Employment & Appointments Committee – 27th January Part 1

The E&A Committee started a little later than advertised. The Chair welcomed those present and asked for any declarations of interest. Cllr Rennie declared a personal interest in the occupational health item by virtue of being on the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service Authority. The full agenda and reports for the meeting can be found … Continue reading “Employment & Appointments Committee – 27th January Part 1”

The E&A Committee started a little later than advertised. The Chair welcomed those present and asked for any declarations of interest. Cllr Rennie declared a personal interest in the occupational health item by virtue of being on the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service Authority.

The full agenda and reports for the meeting can be found here. The minutes were agreed with no comments and the committee moved to item 3 on agile working.

An officer introduced the report saying they were moving away from fixed desks for increased productivity. The report outlined best practice and guidance in this change to working arrangements. There had been full consultation with the trade unions. Cllr Mitchell pointed out what was missing was a review of the office space. He was concerned that there would be enough rooms and offices for meetings whether regular or ad-hoc.

The officer replied that agile working supporting the office rationalisation. He referred to the breakout areas/spaces and said this would be subject to individual building’s policies.

Cllr Green said it was not to say that tomorrow everyone would be agile working, but the framework and policies had been agreed with the trade unions. Regarding implementation, it would be when opportunities were identified. He said “We have a lot of office space”. He said it would be useful if a project or service could be used as a case study. He referred to hot desking and hubs and said it was good to have trade union agreement. However there was “vague wording” eg “when appropriate”. Things needed to move forward and it was a “big piece of work well done”.

134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH

Author: John Brace

New media journalist from Birkenhead, England who writes about Wirral Council. Published and promoted by John Brace, 134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH. Printed by UK Webhosting Ltd t/a Tsohost, 113-114 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, England, SL1 4PF.