Staff Joint Consultative Committee

SJCC/

YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY

STAFF JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

Monday 20 March 2017, 3.00pm in HG051

Present: Ralph Bateman (Chair)

Emma Wilkins (Executive Officer)

Robert Avery Jo Thompson

Nicola Colton Rob Hickey

Dave Thompson Rebekah Dale

Emma Vincent

In attendance: Jane Holmes (Minute Secretary)

Apologies: Alyson Tobin, Robert Edgar, Lorna Hamilton, Sally Rollinson, Simon Davies

16/14 / MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
AGREED: / The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2016 were confirmed as an accurate record of the meeting.
16/15 / MATTERS ARISING
16/15/1 / Terms of Reference and Membership (Min. 16/01)
Noted that the following UNISON representatives had been confirmed as members of the SJCC:
·  Dave Thompson
·  Rebekah Dale
·  Simon Davies
·  Sally Rollinson
16/15/2 / On-line PDR (Min 16/03/01)
The Head of Professional and Career Development (HofPCD) provided an update on the implementation of the new on-line PDR system. A Steering Group had been established and two rounds of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) had been undertaken; there had been a few minor revisions and the feedback had been positive. A pilot of the new system would be starting on 24 April 2017 with the aim to implement across the University in September 2017.
16/15/3 / AWPM (Min 16/03/02)
The Head of Human Resources (HofHR) advised that an AWAM Steering Group had been established. A scoping exercise with the Heads of School was planned for 6 April where the framework for work time allocation would be agreed. This would be followed by a business analysis event at the end of April. At this point, a realistic implementation date would be 1 October 2017.
16/15/4 / Voluntary Living Wage (Min 16/03/04)
The HofHR advised that the University was currently undertaking a cost modelling exercise involving reshaping the bottom of the pay structure to identify how the University might be able to commit to the VLW in future.
UNISON questioned whether the Security and Catering external contractors were required to pay the VLW. The EDofSSS confirmed that it was part of the contract with Catering, but that the position for both contracts would be clarified. / ACTION:
EW
16/15/5 / University Review and Restructure – UNISON Survey Results (Min 16/03/04)
UNISON apologised that they had not sent the results to the EDofSSS and advised that it was their intention to undertake a follow-up survey later in the year. The EDofSSS requested that they share the questions in advance as it would be helpful to identify how the questions could be beneficial for UNISON and the University. UNISON was still receiving reports from members who had stated that their workload had increased as a result of the restructure. The matter of increasing student numbers in the Schools without corresponding increasing resources had been raised. UNISON would welcome the results of the Pulse Survey at which time the UNISON survey results would be compared.
16/15/6 / Accredited Leadership and Management Courses (Min 16/3/5))
The HofPCD confirmed that she had circulated details of the courses, which were currently:
·  Level 2 Leadership
·  Level 5 Coaching and Mentoring (starting in May)
·  Level 7 Heads of School/Pro Deans (started in January)
16/15/7 / Trade Union Recognition Agreements (Min 16/05)
The HofHR advised that the revised TU Recognition Agreements were being finalised; the terminology had been updated and the new University structure reflected.
16/15/8 / Working from Home Guidance (Min 16/07)
Draft Working from Home and Off Campus Guidance had been circulated to the TUs; comments were pending.
16/15/9 / Publishing of SJCC Minutes (Min 16/08)
The Committee Directory had been lost during the transition to the new website. Earlier SJCC minutes would be checked in terms of sensitivity and then published on the new Committee Directory. / ACTION: JH/EW
16/15/10 / Campus Cleaning (Min 16/11/2)
The EDofSSS confirmed that the issues previously raised had been followed up and improvements made. The Campus Services Manager continued to monitor and address issues as they arose. UNISON raised the issue of domestic vacancies; the EDofSSS would check the progress of domestic staff recruitment and advise UNISON directly. / ACTION:
EW
16/16 / STAFF EQUALITY DATA
The HofHR presented the Staff Equality Data which had been published on the University’s website. The HofHR talked through the workforce profile against the different protected characteristics; there was very little change from last year. The EDofSSS signalled that there had been some initial concerns about the impact of the voluntary severance on the staff diversity profile, however, the recruitment campaigns had been successful in terms of maintaining diversity.
Low BME staff numbers remained a concern. The Equality Challenge Unit had been working with the University to identify ways to enhance the staff recruitment process and unconscious bias training was also planned. HR would also be undertaking an audit of the recruitment process to identify whether anything could be identified in terms of the reason(s) for the low conversion rate from BME applications to appointments.
The Committee noted that the data as presented could not be further refined to ensure confidentiality.
The HofHR advised that it was timely to ask existing staff to re-submit their equality data it had not been refreshed for a few years. However, this was dependent on IT services identifying a time when they could support the work.
16/17 / STAFF SICKNESS ABSENCE 2015-16
Received and Noted: SJCC/20.3.2017/06
The Committee received the University’s Staff Sickness Absence 2015-16 report, and noted the future actions to be taken in response to the data, including:
•  the introduction of Mental Health Awareness training as mandatory for managers;
•  revisiting of the team stress risk assessment process;
•  a focus in 2017-18 on resilience within the staff and student community;
•  a reminder to managers of the importance of reporting sickness absence
consistently.
