States Employment Board: Annual Report 2014.

STATES OF JERSEY

STATES EMPLOYMENT BOARD: ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Presented to the States on 16th September 2015 by the States Employment Board

STATES GREFFE

2015   Price code: B  R.103

REPORT

1. The Constitution of the Board

1. The Board from 1st January 2014 until 30th October 2014 consisted of the following members –

1. Senator I.J. Gorst , Chief Minister (Chairman)
2. Deputy A.K.F. Green, M.B.E., of St. Helier , Minister for Housing
3. Deputy E.J. Noel of St. Lawrence , Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources
4. Connétable D.W. Mezbourian of St. Lawrence
5. Deputy J.M. Le Bailly of St. Mary .

2. The Board from 3rd November 2014 until 31st December 2014 consisted of the following members –

1. Senator I.J. Gorst , Chief Minister (Chairman)
2. Senator A.K.F. Green, M.B.E.
3. Senator A.J.H. Maclean
4. Connétable J. Gallichan of St. Mary
5. Connétable M.P.S. Le Troquer of St. Martin .

3. The States Greffe provides administrative support to the Board.

2. The number of meetings held during the year

1. In 2014, there were 20 meetings of the Board, of which 3 were conducted by e-mail.
2. There were 16 meetings of the Board between 1st January 2014 and 30th October 2014, one of which was conducted by e-mail; and following the appointment  of  the  new  Board  after  the  October  elections,  there  were 4 meetings, 2 of which were conducted by e-mail.
   3. A summary of key matters considered by the Board in 2014

1. Public Sector Reform and Workforce Modernisation –

The Board gave continued attention to the employment considerations arising from  the  Reform  of  the  Public  Sector  and  the  Workforce  Modernisation programme.

1. The Board recognised and welcomed that there had been significant engagement on the part of all Trades Unions and Staff Associations involved with the Workforce Modernisation programme, which had seen their representatives working constructively with the Employer. This was reflected in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has resulted in the establishment of the Joint Council for Public Sector Unions and Associations.

2. The Board  considered  regular  update reports  regarding  Workforce Modernisation, including proposals for the Reward Strategy for States employees and progress on the Terms and Conditions/Policy Work- stream.

2. The Board gave consideration to a number of issues regarding pay –

1. With  regard  to the  2015  Pay  Negotiations,  the  Board  remained committed to maintaining dialogue with employee groups. The Board considered matters relating to budgetary arrangements for pay awards and, looking ahead, the mandate for 2015 pay.
2. The Board received reports and gave consideration to matters relating to the pay of doctors.

3. Pensions

1. The Board received reports on and considered a number of matters in relation  to:  Pensions,  Public  Employees  Contributory  Retirement Scheme  (PECRS)  and  the  Jersey  Teachers'  Superannuation  Fund (JTSF):

• General Pension provisions
• Admitted Body Status Applications
• Amendments to Regulations
• Care Scheme proposals.

2. In considering future pension proposals, the Board received regular updates  from  the  Treasurer  of  the  States,  the  Pensions  Project Director, and the Negotiator for pensions provisions on behalf of the Joint Negotiating Group. The Board noted the package of measures proposed  by  each  side  in the  negotiations  regarding  the  proposed CARE scheme.
3. The Board approved nominations to the Committee of Management for JTSF.
4. the  Board  considered  a  number  of  proposals  for  new  pensions legislation and amendments to existing Regulations. These included:

• Draft Public Employees (Pensions) (Jersey) Law 201-.

4. Pay and Remuneration over £100,000 (P.59/2011)

Pursuant  to  the  adoption  by  the  States  Assembly,  on  8th  June  2011,  of P.59/2011 entitled "Salaries over £100,000: process for review and scrutiny", the Board received a number of applications for appointments to be made where the remuneration for the post attracted a salary of over £100,000. The report on P.59 applications is appended to this document.

5. Public Sector Salaries

The Board endorsed a report for presentation to the States Assembly entitled Remuneration of States Employees: 2013', which was incorporated into the States of Jersey Financial Report and Accounts 2013.

6. Jersey Appointments Commission

1. The Board  endorsed  the  terms  of  office  for  membership  of  the Commission in accordance with Article 18(2) of the Employment of States  of  Jersey  Employees  (Jersey)  Law  2005,  enabling  the appointment of a new Commission Chair – Dame Janet Paraskeva.
2. The Board received the Annual Report of the Commission and agreed that the Chief Minister should present the finalised report to the States Assembly.

