Minute of meeting of 16 September 2024
Perth and Kinross Council · 5 February 2025
Back to Finance and Resources Committee — 5 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Perth and Kinross Council Finance and Resources Committee Employees Joint Consultative Committee Minute of hybrid meeting of the Employees Joint Consultative Committee held in the Council Chambers, 2 High Street, Perth on Monday 16 September 2024 at 2.00pm. Present: Representing Perth and Kinross Council: Councillors S McCole and J Rebbeck. Present: Representing Trade Unions: S Hope (UNISON) C Weston (EIS) (up to Item 9) M Mackie (SSTA) S Robertson (Unite the Union) (up to Item 8) In Attendance: E Bayne, J Beveridge, L Hamilton, J Guild, P Johnstone, L McGeorge and F Thomson (all Strategy, People and Resources); F MacKay (Economy, Place and Learning). Apologies: V Leonard, S Topen-Cooper and L Roberts. S Hope in the Chair. 1. Welcome and Apologies S Hope welcomed all present to the meeting and apologies were noted as above. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 3. Minute of Meeting of the Employees Joint Consultative Committee of 17 June 2024 for Approval The minute of meeting of the Employees Joint Consultative Committee of 17 June 2024 was submitted and approved as a correct record. 4. MATTERS ARISING (i) H&S Consultative Committees L Hamilton advised work is ongoing to bring a report regarding the set up of a consultative committee to the Strategic Leadership Team by the end of this month, with the target date for the first Committee meeting in mid December.
Page 2
(ii) Fair Work First F Thomson advised a productive meeting had taken place with Trade Unions and extended her thanks to all involved. Two key requirements remain to be agreed, before a statement is produced for publication and Trade Union signatures are sought at future meetings. S Hope advised he would arrange a forum for Trade Unions to ensure quick decision making as required. (iii) People and Culture Strategy P Johnstone that the Workforce Planning Board will be responsible for ensuring collective oversight of workforce planning activity across PKC. She also advised that the Audit Scotland Best Value Audit on Workforce Innovation has been completed; advised a draft report has been prepared and will be submitted to Audit and Risk Committee at the end of September. P Johnstone also added there has been a change to the Leadership structure following the Director of Economy, Place and Learning leaving and the decision to take this post as a saving along with re-aligning teams under the Chief Executive/Depute Chief Executive and Chief Officer Health & Social Care Partnership. P Johnstone advised that a separate email had been issued to the unions outlining the communications circulated and the new structure. (iv) Crieff Primary School J Beveridge joined the meeting to provide an update on ongoing investigations at Crieff Primary School. He advised a smell was reported on Wednesday 4 September to Property Services, although no source could be found following testing. Following reports of staff becoming unwell, further testing was carried out with a focus on the kitchen area, but still no source could be identified. All testing was repeated again the following day with no conclusion of the source. Following a member of Tayside Contract staff fainting, an ambulance was called who subsequently reported to Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the school evacuated. SFRS took over the building to perform further testing but still could not identify a source. J Beveridge advised Police Scotland issued a public communication to advise a suspected chemical leak was present however this was not accurate information. Crieff Primary School was closed to all pupils and staff on Friday 6 September as precaution. Specialist consultants were brought in for further testing, with a focus on the kitchen area, but results were inconclusive and a source could not be identified.
Page 3
Work is ongoing with Health and Safety, Environmental Health and Tayside Contracts. Potential external sites and influences are also being explored. Tayside Contracts are back in operation from Monday 16 September and devices are in place for ongoing monitoring. L Hamilton added that symptoms experienced by staff were in line with a chemical reaction. Involvement has also been sought from Public Health but again no conclusion reached. L Hamilton advised the incident is not reportable under RIDDOR. 5. Health and Safety Performance Report Quarter 1 – 2024/25 There was a report submitted by the Strategic Lead – Strategic Planning, People and Performance (G/24/127) informing and assisting the Employees Joint Consultative Committee in monitoring health and safety compliance and performance across Perth and Kinross Council and providing an overview of health and safety activities undertaken. C Weston extended her thanks to those involved in taking forward the noise reporting. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/127, be noted. 6. Fire Safety Quarterly Report – Quarter 1 – 2024/25 There was a report submitted by the Strategic Lead – Strategic Planning, People and Performance (G/24/128) informing and assisting the Employees Joint Consultative Committee in monitoring fire safety performance across Perth and Kinross Council and providing an overview of fire safety activities undertaken. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/128, be noted. 7. Staff Reporting: Incidents of Violence/Aggression and Incidents of Distressed/Challenging Behaviour in Education Settings, Term 4 2023/24 There was a report submitted by the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (G/24/129) informing Employees Joint Consultative Committee of the Education Service’s performance in managing and reducing incidents of violence and aggression or distressed and challenging behaviour that have impacted staff in the workplace. The report provides a summary of the information gathered in Term 4 of academic year 2023/2024 in relation to staff reports of incidents in schools and other educational settings which had an emotional or physical impact on them. It also provides information on the activity of an established working group to prevent and reduce the number of incidents.
