The Personnel committee has been established to recommend to the full council items regarding the appropriate management of its employed staff, volunteers, and Councillors and to ensure contracts or similar agreement with personnel requirements meet required standards. Unless it has delegated authority specified in these Terms of Reference, the Committee can only propose recommendations to full council as required.
The committee must always abide by the council’s current approved Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and any other relevant policies. It must work with the guidelines of good practice and employment law.
The membership of the committee for each council year and a review of the Terms of Reference will be agreed at each Annual Meeting of the full council.
The committee will consist of four Councillors with a quorum for a meeting being four. The membership and chair will be elected at the Annual Meeting each year.
If a meeting is absolutely necessary and members of the committee are unavailable, the Clerk, Chair of Personnel and Chair of the Council will together agree and nominate a substitute.
The committee can only consist of Members of Seascale Parish Council.
a) To act, on behalf of the Council, as the line manager of the Clerk/RFO including in respect of performance management, making recommendations on training needs and terms of employment.
i) The Clerk of the Council is the first officer, and cannot be supervised on a day to day basis and must have a degree of independence to fulfil their duties. The clerk works on behalf of the full council not individual members.
b) To act as a point of contact for councillors leading on volunteer led projects to ensure they and their volunteers are well supported
c) To undertake the process for dealing with disputes relating to employees and volunteers, both grievance and disciplinary, on behalf of the Council.
d) To ensure that there is a current job description with supporting documentation in place, including employment terms and conditions.
e) To manage recruitment of a clerk/RFO, should this become necessary, including initial consideration of applications and interviews including involving the chair of SPC, if not a member of the WG.
f) To plan and oversee the induction of the clerk, self employed staff and volunteers, working in conjunction with the appropriate councillors.
g) In conjunction with the Clerk, to manage the recruitment of any other member of staff, should this become necessary, including consideration of applications and interviews.
h) To ensure that there are role profiles in place for volunteers with a handbook regarding SPC practices.
i) To manage the recruitment of SPC volunteers, working with the lead councillor for that project, ensuring all processes are followed.
j) To identify training and development needs, and manage procurement within the training budget.
k) To ensure that self employed personnel have the correct legal requirements in place and have personal indemnity insurance if required.
l) To, when applicable, ensure contractors have personnel policies and insurance.
m) To ensure all employment contracts, role profiles, person specifications, induction programs and training records are in place and current.
n) To ensure policies and procedures relating to personnel are in place, understood and revised regularly. This includes Health and Safety and risk assessments.
a) The Committee should meet at least twice a year and otherwise as required. Agreed dates of meetings should be published in the Council’s Meeting calendar.
b) The chair of the committee will work with the clerk to produce an agenda at least three clear working days before each meeting to be circulated to committee members, placed on the web site and notice board.
c) If the clerk is not present, a note taker will be identified and a record of the key actions recorded.
d) Items will be agreed to be forwarded to the clerk for inclusion on the next SPC full council agenda.
e) Details from confidential items from the agenda, if necessary, will be written as a separate confidential report for retention and will be signed by the chair at the next meeting. The minutes will reference the confidential report, and the minutes will include a summary of the decision.
f) Action minutes will be posted on the web site.
The Committee will have delegated power to act for the Council in recruiting and managing personnel except for the following and subject to provisions included in other policies:
a) The final choice of appointment of a new Clerk, RFO or any other staff member must be approved by the Council.
b) The decision to suspend or terminate the contract of an employee must be approved by Council.
c) Decisions relating to an employee’s pay falling outside the agreed budget or about changes to staffing budget provision must be approved by Council.
d) Management of volunteers will be agreed with the appropriate lead councillor for that project.
e) Personnel information relating to contracts or similar will be managed with the contract lead.
f) Policies should be approved by the Council following notification by the Committee of development or changes.
g) Individuals cannot make decisions or delegate authority outside of their remit.
a) This policy will be reviewed annually
b) the effectiveness of the committee will be reviewed annually.
c) any changes required will be agreed by the full council
Dated 3 December 2025
© 2024 Seascale Parish Council
Website Designed by Whamos Ltd