7. Health and Safety

1. The Board received a Corporate Health and Safety Performance and Activity Report, which showed an overall improvement in health and safety management performance across the States.
2. The Board received a report regarding the management of Legionella in the Health and Social Services Department and noted the actions that had been taken.

8. Suspensions and the Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Board received reports from the Suspension Review Panel.
2. With regard to the Memorandum of Understanding (an agreement to review  persons  excluded  or  suspended  from  duty  as  a  result  of potentially concurrent internal disciplinary and criminal investigatory procedures),  the  Board  noted  continued  use  of  this  forum  as  an effective  and  appropriate  means  of  reviewing  and  managing  such cases.

9. Policies

The Board noted the review of a number of policy matters. These included –

1. Good Practice Guide: transfer of Public Service Employees
2. Serious Concerns
3. Special Leave
4. Safe recruitment.

4. Miscellaneous Matters

4.1  The  Board  considered  a  number  of  miscellaneous  matters,  including  the following –

1. Graduate Training programme
2. Succession Planning
3. Staff retirements
4. Remuneration for the post of Attorney General
5. Various employment matters.

5. Key Manpower Statistics

5.1  Attached at Appendix 1 are key manpower statistics for 2014.

APPENDIX 1

Key Manpower Statistics

Headcount (the number of people actually in post as at 31st December 2014):

Assumptions:

All figures have come from the Final December 2014 Corporate Reports. The above figures are not including the following departments –

Jersey Car Parks

Jersey Fleet Management

Jersey Ports

Non Min SFB-Overseas Aid

States Assembly

The multiple appointments across departments might be in the departments that are not included in the above.

"Licensed" category employees (the number of employees, as at 31st December 2014, with a licensed' category housing licence (previously "JJ")):

Non-locally qualified employees (the number of employees as at 31st December 2014, non-locally qualified under the Regulation of Undertakings and Development (Jersey) Law 1973):

64 of 0.91% of the reported Headcount above.

Sickness Absence 2014

Turnover 2014

(The movement out of established posts)

APPENDIX 2

STATES EMPLOYMENT BOARD P.59/2011: REPORT FOR STATES MEMBERS

Background

P.59/2011 identified the need for a process to be used when all posts at Civil Service Grade 15 equivalent and above are to be replaced, or where there is a significant change to an existing senior post that fits into this category. This process has now been in place since June 2011.

Departments are required to lodge P.59 requests for formal approval to SEB, and where recruitment to a post is necessary this cannot be undertaken until SEB or delegated approval from the Chief Executive has been given.

The Jersey Appointments Commission has been appropriately engaged in recruitment to these posts once approval has been given by the SEB. The SEB has been mindful of the need to ensure adequate provision is made for succession planning when giving approval to applications.

Each  P.59  submission  has  to  be  supported  by  a  full  job  description,  person specification,  organisation  chart  and,  where  appropriate,  a  current  job  evaluation. Salary  data,  including  any  benchmarking  data,  is  provided  to  ensure  informed approval is made by the SEB.

The SEB has been keen to ensure that wherever possible appointments to posts are drawn from the local market.

Activity Report: January to December 2014

During this period, a total of 9 applications under P.59/2011 were submitted to the States Employment Board for their consideration (see attached table for reference and detail). Eight applications were approved and one was refused. Four applications were approved by the Chief Executive under delegated authority from the SEB; all 4 were for existing posts.

Applications  for  3  new  posts  were  considered,  2  of  which  were  for  Hospital Consultants in Health and Social Services. The other new post was in the Chief Minister's Department. Five applications were for existing posts, and one was for an existing post to be split. The latter application was not approved.

A comparison table of applications made in previous years (2011–2014) is included for  comparison. There is a  downward trend in applications: 2014 saw a  drop  of 10 applications from 19 applications in 2013.

The rationale for payment in all cases was based on current job evaluation, relevant benchmarking information and prevailing market forces.

An analysis of all applications made under P.59/2011 is used to inform work on succession  planning,  senior  manager  compensation, performance  management  and retention and recruitment planning.

Number of Applications by Year