Page 4
In response to a request from M Mackie regarding sharing data at school level with staff at Consultative Committees, F Mackay advised a Power BI page has been developed to allow schools to view their own data. There has been a delay in launching this due to staff absence but should be available this term. In response to a question from C Weston regarding staff being off sick due to an incident of violence and aggression, but this being recorded as work related stress and the impact this may have on data, F Mackay confirmed the data in the report is only in relation to incidents which have been reported. F Thomson added that data and categories will be reviewed and guidance can be issued if appropriate to assist with accurate recording. P Johnstone also added that while an initial absence may be related to physical injuries following an incident of violence or aggression, any ongoing absence is more likely to be as a result of reduced wellbeing following the incident. Councillor McCole requested clarity of reporting going forward to ensure accuracy of data. S Hope commented the sharing of CALM Trainers across services is positive and welcomed this approach. Councillor Rebbeck commented that reasons for violence and aggression within classrooms can be multifaceted, and it is important to note pupils with additional support needs and societal impacts are both contributing to incidents. Councillor Rebbeck recognised the number of staff in classrooms is a factor and hopes the introduction of the mobile phone policy will have a positive impact going forward. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/129, be noted. M MACKIE LEFT THE MEETING AT THIS POINT. 8. Menopause Awareness Month There was a report submitted by the Corporate Human Resources Manager (G/24/130) providing an update on planned activity for Menopause Awareness Month throughout October 2024 and Menopause Awareness Day on 18 October. In response to a question from Councillor McCole regarding how menopause guidance is working for staff, F Thomson advised the guidance is refreshed regularly and a link to the existing guidance is available within the report. F Thomson added that feedback from trade unions is welcomed, and the guidance can be added to a future agenda to ensure it is sufficient. S Hope advised he would feed back information on any union specific events being held for Menopause Awareness Month. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/130, be noted.
Page 5
(C Weston Left the Meeting at this Point.) 9. Health and Wellbeing Update There was a report submitted by the Corporate Human Resources Manager (G/24/131) providing the Employees Joint Consultative Committee an update on current health and wellbeing data and activities. In response to a question from Councillor McCole regarding comparison of working days lost to other Local Authorities, P Johnstone advised national figures for 2023/24 are yet to be published. In response to another question from Councillor McCole regarding the impact on remaining staff when longer term absences occur, E Bayne advised that the cumulative impact is recognised and mitigations are put in place as far as possible but the knowledge loss can be problematic. P Johnstone added it can be largely dependent on the size of the school impacted. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/131, be noted. 10. People and Culture – Skills Academies to Support Hard to Fill Occupational Roles There was a report submitted by the Senior Human Resources Officer (G/24/132) providing information and raising awareness about ongoing discussions relating to an approach to support recruitment to hard to fill occupational roles. In response to a question from L McGeorge regarding employment of those without the required qualifications, P Nicoll advised that applicants would have to meet the essential requirements of an advertised role this would not be encouraged and the majority of thoseinvolved are entry level. In response to a question from Councillor McCole regarding target audience, P Nicoll advised it is mostly individuals accessing the services of the Skills and Employment Support Team or via the Job Centre. P Nicoll added the vacancies will be advertised in the normal manner but the Skills Academies give opportunity to those who may not usually apply. Councillor Rebbeck commented this was a welcomed approach. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/132, be noted. 11. Employee Survey There was a report submitted by Corporate Human Resources Manager (G/24/133) providing an update on the Employee Survey.
Page 6
In introducing the report P Johnstone advised areas for improvement have been identified and work is ongoing with managers regarding team specific results. In response to a question from L McGeorge regarding a 1:1 discussion template, F Thomson advised this would be available on Eric soon. In response to a question from Councillor Rebbeck regarding access to the survey to staff who would not usually work on a PC, F Thomson advised it is not known what percentage contributed to the overall results but gave the example of events which were held at Friarton to help and encourage staff who do not regularly use a PC to complete the survey. In response to a request from S Hope to view the full results, F Thomson advised there is a link within the report showing all PKC results and a breakdown per Strategic Lead area. Resolved: The contents of Report G/24/133, be noted. 12. Any Other Competent Business J Guild advised the Employees Joint Consultative Committee Constitution and Function has been updated to reflect changes in management structure and job titles, committee names and team names within the organisation. The updated version will be circulated for comment before final approval and noting by Finance and Resources Committee on 18 September. 13. Date of Next Meeting Monday 9 December 2024.