Minutes:
The Director of Human Resources submitted for the Committee’s consideration a report providing an update on the number of employees on temporary contacts and agency assignees engaged by the Council and outlining the steps being taken to reduce the Council’s reliance on these two categories.
She reported that, at 30th September, 227 staff had been filling posts on a temporary basis, 138 of whom were permanent staff and would return to their substantive post when no longer required. The other 89 were Fixed Term Contract employees who did not have a substantive post to return to. 333 agency assignees had been engaged by the Council on that date.
The Director then outlined the actions which had been taken to reduce the number of long-standing temporary posts. She reminded the Committee that the Council, at its meeting on 4th October, 2021, had adopted a motion agreeing to seek a legal opinion on the potential for anyone on a temporary contract who had been employed for twelve continuous months, regardless of job title, to have that contract made permanent if they so wished.
She confirmed that Senior Counsel had since advised that the implementation of this proposal could give rise to breaches of the statutory Local Government Staff Commission’s Code of Procedures on Recruitment and Selection and that there were unforeseen potential consequences of these matters which could well emerge and result in litigation. She and the City Solicitor and Director of Legal and Civic Services were due to meet with the Local Government Staff Commission on 28th October and, subsequently, with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to consider the legal opinion and discuss measures which were being considered to prevent similar situations arising in the future.
She went on to point out that a recent external recruitment exercise for General Operatives within the City and Neighbourhood Services Department had resulted in the appointment of 45 permanent staff and that the recruitment of permanent Sweeper/Driver Labourer’s, Recycling Operatives, Park Operatives and Gardeners was planned. A recruitment exercise to appoint 40 Business Support Clerks on a permanent basis had also been completed. The filling of all of the aforementioned posts would reduce the requirement for temporary/agency staff moving forward. Officers would, she stressed, continue to prioritise addressing temporary posts which had been in place for a considerable period of time, with the Corporate Management Team providing oversight of this work on an ongoing basis.
The Director concluded by seeking approval from the Committee to engage an external consultant to undertake a feasibility study to determine whether an in-house agency might offer better value for money for the Council. The feasibility study would cost approximately £30,000 and would be met from existing budgets.
After discussion, the Committee:
i. noted the contents of the report;
ii. granted approval to engage an external consultant to undertake a feasibility study on the potential for establishing an in-house agency;
iii. agreed that a report be submitted to its next meeting on the outcome of the meetings with the Local Government Staff Commission and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland; and
iv. agreed that information be submitted to a future meeting on external consultancy costs incurred over the course of the current Council term.