confirming
appointments can potentially lead to recruitment problems if there are
no scheduled Council meetings planned within a reasonable time span
of the Personnel Committee. In addition, some members have
expressed concerns at the appropriateness of their involvement in the
recruitment process if they have had no involvement in the selection of
a candidate.
3.3 Accordingly, it is now proposed to amend that part of the Terms of
Reference of the Personnel Committee that relates to the appointment
and dismissal of the Head of Paid Service, Corporate Directors or
Heads of Service and the corresponding Functions and
Responsibilities of Council.
3.4 With regard to the appointments of the Head of Paid Service, Corporate
Directors and Heads of Service, the only proposed change is to
delegate the Personnel Committee the power to make such
appointments rather than making recommendations to Council as at
present which overcomes the concerns expressed in 3.2 above.
3.5 However, the position regarding the dismissal of the above officers is
different as the three statutory officers can only be dismissed by
a resolution of the Council on the advice of a report from an
independent person.
3.6 As a result, it is now proposed that the authority to dismiss Corporate
Directors and those Heads of Service who are not statutory officers
transfers to the Personnel Committee rather than being reserved to
Council.
3.7 In respect of the dismissal of any of the Statutory Officers which can
only be done by resolution of the Council, it is suggested that the
Personnel Committee will consider the appropriate documentation,
supported by a report from an independent person, and make a
recommendation to Council.
4. OPTIONS AVAILABLE
To approve or reject the proposed amendments to the Terms of Reference.
5. RISK ASSESSMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND OPTIONS
There is no risk associated with this report.
6. ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
The proposed amendment to the Terms of Reference to the Personnel
Committee will greatly improve the efficiency of the recruitment process
thereby ensuring better leadership and management.
7. IMPLICATIONS
(a) Relevant Legislation – there are no implications associated with this
report.
(b) Human Rights – there are no implications associated with this report.
(c) Equality and Diversity – there are no implications associated with this
report.
(d) Climate change and environmental sustainability– there are no
implications associated with this report.
(e) Crime and Disorder– there are no implications associated with this
report
(f) Budget /Resource– there are no implications associated with this
report.
8. COMMENTS OF STATUTORY OFFICERS
(a) Head of Paid Service – own report
(b) Monitoring Officer – no specific comments
(c) Section 151 Officer - no specific comments
9. CONSULTATION
Human Resources
10. BACKGROUND PAPERS
Nil
Report Author - Ruth Marlow
Designation - Managing Director
Telephone - 01623 463045
E-mail - rmarlow@mansfield.gov.uk