The People, Performance and Development Committee of Surrey Council are scheduled to meet on Monday 7 April 2025 to discuss the officer code of conduct, career development, voluntary redundancy payments, severance pay approvals, and the pay policy statement. The committee will also review actions from previous meetings and consider the forward work programme.

Pay Policy Statement

The committee is scheduled to consider the Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26, before it is presented to the Full Council for approval on 7 May 2025.

Local authorities are legally required to prepare a pay policy statement that articulates the council’s policy towards the pay of the workforce, particularly senior staff and its lowest paid employees.

The report pack states that the Pay Policy Statement must include the approach to awarding pay including:

• Pay progression and annual review
• Payments on Termination
• Additional Payments (including acting up and recognition)

The report pack notes that the council has agreed to mirror the National Employers pay award for 2025/26 and has entered into a collective agreement with recognised Trade Unions. Because the national pay negotiations are still underway, the Pay Policy Statement will need to be updated once the pay award for 2025/26 is agreed.

The report pack seeks delegated authority for the Director of People and Change, in consultation with the Chair of this Committee, to update the Pay Policy Statement to reflect the pay award and amend the pay scales.

The draft Pay Policy Statement attached to the report pack contains details of the pay scales for 2024/25, which will remain in place until the national pay agreement is reached. It also defines the council's lowest paid employees as those who are paid on the lowest Surrey Pay grade, PS 1/2, which as of 1 April 2025, equates to £22,919 per annum for full time staff.

Voluntary Redundancy Payments and Severance Pay Approvals

The committee is scheduled to consider a report seeking approval to make changes to the council’s redundancy payments scheme and to amend the severance policy with regards to approvals of severance payments.

The report pack notes that there are currently three redundancy payment schemes for council employees: compulsory, voluntary (employer led), and voluntary (employee led). The voluntary (employee led) scheme is seldom used and can be confused with the employer led scheme. It is therefore recommended that it is removed so there is only one voluntary redundancy scheme using the compulsory redundancy payment terms.

The report pack also notes that since May 2022, councils must follow Best Value Guidance for certain severance payments called Special Severance Payments (SSPs). The council’s Redundancy and Severance Policy sets out approvals for SSPs which comply with the Best Value Guidance. However, the Redundancy and Severance Policy requires amendment for severance payments which are not SSPs, such as those made in relation to redundancy.

The report pack states that the requirement for the People, Performance and Development Committee to approve payments over £150,000 could put the council in conflict with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001 which preclude Members from making decisions regarding appointment or dismissal of employees below Deputy Chief Officer level.

It is proposed that any severance case with a total cost of £150,000 or over would need to be approved by the Chief Executive, Director of People and Change and s151 Officer¹, in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

Surrey County Council Officer Code of Conduct

The committee is scheduled to consider the updated Officer Code of Conduct, which forms part of the Constitution of the Council, before it is presented to Council for approval in May 2025.

The Officer Code of Conduct applies to all employees and workers of the council, including school-based employees, agency workers, contractors and their staff whilst working for, or on behalf of, the council.

The report pack notes that the Officer Code of Conduct is reviewed annually to ensure alignment with other policy amendments and reflect current working practices.

The amendments to the Officer Code of Conduct are detailed below:

i) The language has been updated to make it more readable and understandable for all new starters and existing colleagues, whilst retaining the formal nature of the Code.

ii) Reference to the Ending Bullying and Harassment policy, which was approved by the People, Performance and Development Committee in 2024, has been included for the first time, including a sexual harassment at work-related events policy in clause 9.3.

iii) A Duty of Candour section has been included for relevant Health Care workers, in line with Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

iv) A hyperlinked glossary of policies has been included in Section 19.

PPDC Report April 2025 CoC

Career Development Update

The committee is scheduled to receive an update on the progress of the Career Development programme which has taken place for all employees of Surrey County Council over the last 12 months, as well as planned future activity to support the careers and development of employees.

The report pack notes that annually, approximately 1,100 staff members leave Surrey County Council. Exit surveys highlight a lack of opportunities and promotions as key reasons for leaving, with leavers desiring more career progression. Internal focus groups, conducted late in 2023 with current employees, underscored the need for greater visibility, fairness, and transparency in recruitment processes, ensuring that opportunities are accessible to all.

In response to these findings, the Career Development Programme aims to support all colleagues throughout their career journeys. The programme seeks to attract a diverse and inclusive workforce that feels valued, developed, and supported and enables the organisation to grow and retain high performing employees.

Significant strides made in career development include the Career Development Portal, consolidating all necessary activities and information for easy access in Our Surrey (the council’s intranet for staff). The council has also introduced weekly Spotlights on Career Development, which showcase various beneficial activities to all employees.

The council has revised recruitment controls and practices to ensure that all job openings are advertised internally first, unless there is good evidence to show that the skills or qualifications required for a role are not available amongst the existing workforce.

The report pack also notes that the council is operating a Career Starter Apprenticeship programme for education leavers aged 16-23, currently with 16 participants. The council can also transfer a portion of its levy fund to local businesses lacking their own funds, aiding small business skills development at zero training cost. In 2024, the council transferred £164,756 to 29 local businesses.

Action Review

The committee is scheduled to review and comment on the committee’s actions tracker. The action tracker records actions and recommendations from previous meetings.

Forward Work Programme

The committee is scheduled to review and comment on upcoming items due for consideration by the People, Performance and Development Committee.