Agenda item

The Committee considered a report that sought approval of three amended human resources policies and management procedures – the flexible working policy, probation policy and the suite of maternity and family friendly policies.  Members were also asked to note the hybrid working policy which had been approved and implemented.

The HR Service Lead stated that there was a programme in place to review the Council’s HR policies and procedures.  The sign off of the policies and management guidance documents was in line with the requirements of the HR Improvement Plan and to ensure managers received a suite of up-to-date policies with management guidance to support the use of the policy to manage their staff effectively.  The current policies were felt to be overly lengthy and difficult for managers to follow without refence to HR even at the informal stages. Due to their comprehensive nature, the policies could create risks for the organisation in terms of Employment Tribunal claims, and therefore the approach in the revision had been to streamline and separate into two parts with the format of a shorter policy statement and a more in-depth management guidance to reduce bureaucracy and mitigate risks for the organisation.

The Committee discussed the Hybrid Working Policy which had been implemented in November 2023 and stated that staff who could work in a hybrid manner could work from home but would be required to attend their Slough place of work, e.g. Observatory House, for a minimum of two, and preferably three days per week or more if required by the demands for the job.  This would be pro-rata for part time workers and the policy would be reviewed after six months.  Several Members of the Committee highlighted the importance of attendance in the office to promote collaboration, learning and teamwork and commented that the policy could go further than the minimum of two days.  Officers responded that this was the beginning of the hybrid working policy and the number of office days required was likely to increase in the future.  It was also recognised that there was need to ensure Observatory House was conducive to a hybrid working model.

Councillor Iftakhar Ahmed addressed the Committee under Rule 30 and expressed dissatisfaction with the minimum of two days in the office, expressing the view that the minimum should be three days and the policy should be rigorously enforced.  Officers responded that any increase in the minimum requirement would necessitate further consultation with staff.  It was emphasised that staff were equipped to work effectively from home and managers had a key role to ensure high levels of performance irrespective of whether staff were working from the office or at home.

In conclusion, the Committee agreed that the policy was comprehensive and that it was important to recognise that hybrid working could play an important role in attracting and retaining high quality staff.  Members felt it was a starting point and there was support for the policy to go further in the future with a minimum requirement of three office based days following the six-month review.

The three policies for which approval was sought were summarised and Members considered them in turn.

·  Flexible Working Policy – the updates were mainly cosmetic and to ensure it aligned with current employment legislation and the ACAS Code of Practice.

·  Probation Policy – the changes included aligning the policy with the new onboarding process for staff.

·  Maternity and Family Friendly Policies – all family friendly policies and maternity had been amalgamated into one policy, which the Committee welcomed.

A question was asked in relation to the Acceptable Use of Systems and Technology Policy that had been approved at the last meeting.  The Committee had been informed that awareness raising and training on the policy would take place following approval.  A Member asked what training had taken place with staff on that policy and the normal process to raise awareness of any future policy changes.  The Associate Director, HR stated that information on the Acceptable Use Policy training / awareness raising would be sought and circulated following the meeting.  More generally, there was usually a communications plan in place to update managers and staff on revised policies such as briefings and sometimes e-learning.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Flexible Working Policy, the Probation Policy and the Maternity and Family Friendly Suite of Policies were approved and the Hybrid Working Policy was noted.

Resolved –

(a)  That the following three amended policies and management guidance documents be approved:

·  Flexible Working Policy

·  Probation Policy

·  Maternity and Family Friendly Suite of Policies

(b)  That the Hybrid Working Policy be noted.