On average 6 days per employee had been lost to sickness absence in 2015-16. The report outlined the most significant causes of sickness absence. Mental health illness had increased over the last year, however, the data had to be approached with caution as one person being off for a period of time could significantly impact the figures. Measures were in place to proactively manage ill-health and promote wellbeing and the HR team was exploring the introduction of the sector-accredited Mental Health First Aid course. A priority for 2017-18 would be a review of the University’s Stress Risk Assessment process. UCU flagged that academic staff reported stress around workload and assessments, and that the 3-week turnaround presented challenges for some colleagues; a more flexible assessment framework would be welcomed. The EDofSSS would feed this back to the Director of ADD and DVC.
/ ACTION:
EW
16/18 / PEOPLE COMMITTEE
Received and Noted: SJCC/20.3.2017/07
SJCC received the Constitution and Terms of Reference for the new People Committee. The EDofSSS explained that following the University restructure and a Governing Body Committee review, it had been agreed to replace the Human Resources Committee with a People Committee encompassing students, staff and alumni. The SJCC were concerned that the new People Committee would not continue the practice of an annual lunch with TU representatives, which would result in the loss of direct TU contact with Governors. The EDofSSS would raise the concerns of the TUs at the next meeting of the People Committee on 9 May 2017. / ACTION:EW
16/19 / BUSINESS SCHOOL REVIEW
The HofHR confirmed that the Business School Review had been completed with the new structure and appointees in place.
16/20 / STAFF PULSE SURVEY UPDATE
The results of the Staff Pulse Survey had been received from CAPITA and were currently being analysed for sharing with senior colleagues. After they had been discussed they would be circulated to the TUs. The Committee welcomed the very positive response rate of 75%.
16/21 / REWARD AND RECOGNITION UPDATE
a)  Promotion – Lecturer to Senior Lecturer
Noted that a procedure had been drafted and a further meeting with UCU representatives had been scheduled for 29 March 2017.
b)  Employee Benefits
The new Employee Benefits scheme had been launched, and an event was being planned for the end of March to promote the scheme and answer any questions. Positive feedback had been received, including about the quick turnaround payment time for the health cash plan.
c)  Recognition Platform
The HofHR advised that the platform was currently being built with work on the e-thank you and long service cards ongoing. Schemes would be designed to give managers a small budget to acknowledge their staff/teams. Developments would be shared with the TUs.
16/22 / DISABILITY LEAVE
Received: SJCC/20.3.2017/08
The HofHR confirmed that the Executive Board had approved a new Disability Leave policy that provided up to one week in paid disability leave per year. It was explained that Disability leave is paid time away from work for disabled employees who need treatment, rehabilitation or assessment related to their disability and was distinct from sickness absence. The Committee supported the provision of Disability Leave.
16/23 / OFF PAYROLL WORKING
Received and Noted: SJCC/20.3.2017/09
The HofHR explained the new rules that had been introduced for “off-payroll” workers in the public sector. Lists of people currently paid via invoicing had been sent to managers so a decision could be made about their employment status under the new regulations. The University would then write to each of these staff individually to explain changes in contractual arrangements, as necessary.
16/24 / FEE REMISSION POLICY CHANGES – DOCTORAL STUDY
Received and Noted: SJCC/20.3.2017/10
The HofPCD explained the rationale for the proposed changes to the University’s existing Fee Remission Policy which primarily reduced University funding for doctorate courses from 100% to 50%. The Committee acknowledged and supported the reasons for the changes to the Policy.
16/25 / BELL REVIEW
The Committee noted the outcomes of the Review and the recommendation that a new body be created bringing together the Equality Challenge Unit, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and Higher Education Academy. A transition group had been established to help co-ordinate the delivery of the merged body by September 2017. The new subscription model would be introduced in September 2018.
16/26 / FINANCE UPDATE
The Executive Director of Finance (EDofF) presented to the Committee an update on the financial position of the University. The EDofF talked through the figures and the cost saving challenges and strategies, particularly around recruitment to vacant posts.
16/27 / STUDENT RECRUITMENT 2016/17
The Executive Director of Innovation and Growth (EDofI&G) advised that there had been good levels of growth and that we were up 13% in terms of applications. York St John had been recognised as the fastest growing University in 2015-16. The University was forecasting between 2050 and 2200 entrants for 2017-18. The main reasons for success were the new marketing approach, the new portfolio of courses that were proving attractive and the faster processing of decisions.
The EDofI&G also updated the Committee on the renovations plans at the Grange residential site over the next 5 years. The plan was deliver the improvements with an enhanced in-house team. Plans were also being drawn up for a new Creative Space on campus to support the significant growth in student numbers in Art, Design and Computer Science and Media production. There were also room moves planned for the summer to support the creation of a dedicated space for the Business School and the growth in Psychology.
16/28 / TRADE UNION ACT 2016- LATEST POSITION
The EDofSSS advised that draft regulations were still pending; this would remain on the agenda for future meetings.
16/20 / NATIONAL PAY NEGOTIATIONS, JOINT WORKING AND INDUSTRIAL ACTION
The Committee noted the timetable for the negotiations: employer questionnaires were due to be returned to UCEA this week with negotiation meetings between UCEA and the national trade unions planned for 30 March, 4 April and 27 April.
16/29 / NOTES OF SJCC LIAISON GROUP MEETINGS
Received and Noted: SJCC/20.3.17
Meetings: 21 September 2016, 9 November 2016, 14 December 2016, 11 January 2017
16/30 / Any Other Business
16/31 / DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Wednesday 7 June 2017 at 10.00am – De Grey 109

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