Minutes

Joint minutes of the Human Resources and Remuneration Sub-committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 13 September 2011 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Faith Boardman (Chair)
• Cindy Butts

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive)
• Bob Atkins (Treasurer)
• Fay Scott (Head of Equalities and Engagement)
• Alan Johnson (Human Resources Officer)
• Michael Taylor (Committee Officer)

MPS officers

• Alex Walsh (HR Professional Services)
•  Esme Crowther (Employment Tribunal Unit)
• Margaret Kelly (Employment Tribunal Unit)
• Darren Bird (Practice Support Team)
• Nigel Foster (Practice Support Team)
•  Kevin Courtney (Pay and Benefits)

12. Apologies for absence

(Agenda Item 1)

12.1 Apologies were received from Tony Arbour (MPA Member), Reshard Auladin (MPA Member), Anne McMeel (MPS) and Majella Myers (MPS)

13. Declarations of interest

(Agenda Item 2)

13.1 No declarations were made.

14. Minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2011

(Agenda Item 3)

14.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2011 were agreed.

15. Issues Raised by Staff Associations and Trade Unions (Oral report)

(Agenda Item 4)

15.1 Alan Johnson reported that since the last committee meeting, the chair of the Authority has held a meeting with the Superintendents’ Association, which raised a number of concerns around the management of the recent disturbances. These included concerns about the TP Development Programme centralising mobilisation arrangements and losing the local knowledge of the current duty officer system, the viability of mutual aid PSUs, the decision to cancel all leave when there was really a need for more targeted arrangements, the resilience arrangements particularly on outer London Boroughs where the Senior Management Team struggled to provide full time cover, and how the removal of micro-management and intrusive supervision from ACPO colleagues had not adversely impacted upon the service’s operational performance.

15.2 The MPA has also been engaging with Tom Winsor’s independent review of remuneration and conditions for police officers and staff. The Chief Executive commended Alan Johnson for writing the Authority and Mayor’s response to this review, which has formed the basis for responses from the Association of Police Authorities, and the Association of Police Authority Chief Executives.

16. MPS Organisational Change (Oral Update)

(Agenda Item 5)

16.1 Alex Walsh provided an update on the early departure schemes and the different phases of the programme, i.e. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phases 2A-D. Positive feedback has been received from staff affected and significant support had been provided to those affected.

16.2 Good communication between senior management and the trade unions was being maintained, including bi-monthly meetings with Management Board, monthly meeting with the Director of PeopleServices, fortnightly meetings focused on the coordination of the people aspects of the change projects and effective delivery of the early departure exercises chaired by the Director of HR Professional Services and local consultation meetings are in place for each of the change projects. There was also a ‘no surprises’ agreement has been made with Management Board whereby the trade unions will have advanced sight of all proposed corporate messages
16.3 Wherever possible, the MPS seeks to redeploy staff rather than use ‘exit’ arrangements. When considering requests for early departure, the MPS also needs to balance the desire to accommodate the wishes of staff with the need to retain the best staff to facilitate the functions in the new structure. Guidance has been produced for change leads and trade union representatives.

16.4 In response to a question, Alex Walsh explained that all change programmes have a local Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) that is used to inform the direction of the project. A corporate EIA is also in place in relation to the police staff early departure scheme, owned by HR Professional Services. These are dynamic documents which are regularly updated. The Trade Unions and Staff Support Associations have been actively engaged with as part of all the EIA work and it has helped shape areas such as the selection processes to be used and outplacement support offered. The learning from each phase of the early departure scheme is captured and fed into future phases. EIA's are being undertaken for all projects within change programmes with recommendations for mitigating activity to be taken at both programme and local level.

17. Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Gifts and Hospitality (Oral Update)

(Agenda Item 6)

17.1 Alan Johnson reported that at the May full Authority meeting, it was decided that the Human Resources and Remuneration Sub-Committee should review the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner’s register for gifts and hospitality. It was noted that any gift or hospitality accepted must be in order to benefit to the MPS, such as by facilitating good relations with partner organisations or in order to avoid offence.

17.2 The Chief Executive said the Authority had recognised the need for increased transparency for gifts and hospitality for some time. The MPA has previously reviewed the register, particularly in relation to gifts and hospitality received from contractors and members of the press, and had found nothing to suggest a systematic abuse of the policy. The MPA does have some reservations about the publication of three years of data, due to inconsistencies in the recording during this period. A hard copy was circulated at the meeting.

