The Inverclyde Council

Thursday 25 May 2006 at 4.00 pm

Present:  Provost Rebecchi, Councillors Blair, Forbes, Gallacher, Hill, Hunter, McCabe, McCormick (M), McCormick (P), McKenzie, Moran, Nimmo, Roach, Snoddy, Stewart, Tucker and White.

Chair:  Provost Rebecchi presided. 

In attendance:  Chief Executive, Solicitor to the Council, Mr J Aird (for Chief Financial Officer), Head of Personnel Services and Managing Solicitor (Committees/Contracts).

Present Also:  Mr S Nugent, Audit Scotland.

Apologies:  Councillors Fyfe, Mitchell and Robertson.

It was agreed in terms of Section 50(A) 4 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 11 and 12 of Part I of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

435

Equal Pay Compensation Offer to be made to Employees

435

There was submitted a report dated 22 May 2006 by the Head of Personnel Services (1) making recommendations with respect to offering compensation to certain groups of employees in regard to equal pay issues, (2) seeking homologation of a decision by the former Interim Chief Executive to appoint independent legal advisers to advise the Council on the issues pertaining to equal pay claims and (3) recommending the appointment of a panel of solicitors to give independent legal advice to employees who receive offers of compensation.

There was circulated a paper providing information on the level of payments offered by a number of Scottish local authorities in response to the equal pay issue.

During consideration of the matter, Councillor Blair asked that his comments that the Council, where possible, should support local professional firms be recorded.

Decided:

(1)   that offers of compensation be made to qualifying employees falling within three groups of employees namely (a) cleaners, (b) caterers and (c) home support workers at the levels detailed in appendices 2, 3 and 4 to the report;

(2)   that such offers be made net of tax and national insurance liabilities, which will be met separately by the Council as detailed in Section 7 of the report;

(3)   that the decision of the former Interim Chief Executive to instruct the Head of Personnel Services to appoint Messrs MacRoberts, Solicitors, as the Council’s independent legal advisers be homologated;

(4)   that a panel of independent legal advisers, comprising Messrs Maclay, Murray and Spens, Solicitors and Messrs Wright, Johnston and MacKenzie, Solicitors, be appointed to give independent legal advice to employees receiving offers of compensation, the costs of which shall be borne by the Council; and

(5)   that the Council authorise the Head of Personnel Services and Ms Hazel Thomson, Personnel Officer, to sign Compromise Agreements relating to this exercise, in addition to those officers currently authorised to execute documents on behalf of the Council.