Employment Forum: appointment of Chair and members

2020  R.46

REPORT

Background

The  Employment  (Jersey)  Law  2003  (the  "Employment  Law")1  provides  for  the establishment of the Employment Forum (the "Forum"), and that it shall consist of a Chairman and 8 other members appointed by the Minister for Social Security (the "Minister"). Members must be appointed having regard to the desirability of securing an appropriate balance between members with experience as employers, members with experience as employees, and members with other relevant experience.

It is vital to provide a balance between introducing new perspectives and skills to the Forum, as well as providing continuity amongst the membership with the retention of knowledge and experience. Forum members are usually appointed for an initial 3-year term and may request to be re-appointed. The Forum operates in accordance with the Commission's guidance2 which states, in paragraph 20.1 –

"States appointees and members of independent bodies should not normally be appointed for terms in excess of nine years.".

Role of the Employment Forum

The  Employment  Law  states  that  the  Minister  shall  refer  matters  relating  to  the Minimum Wage, plus any such matters relating to the Employment Law as the Minister thinks fit, to the Employment Forum for their consideration.

The Employment Forum shall, after considering those matters, make a report to the Minister which shall contain the Forum's recommendations about each of those matters. Before arriving at the recommendations to be included in their report, the Employment Forum shall consult –

1. such organisations representative of employers as they think fit;
2. such organisations representative of employees as they think fit; and
3. if they think fit, any other body or person.

Vacancies

The terms of office of 5 members end in 2020. The terms of office for Advocate Helen Ruelle, Mr. Thomas Quinlan and Ms. Barbara Ward ended on 30th April 2020, after 10 years' service. The terms of office for Mr. Malcolm Ferey and Ms. Julie Fairclough end on 17th October 2020, after 9 years' service.

The Minister is very grateful to all Forum members for their service. A further employee representative position is currently vacant.

1 www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/Pages/05.255.aspx (see Articles 18–21 of the Law, and

Schedule 2)

2 https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/P%20J

AC%20recruiting%20guidelines%20%2020160517%20MN.pdf

Recruitment

An advertisement was placed in the Jersey Evening Post, on the gov.je website and was sent to all of those on the Forum's consultation database (approximately 150, including employers and employees, trade unions and employers' associations). It was also sent by Citizen's Advice Jersey and the Chamber of Commerce to their databases. Eight applications  were  received  for  the  member  positions,  of  which  4 candidates  also expressed interest in the Chair appointment. Following shortlisting, 6 candidates were selected for interview for the member position, and 2 for the Chair position.

The interviews were conducted in April. The Chair interviews were conducted by the Deputy Chair of the Forum, Mr. Malcolm Ferey (an independent representative), and Ms. Rachel Williams, Head of Governance for the Department for Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance. The Panel was chaired by Mr. Simon Nash from the Jersey Appointments Commission, who had overseen the process throughout.

The  member  interviews  were  conducted  by  the   Deputy  Chair  of  the  Forum, Mr. Malcolm   Ferey  (an  independent  representative),  and  employer  representative Ms. Julie Fairclough. Ms. Rachel Williams, Head of Governance for the Department for Strategic  Policy,  Planning  and  Performance  provided  assurance  regarding  the recruitment process.

The Forum's main priority in its selection of members is to maintain diversity within the group; the Forum must ensure that its 9 members cover the widest range of skills, expertise and industry types possible. The Forum also seeks to ensure that members have recent knowledge and relevant experience of employment relations issues, as well as an interest in employment policy and legislation. The interview panel was satisfied that the 3 candidates have a broad range of appropriate skills and experience to bring to the  Forum,  and  recommended the  following  3 candidates  for  appointment  by  the Minister.

Advocate Carla Benest (Chair)

Carla Benest is a Jersey Advocate and a Partner of Mourant Ozannes. She leads the firm's Jersey employment law practice, advising on a range of employment law matters (both contentious and non-contentious), as well as supporting local businesses in other matters  of  operational  regulation  such  as  data  protection,  business  licensing, immigration and competition law. Advocate Benest is a regular speaker on employment law and contributes to written publications. She is a member of the Employment Lawyer' Association, the Jersey Law Society, the Institute of Directors, and is a Council member of the Jersey Good Business Charter.

Advocate Benest has been invited to become the Chair of the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a 3-year term of appointment, beginning on 1st May 2020.

Ms. Donna Abel (Employer Representative)

Ms. Donna Abel has worked as Group Human Resources Director for the Garenne Construction Group since 2019, responsible for creating and establishing the strategic Group Human Resources function across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to this, she spent 20 years with the Channel Islands Co-operative Society Ltd., latterly as Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Abel has been a Board Member of the Jersey Advisory and

Conciliation Service for 6 years, and more recently has been appointed to the Steering Committee of The Prince's Trust. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and a Member  of  the  Institute  of  Directors.  Ms. Abel  will  be  appointed  as  Employer Representative, bringing strategic leadership, stakeholder management, collaboration through listening and enabling others, and a track record of translating organisational vision into Human Rights strategies.

Ms. Abel has been invited to join the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a 3-year term of appointment, beginning on 1st May 2020.

Mr. Mark Richardson (Employee Representative)

Born and educated in Jersey, Mr. Mark Richardson is currently the Private Secretary to the Minister for Health and Social Services. He is a member of the Jersey Civil Service Association branch of Prospect. He was Chair of the Joint Negotiating Group that negotiated the introduction of the new pension scheme for public sector workers. Mr. Richardson is an Employee Representative on the Committee of Management of the public sector pension schemes. Before his return to Jersey in 2007, he was a writer and Publications Editor for the well-respected Incomes Data Services in the UK for 18 years, focusing on Human Resources policy and practice.

Mr. Richardson has been invited to join the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a 3-year term of appointment, beginning on 1st May 2020.

Ms. Claire Kingham (Independent Representative, from October 2020)

Ms. Claire Kingham has over 29 years' experience practising law in Jersey across a wide range of private client and business issues. Ms. Kingham practices employment law and leads a team advising on estates, wills and mental capacity issues, at local law firm, Benest & Syvret. She completed her Legal Practice Course at the College of Law and holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Employment Law from the University of Surrey. Ms. Kingham is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Industrial Law Society. Having significant experience in representing both employers and employees in the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal, she advises on a  range  of  employment-related  issues,  including  discrimination,  unfair  dismissal, redundancy,  compromise  agreements,  policies  and  procedures,  and  business restructures and reorganisation.

Ms. Kingham has been invited to join the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a 3-year term of appointment, to begin on 18th October 2020.

Recommendations

• To appoint Advocate Carla Benest as Chair of the Employment Forum, for an initial 3-year term effective from 1st May 2020.

• To  appoint  Mr.  Mark  Richardson  and  Ms.  Donna  Abel  as  members  of  the Employment Forum, each for a 3-year term effective from 1st May 2020.

• To appoint Ms. Claire Kingham as a member of the Employment Forum, for a 3-year term effective from 18th October 2020.

The current members and their terms of appointment are –