The Human Resources Committee met on 22 December 2025, noting the action log and work plan, and discussing senior recruitment, employee relations, and an update from the Corporate Director for Communities. The committee approved an extension of the interim arrangement for the Director of Governance post, and agreed to shorten the extension for the Interim Director of Community Safety.

Senior Recruitment Update

The committee approved the extension of interim arrangements for Mark Norman, Interim Director of Governance, and Abdulrazak Kassim, Acting Corporate Director of Resources, until 31 March 2026. However, following a proposal from Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury, seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding, the committee agreed to shorten the extension for Dal Babu, Interim Director of Community Safety, until 28 February 2026 to allow sufficient time for handover to the new Director of Public Protection and Integrated Enforcement, Kiran Vagarwal, who commences on 21 January 2026.

The Senior Recruitment Update report provided an overview of recent appointments and ongoing recruitment efforts for senior positions within the council. Since the last meeting, Ellen Clark commenced as Director of HR & OD on 15 December 2025. The report also noted the interim cover arrangements in place for various positions and detailed posts currently in the recruitment and selection process.

Employee Relations Casework and Policy Quarterly Review

The committee received an Employee Relations Casework and Policy Quarterly Review for Quarter 2 (1 July – 30 September 2025). Pauline Shakespeare, Interim Head of Corporate Human Resources, informed members that the total number of employment tribunal cases had increased compared to Quarter 1, with 80 cases ongoing for over 120 days. Grievances also increased from 41 to 62, and disciplinaries rose from 26 to 33. However, she noted that these numbers were below the figures from Quarter 3 of the previous year, suggesting temporary variations rather than a consistent upward trend.

The report highlighted that many employee relations cases were interlinked, with grievances often triggering counter-grievances, particularly within the Communities Directorate, possibly due to the insourcing of leisure services. The council is promoting its in-house mediation services and encouraging managers to hold informal discussions with employees to resolve concerns early. Managers have also been reminded to take a proactive approach to reduce delays.

The committee noted concerns that reduced resources and longer working hours were negatively affecting employees' mental health and wellbeing. They emphasised the need for HR and Legal to maintain alignment before cases progress to the Appeals Committee.

Corporate Director Update

The committee received an update from Simon Baxter, Corporate Director for Communities, who was not present at the meeting due to illness. The update was therefore brought forward by the Chair, Councillor Harun Miah. The Communities Directorate Update covered various aspects of the directorate's operations, including its vision, divisions, leadership structure, workforce insights, and key challenges.

The directorate's vision is to create a cleaner, greener, safer, healthier borough with vibrant culture and learning opportunities, focused on collaboration, innovation and reducing inequality.

The directorate is structured into three divisions: Public Realm, Public Protection and Integrated Enforcement, and Culture & Leisure. Key priorities include service redesigns, colleague engagement, and equalities, diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The report highlighted that the directorate has a higher proportion of male employees (62.78%) compared to female employees (37.22%), and a lower proportion of BME¹ employees (38.71%) compared to the council average (53.01%). The average number of FTE² days lost to sickness absence was 13.60, higher than the council average of 12.85, with the top reasons being musculoskeletal problems and stress, depression, mental health and anxiety.