Agenda and minutes

To note under the provisions of the formula membership the attendance of the following nominee:

FOR INFORMATION

RESOLVED: To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly nominated Member:-

That the minutes of the meeting of the Chief Officers’ Employment Panel held on 4 August 2016 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 August 2016 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Head of People and Organisational Development

Members received a report which sought approval to the remuneration for the post of Divisional Director of Housing.

The Corporate Director, Community, introduced the report and expressed his apologies for the error in process in that the role profile had been evaluated and advertised prior to seeking the Panel’s approval to the remuneration package.  This oversight had been compounded by the delay in submitting the report to the Panel.  He advised, however, that this post was critical and that the job evaluation had resulted in the post being graded at D2.

The Corporate Director drew Members’ attention to the Director of Housing Pay Comparators set out in the report adding that the London Borough of Brent had also recently advertised a comparable role with a salary of £114,000pa.  The Harrow post holder would also be responsible for housing regeneration.

A Member questioned the process followed, the timeline, the role of the Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer in the sign off and what they had done to ensure that the correct process was followed and the involvement of Human Resources in the process.  The Member expressed the view that there was a lack of detail in the report, no comparison of the two grades, no comparison in terms of costs and no indication of savings in terms of agency costs.  In terms of the Director of Housing Pay Comparators, the Member challenged whether ‘like with like’ were being compared as Harrow had a smaller Housing stock.

In response to the Member’s questions the Corporate Director, Community, undertook to provide a timeline and reiterated that he had advertised the role prior to reporting to the Panel as he had been unaware of the need to seek the Panel’s approval to the remuneration package.  Members were advised that details of the agency costs would be provided.  A Member stated that having a smaller housing stock resulted in different issues and potentially more challenges than those boroughs with a larger stock.

A Member questioned why Cabinet Members had not highlighted the remuneration package for this post and stated that Members should be aware of the recruitment process and alerted officers.  Another Member expressed concern that candidates had been applying for a role without the financial arrangements in place.

The Corporate Director confirmed that whilst shortlisting of candidates had taken place no candidates had been contacted.  Two Members expressed their dissatisfaction with how the process had been managed by both Members and officers.

RESOLVED:  That the grade of D2 (£101,767 - £114,459) be applied to the post of Divisional Director of Housing.

(Note:  Councillors Susan Hall and Barry Macleod-Cullinane wished to be recorded as having voted against the above Resolution).