Human Resources Committee

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence and note apologies not received

Declarations of Interest

1. Pecuniary Interests: To receive Declarations of Pecuniary Interests as declared on the Register of Interests.
2. Non-registerable Interests: To receive Declarations of Non-registerable Interests.
3. Dispensations: The Clerk will consider and report on any requests for dispensation in line with the Council’s Code of Conduct.
4. Gifts & Hospitality: To declare any gifts or hospitality in line with the Council’s Code of Conduct

Public Participation[1]

To hear from members of the public who wish to make representations, answer questions and give evidence in respect of the business on the agenda. A question shall not require a response at the meeting nor start a debate on the question. The chairman of the meeting may direct that a written or oral response be given.

Committee Meeting Minutes

To receive and resolve to adopt the minutes of the Human Resources committee meeting held on Wednesday 27^th August 2025 and the Human Resources committee extra ordinary meeting held on Tuesday 4^th November 2025 to allow the presiding Chairman to duly sign.

Clerk’s Report

To receive a verbal report from the Clerk on any matters arising from previous minutes, meetings attended by officers and future dates for the diary. For information only.

Parish Councillor’s Reports

To include an update on any meetings attended by Members as representatives of the Parish Council and future dates for the diary. For information only.

Employment Policy & Procedure Review

To review the following policies and procedures and resolve recommendations to Full Council –

Absence Management

Health & Safety (H&S)

To receive the periodic check from the Audit Panel, and to resolve any action required.

To receive the periodic check from the Clerk, and to resolve any action required.

To note that the annual visit from Peninsula will take place on 3^rd February 2026.

Recruitment

To receive the job specification and job description for the Grounds & Maintenance Operative (Including Sexton Duties) role and to resolve adoption.

To resolve the appointment of members to the recruitment panel as per Council’s adopted policy.

Confidential Matter(s)

To resolve that under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the public and representatives of the press and broadcast media be excluded from the meeting, and that the live streaming and any recording cease, during the consideration of the following item(s) of business as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted –

Staffing Matters

[1]  Standing Order 3f: Total time allowed will be 15 minutes (limit of 5 minutes per person) which may be varied at the discretion of the Chairman.

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of St Stephen in Brannel Parish Council Human Resources Committee held in the Brannel Room, St Stephen

on Monday 26^th January 2026 starting at 16.00pm.

 Present:

Cllr Julie Broad (Vice Chairman), Cllr Debby Hussey, Cllr David Simpson (Substitute), Cllr Shelagh Tasker and Cllr Keith Truscott (Chairman).

In attendance: 

Linda Ranger – Clerk & RFO.

Cllr Keith Truscott welcomed everyone to the meeting. He ran through housekeeping procedures and advised everyone present that if they intended to participate in the meeting, they could be recorded, photographed, filmed, or otherwise reported about.

HR01/26 Apologies for Absence:

It was
RESOLVED to note apologies from Cllr Anne Hartshorne.

Proposed by Cllr Julie Broad. Seconded by Cllr Debby Hussey. All voted in favour.

HR02/26 Declarations of Interest:

1. There were no declarations of pecuniary interests.
2. There were no declarations of non-registerable interests.
3. There were no dispensation requests.
4. There were no declarations of gifts or hospitality.

HR03/26 Public Participation:

None present and no questions received.

 HR04/26 Previous Committee Meeting Minutes:

It was
RESOLVED to adopt the minutes of the HR committee meeting held on Wednesday 27^th August 2025 and the minutes of the extra ordinary HR committee meeting held on Tuesday 4^th November 2025 as a true and accurate record.

Proposed by Cllr Debby Hussey. Seconded by Cllr Julie Broad. All voted in favour.

The Chairman duly signed the minutes.

