committee report Review of Discipline, Grievance and Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures

Transcription

1 committee report Review of Discipline, Grievance and Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures Committee Personnel Date of Meeting 11 February 2011 Date of report 2 February 2011 Report by Assistant Chief Executive (Business Support) 1. Object of report To seek approval of the Personnel Committee for draft revised policies, supported by associated procedures for Discipline, Grievance and Bullying and Harassment. 2. Background Within SPT, individual groups of staff currently operate under different terms and conditions within which are included a number of employment policies. These employment policies were written some years ago and have become outdated, making it difficult to ensure a consistent and modern approach to employee relations. For historic reasons, there are two different Disciplinary policies being applied, one relating to staff who are subject to APT&C conditions of service and another for staff mainly in the craft and manual workers categories (RPI & NJIC). The same applies to SPT s Grievance policy. During the review of SPT s employment policies it was apparent that the Discipline and Grievance policies and procedures required updating to meet with current ACAS Codes of Practice (seen as best practice) and that one set of policies, applicable to all staff, would ensure consistency and fairness across the organisation. A review of all HR policies and procedures has been instigated and updated policies and procedures will be submitted for approval to future Personnel committees on a rolling basis. 3. Outline of proposals The major change proposed is to agree one Disciplinary policy and one Grievance policy to be applied to all staff across the organisation. The policies and the associated procedures contained in those policies have been developed in line with the ACAS Code of Practice. In addition, a disciplinary procedure toolkit is being developed to provide guidance and support to Managers in their application of the policy. The Bullying and Harassment policy has also been updated although no major changes have been proposed. per110211_agenda6 Page 1 of 2

2 Due to some confusion as to what procedure should be used to deal with a complaint, it is also proposed to remove the Employee Complaints Procedure, which was utilised in some instances for allegations of bullying, harassment or victimisation, and to refer any of these issues to be dealt with through the new Grievance Procedure. The two other major changes to the Policies are the use of the verbal warning stage has been removed from the Disciplinary sanctions available; and the number of stages of appeal has been reduced within the Grievance policy. These changes are in line with ACAS guidelines and best practice. 4. Conclusion The amended Policies are in compliance with the relevant Code of Practice, are clear and understandable, meet current legislation and provide a modern streamlined approach to addressing disciplinary, grievance and bullying and harassment issues. 5. Consequences Policy consequences Legal consequences Financial consequences HR consequences Social Inclusion consequences Risk Consequences Policy amended as required by Code of Practice Policy complies with Legislation None HR department will initiate consultation with Employee Representatives None Not updating policies may mean non compliance with legislation and best practice 6. Recommendations The Personnel Committee is asked to approve the attached Disciplinary Policy, Grievance Policy, Bullying and Harassment Policy and the removal of the Employee Complaints Procedure, subject to consultation with the recognised Trade Unions. Name Valerie Davidson Name Gordon Maclennan Title Assistant Chief Executive Title Chief Executive (Business Support) For further information, please contact Pamela Millar, Head of Corporate HR on 3187 per110211_agenda6 Page 2 of 2

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