DRAFT Minutes of the Meeting of the Blackawton Parish Council Personnel Committee held on Wednesday 19 February 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in Blackawton Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Rake, Hadow, Mardon, and Oughton, and A Thom (Clerk)
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Apologies
All members present.
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Declarations of Interest
None declared.
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To elect a Chair of the Personnel Committee
It was resolved to elect Cllr Rake to Chair the Committee and noted that this decision will need to be made formally by a meeting of BPC.
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To confirm the Personnel Committee’s main long-term objectives
It was agreed that the purpose of the Committee is to enable professional personnel management, be a forum for performance review, receive feedback from staff, support councillor’s training, and to carry out recruitment.
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Terms of Reference
The proposed revisions to the Personnel Committee and Subcommittee Terms of Reference were discussed. It was agreed that they should be updated to state that the Chair of the Personnel Committee will be appointed by the Council (this is because it is a standing committee so this is required by Standing Orders), to say state ‘yes’ members of the public may participate at a meeting of the Committee (which would be the default approach), that no clear days notice are required for the Personnel Subcommittee to meet, and that Personnel Subcommittee Terms of Reference numbered five to 13 be deleted (The Clerk noted that the resulting shorter Subcommittee Terms of Reference are more consistent with the Example document).
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To confirm the Personnel Committee’s current priorities
The Clerk noted that the Minutes of the December meeting of BPC state that the initial priority will be to review, in conjunction the Clerk, the Clerk’s workload and hours which was confirmed.
Other priorities were agreed to be the appointment of a Co-Clerk, supporting Cllr training, and to establish regular performance review.
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To consider BPC’s systems, workflow, and monitoring outcomes
The Clerk has noted the current resources: Meeting Action Items, Projects, and Actions Today spreadsheets and the Clerk’s Calendar.
The meeting supported a review of meeting action items as a standing agenda item.
The Clerk will set up a time tracking app with a view to having more data to inform management decisions.
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To consider how & when to use possible additional staff hours
The meeting agreed to work to appoint a contractor to scan deeds of grant and enter the data into the Cemetery software. The wage to be determined, suggested minimum wage plus 10%. To require a CV and two references. Deed of grant documents cannot be replaced. Accurate data entry is important. Clerk to check data entry. BPC to be consulted in 4 March meeting.
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To consider support to purchase a mobile phone for the sole use of the Clerk.
The Clerk explained that the purpose of the phone is for all mobile phone calls, text messages, and WhatsApp messages to the Clerk, including Lloyds bank confirmations. Photos taken, eg of assets, will upload directly to the cloud backup: saving time and ensuring the photos are available thereby improving record keeping. This will also enable a boundary between work and personal life. £200 expenditure was included in the 24/25 year end forecast. The Committee supported the proposal and preferred a refurbished phone being purchased. BPC to be consulted in 4 March meeting.
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Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Committee was scheduled to take place 26 March 2024 at 18:00.