Agenda item

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which presented revisions and updates on four Council policies and procedures.

The report outlined the amendments that had been made to the policies, namely (1) Maximising Attendance; (2) Managing Work Performance; (3) Managing Substance Misuse; and (4) Managing Redundancy, and appended full, updated versions in each case.

The main features and amendments to the policies and procedures were outlined as follows:

• Managing Attendance Policy - (1) trigger levels would now be three occasions, with a total of 10 days lost to sickness absence over twelve months and five occasions with a total of 15 days lost to sickness absence over 24 months; (2) managers had a clear responsibility to apply the policy and manage the attendance of their staff, and where this did not happen they would be subject to performance management measures; (3) provision was included within the policy to state that in a circumstance where following a review period where an employee came out of formal procedure then had further sickness, they would go back to the stage at which they left the procedure; (4) when an employee hit the trigger, the formal process would be automatically activated; (5) a process named Employee AIDE (absence involving domestic emergencies) was to be introduced to recognise that an employee may find themselves in a situation where they need to take time away from work to deal with non work emergencies, and to avoid this being reported/recorded as sickness, managers would be allowed to approve appropriate time off or allow for time off to be worked back; (6) a process to deal with non attendance due to short term sickness absence, without an underlying medical cause, under a ‘conduct or some other substantial reason’ route was introduced; (7) the process to deal with non attendance due to short term sickness absence, with an underlying medical cause, under a ‘capability’ route was included; (8) a supportive and understanding approach to employees who suffer from an underlying medical cause was encouraged; (9) it was made clear that the outcome of the first two stages of the short term processes could be a caution to improve attendance and review period, and the third and final stage (the Capability Hearing) could result in the dismissal of the employee; and (10) the process to deal with non attendance due to long term sickness absence was made explicit.

·        Managing Work Performance – (1) the process had been adjusted with the right to appeal against the action plan being removed; and (2) the previous provision to search for redeployment had been removed, and it was made explicit that unless there was a medical reasons behind the under performance, that improvement within the role would be required.

·        Managing Substance Misuse – (1) the policy provided a structure for a supportive and constructive approach to managing substance misuse in line with the Council’s legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; (2) employees must attend work free of the affects of alcohol and/or substances; (3) the substances that were covered by the policy and procedure were defined, including alcohol; (4) it was made clear that employees must notify their manager if they were taking prescribed medication which may impair their ability to undertake their duties safely and effectively; (5) an explanation was provided with regard to the responsibilities of managers and employees in the management of alcohol or substance; (6) the possible referral routes were outlined and it was explained when it was appropriate to follow each route, depending upon how the substance misuse issue had been discovered; (7) the supporting provisions that were available and when these should be put in place were detailed; (8) clarification was provided on how and when management of substance misuse may integrate with the implementation of the Managing Discipline, Managing Work Performance or Managing Attendance Policies; (9) the circumstances when testing for alcohol or substances may occur were fully explained; and (10) information was provided on sources of support, sensible drinking limits and recognising alcohol and/or substance misuse.

·        Managing Redundancy – (1) the selection criteria were amended to be as objective as is possible, in line with the legal requirements; (2) the process had been amended to apply the competencies identified in the person specification; and (3) details of the simplified consultation process were provided.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the revisions and updates to the four policies, as appended to the report (Maximising Attendance – appendix 1; Managing Work Performance – appendix 2; Managing Substance Misuse – appendix 3; and Managing Redundancy – appendix 4); and

(ii)        to delegate authority to the Director of Corporate Governance to approve minor amendments to the wording of the Maximising Attendance and the Managing Substance Misuse policies, following ongoing consultation with Trades Unions representing teachers to ensure that these policies are consistent.