HR05/26 Clerk’s Report:

The Clerk advised that earlier in the day she had met with the Community Link Officer and a representative from Volunteer Cornwall regarding Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs)[1]. It was expected that the parish council would soon be contacted about joining the local INT. The Clerk had concerns about staff capacity if this did occur but had been reassured that funding would be available, and the parish council would join on their terms. When and if contact was made, the Clerk will bring the matter to Full Council for discussion and decision.

Members were advised that the community newsletter was to cease with immediate effect. The matter had been listed on the Events & Communications agenda for discussion.

HR06/26 Parish Councillor Reports:

Cllr Keith Truscott gave an update on the clearance of the land donated by Imerys for parking at Lanjeth.

HR07/26 Employment Policy and Procedure Review:

It was
RESOLVED to recommend adoption of the amended Absence Management policy to Full Council.

Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Julie Broad. All voted in favour.

Action: Clerk

HR08/26 Health & Safety:

It was
RESOLVED to note the periodic check from the Audit Panel and that no further action was required at this time.

Proposed by Cllr Shelagh Tasker. Seconded by Cllr David Simpson. All voted in favour.

It was
RESOLVED to note the periodic check from the Clerk and that no further action was required at this time.

Proposed by Cllr Debby Hussey. Seconded by Cllr David Simpson. All voted in favour.

 It was noted that the annual visit from Peninsula would take place on 3^rd February 2026.

Action: Clerk

HR09/26 Recruitment:

It was
RESOLVED to adopt the amended job specification and job description for the recruitment of a Grounds & Maintenance Operative (Including Sexton Duties) and that the Clerk start the recruitment process to fill the vacancy.

It was
RESOLVED to appoint Cllr Julie Broad and Cllr Debbie Hussey to the recruitment panel with Cllr David Simpson as substitute.

Proposed by Cllr Julie Broad. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.

Action: Clerk                                                                                                                             

HR10/26 Confidential Matter(s):

It was
RESOLVED that under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the public, representatives of the press and broadcast media and non-committee members be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest because of the confidential nature of the following business to be transacted.

Proposed by Cllr David Simpson. Seconded by Cllr Julie Broad. All voted in favour.

Staff Leave and Absence Report

It was
RESOLVED to note the holiday, absence and time off in lieu (TOIL) report.

Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Debby Hussey. All voted in favour.

Temporary Hours Adjustment

It was
RESOLVED to permanently increase the employee’s hours to 24 per week.

Proposed by Cllr Debby Hussey. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.

Action: Clerk

Compassionate Leave

It was
RESOLVED to ratify the Clerk’s decision to grant an additional week of paid compassionate leave to an employee.

Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Julie Broad. All voted in favour.

Maternity Notification

It was
RESOLVED to note the notification of pregnancy and the expected due date.

Proposed by Cllr Julie Broad. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour

Maternity Leave Cover Arrangements

It was
RESOLVED to advertise for maternity cover on the same terms as the post holder role and that Cllr Julie Broad & Cllr Debby Hussey be appointed to the recruitment panel with Cllr David Simpson as substitute.

Proposed by Cllr Julie Broad. Seconded by Cllr Debby Hussey. All voted in favour.

Action: Clerk

Clerks Confidential Report

Members were updated on a previous staffing matter that had been concluded.

Members were reminded that they should not discuss employment matters nor make promises to staff. All staffing matters should go through the Clerk unless there was a conflict of interest.

It was agreed that the parish council office would close on Friday 20^th February 2026.

The meeting ended at 4.45pm

Signed as a true and accurate record –

 

 Chairman    ………………………………….…

  

Date             …………………………………….               

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

HR07/26 Employment Policy and Procedure Review:

That the amended Absence Management policy be adopted as presented.

[1] NHS Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) are local, multi-disciplinary groups joining health, social care, and voluntary services to provide joined-up, holistic care, focusing on a specific community’s needs to keep people healthier at home, shifting care from hospitals into the community, and making services easier to access by coordinating support. They work beyond traditional silos, integrating GPs, district nurses, social workers, housing officers, and mental health teams to offer proactive, preventative, and reactive support for the whole person, not just their medical condition.