County advisory body saying ‘There should be no need to have a procedure for councillors to complain about staff.’

Question

I asked our Chair to ask for advice from County ALC having had no response from the Chair of the Staffing SubCommittee regarding several concerns I raised about the Clerk going back some months. (Other colleagues have raised concerns with the same Chair of the SSC with same non response). County advisory body guy citing his own previous job and the current Chair of my PC’s past employment as places where there was ‘no internal complaint procedure’ and that concerns would be raised with the manager. My point is, I have raised my concerns with the correct person (the Chair of the SSC) but he has never dealt with it and has now resigned. The ToR of that subcommittee are not clear as to what happens next.
In the NHS I had very clear policies and procedures as to how to address conduct and competence in staff, protecting both myself and the staff I managed, making it clear what they should expect from me and safeguarding both of us in case of breakdown in the process. Why would that not be the case in local government? The Monitoring Officer clearly expected us to have policies which ‘worked for all’. The County Advisory body doesn’t agree.

What arrangements do other councils have?

Answer 1

Your committee surely are responsible for reviews of employee performance and adherence to contracts of employments and as such must have complaints addressed to them for any investigations and discussions with the employee with the aim to correcting any "weaknesses" found. If the committee is not carrying out their remit to the full then they must answer to the council as a whole. I fthe remit is failing then again it is a matter for the whole council to correct.

Comments

Does your council have a disciplinary procedure/ policy?

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All councils as with all employers must have a written, laid down complaint and disciplinary procedures enshrined in the employees contract of employment. This is nothing to do with council procedures but a legal requirement under employment law.

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Absolutely. I worked in the NHS for 30 years. So what is county advisory body guy actually talking about? And whatever the hell he means, the chair of the staffing sub committee was asked to deal with this and just stopped replying to me, and others he’s never even acknowledged their first email on the subject. My council is truly messed up, a laughing stock locally and considered a dead loss by its townsfolk.

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Until there is external governance & accountability nothing will ever change.  After almost 4 years of trying to make a change, all I can say is thank goodness this nightmare will end at the next election.

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You are not the first to question the effectiveness of local NALC associate offices or their ability to provide what they promise with their subscription. What must be remembered is that they are privately set up and run, and have no accountability that can be seen. They do not have a governing body or guarantee of standards ( other than their much vaunted insurance cover) and little other, in many cases, than appearing to carry an air of sage knowledge and supreme omnipotence on matters. Something they must inherit from NALC. But hey! that's just my opinion- you pays your money( fees ) you takes your chances.

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Spot on Mentorman!

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Which County Associations are "privately set up and run"?

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Hi John a quick check of your local association name at companies house will ascertain their standing as a limited company or not, also who are listed as directors( and history) if registered. Check out how many are registered as companies compared to the number of local associations. Not one mention of NALC anywhere. Check out the spec. of those that are registered as to their trading descriptions.
Local associations trade as a conduit for information via a subscription paid by the pc to local office. This includes a sub-subscription that they pay to NALC for getting that information. You pay their fees to NALC and then they charge you via their subscription to you to supply that info to your  PC.
A little bit of investigation and turning over of some rocks can show up some things. How many local associations that are not limited post accounts that are   open and transparent and have published policies and procedures for challenges or complaints.
You know the sort of things they insist that their clients via their trained clerks do?? How many PC's actually fully check out who they are engaging in such an advisory capacity. Due diligence?