Staffing Working Party Meeting Minutes 6th March 2025

1/0603. RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Christmas Smile - Cllrs K. Hardy and K. Bonsall.
Finance & General-Purpose Working Party - Cllrs J. Stephenson, K. Hardy, K. Bonsall, N. McGuiness, P. Dackombe and S. Sorrell.
Friends of the Earth - Cllr K. Hardy
Labour Party Member - Cllr J. Stephenson
Mansfield District Council Planning Committee - Cllr J. Stephenson.
Meden Medical Services PPG - Cllr K. Bonsall.
Staffing Working Party - Cllrs J. Stephenson, K. Hardy, K. Bonsall, N. McGuiness and P. Dackombe.
Swallows Green - Cllr J. Stephenson.
Vibrant Warsop Subcontractor - Cllr P. Dackombe.
Warsop Carnival Committee - Cllrs P. Dackombe, J. Stephenson and S. Sorrell.
WPC Room Hire (Ferocious Dog) - Cllr K. Bonsall.

Cllr Sorrell joined the staffing meeting for tonight and showed an interest in taking the last vacancy.

RECOMMEND: The council agree to Cllr Sorrell filling the last vacancy for staffing

The following additions to the declarations have been made –
Cllr Stephenson – Swallows Green
Cllr Sorrell – Finance and General-Purpose Working Party
Cllr Sorrell – Warsop Carnival Committee

The following removals to the declarations have been made –
Cllr Bonsall – Warsop Carnival Committee

2/0603. APOLOGIES

Cllr P Dackombe.

3/0603. TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE COUNCIL EMPLOYEES JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Members spent time reading through the job descriptions for the Clerk and Events and Liaison Coordinator

The Vice-Chairperson said that the Clerks job description is around 85% the same and the Events and Liaison Coordinator is new as this position did not exist before.

Cllr Bonsall asked why the Events and Liaison Coordinator role was still reporting to the Clerk.

The Vice-Chairperson read out the following statement from a council HR advisor, Chris Moses – While no law explicitly states that the Clerk is the sole line manager, the Local Government Act 1972, employment law and best practise guidance collectively establish that councils should delegate staff management to the Clerk. Councillors should not directly manage employees, as this could lead to legal and governance risks.

The Chairperson said that as members are happy with the job descriptions then it can be recommended that full council read them and discuss anything that other Cllrs raise.

RECOMMEND: The council read the job descriptions and discuss anything else that is raised in full council.

4/0603. TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE APPRAISALS

The Parish Council employs two members of staff. Appraisals were carried out for both of them. Cllrs Stephenson and Hardy conducted the appraisals and reported that everything was satisfactory and there were no concerns.

As part of the appraisals, the workstation assessment was discussed.
Cllr Bonsall raised concerns that these assessments had not been agreed by full council and shouldn’t have taken place.

The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Clerk tried to assure Cllr Bonsall that completing a workstation assessment doesn’t need the council to agree it. Council agreement will be required for any proposals that have been suggested. The assessment used was downloaded from the HSE website.

The Vice-Chairperson asked if employees could sign and date the proposals to make sure that they are still in agreement.

RECOMMEND: The council ask employees to sign and date the workstation assessment if they are still happy with the assessment and the proposals.

The Clerk read out the report that was produced by K. Scaysbrook B. Med. Sci. (Hons) OH that accompanies the HSE workstation assessment.
The items identified for the Clerk were –
Ergonomic mouse
Footrest
Writing slope
Chair
Pen
The report gave information on each item and where they can be purchased. Eye test and glasses were also mentioned as additional information.

The items identified for the Events and Liaison Coordinator were –
Desk
Monitor stand
Footrest
Writing slope
Chair
The report gave information on each item and where they can be purchased. Eye test and glasses were also mentioned as additional information.

Members mentioned the following for consideration –

Laptops – Currently employees use their own laptops when working from home as part of their hybrid working pattern. The laptops are secured by a user login and password and follow the same rules that Cllrs do on security, confidentiality and data protection.

Working from home assessment – both employees work from home.
The Chairperson mentioned that she has flexible working, and the Clerk said working from home had been discussed in the OH assessment in December due to her specific needs.

RECOMMEND: The council needs to consider laptops and a working from home assessment.

5/0603. TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE NEW EMPLOYEE CONTRACTS

The contracts presented by Chris Moses were do so in 2019. The template he used from SLCC and NALC has been updated with the new employment law changes in 2023. The Clerk said she will use the new template and add the employees’ details.

RECOMMEND: The Clerk is to use the 2023 contract template and add the employees' details and bring this to full council.

6/0603. CLOSE MEETING

The meeting was closed at 6.58pm.

These will be presented to Full Council on Monday 17th March 2025.