17.3 The MPS has conducted a review of the gift and hospitality policy, with a draft paper and Standard Operating Procedure being presented to Management Board. An electronic training module is being introduced to inform staff on the expected standards and clarify when gifts and hospitality need to be registered. The MPS will also be publishing the register online. Members requested that additional discussions on the register be held at a separate briefing, and that the MPS provide the draft policy for consideration.

Action: MPA and MPS to arrange a briefing on the register for members, and the MPS will provide the draft policy for consideration

18. Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Expenses

(Agenda Item 7)

18.1 Members noted the report.

19. Employment Tribunals

(Agenda Item 8)

19.1 Esme Crowther introduced the report and advised that Employment Tribunals (ETs) are now managed under the Deputy Commissioner’s Portfolio. 2010-11 has been a small rise in the number of Employment Tribunals. Although the number of unfair dismissal cases remains consistent with 2009-10, 79% of these were withdrawn or dismissed by the tribunal. The number of cases requiring settlement has fallen from 39 in 2009-10 to 16 in 2010-11. Due to the relatively low number of claims being made, any collated diversity data was not considered particularly indicative of any wider issues across the MPS. The Chair thanked Esme Crowther for a comprehensive and encouraging report.

20. Fairness At Work (FAW)

(Agenda Item 9)

20.1 Darren Bird introduced the report and advised that FAW is also managed under the Deputy Commissioner’s Portfolio, and will co-ordinate with other professional standards initiatives. There were 391 FAW cases recorded in 2010-11, a slight increase from 2009-10, when 257 cases were recorded. The MPS acknowledged that the amount of time to process stage one of FAW cases is too high and is working to streamline the process to improve response times. It was noted that the majority of FAW cases are processed by operational staff, who work on FAWs in addition to their regular duties.

20.2 Most FAWs relate to issues raised around the behaviour of line managers, with police staff more likely to make FAW cases than police officers. This is in part attributable to the current organisational changes. The MPS actively promotes the use of mediation as a means of resolving disputes amongst colleagues. In recognition of this, the MPS has been short listed for a ‘dispute resolution award’.

20.3 Members enquired why some employees chose to take up grievances internally through FAW, whilst others go externally through Employment Tribunals (ETs). The MPS will always attempt to address concerns through the FAW process, with cases only being referred to ETs when the dispute cannot be resolved. Members requested that a report be commissioned for the next meeting around these issues.

Action: MPA to produce a commissioning brief for a further report on Fairness at Work for the next meeting.

21. Dip Sampling of Employment Tribunals and Fairness at Work Cases

(Agenda Item 10)

21.1 Members noted that the report demonstrated the fairness of the Employment Tribunal and Fairness at Work policies and practices.

22. Disciplinary Cases Involving Police Staff

(Agenda Item 11)

22.1 Darren Bird introduced the report, explaining that, for the purposes of monitoring, all levels of disciplinary procedures are recorded, from informal warnings to suspension, with most of the cases at the lower end of the scale, e.g. for poor attendance or performance.

22.2 Improved professional standards protocols have been implemented to enable managers to deliver proportionate action, with all cases assessed on their own merit, and options discussed with line managers. Suspension is used only as a last resort. Cindy Butts queried the level of disproportionality in terms of those suspended and the roles being performed, and asked what learning was being taken from these cases.

22.3 Darren Bird acknowledged PCSOs, and particularly BME PCSOs, also feature disproportionately in disciplinary actions. One identified factor for this is insufficient training provided during induction, and Territorial Policing is improving PCSO supervision and professional standards training is being revised. The Chair asked if serious cases of disciplinary action are monitored by a quality assurance process. Members requested a briefing note.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing setting out the primary reasons for invoking the disciplinary process (with numbers) and suspensions broken down by the protected characteristics, how the disciplinary problems with PCSOs over the last five years have informed the approach taken during the recruitment, together with an outline of the new professional standards training for new PCSO recruits.

23. Section 26- Overseas Travel

(Agenda Item 12)

23.1 Alan Johnson outlined the process by which the MPA assess if an overseas trip will be beneficial to the MPS. The MPS produces a business case which outlines the value which the MPS gains from attending the events. This is then signed off by an ACPO officer and submitted to the Chief Executive of the MPA for authorisation on behalf of the MPA. Any queries are discussed with the Chair of the MPA.

23.2 It was noted that the overall number of section 26 cases have reduced in the last few years. The MPA has also liaised with the MPS to ensure that secondments are only undertaken when they provide added benefit to the MPS, such as for activities related to the Olympics.

24. EXEMPT MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 14 JULY 2011

(Agenda Item 14)

24.1 The exempt minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2011 were agreed.

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