Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ian Stokes, substituted by Councillor Gareth Knight, and Councillor Paul Wood, substituted by Councillor Virginia Moran.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

There were none.

The minutes of the meeting held at 2.45 PM, 12 November 2025 were proposed, seconded and AGREED as an accurate record.

The Democratic Service Officer apologised that, due to a clerical oversight, the minutes from the meeting held at 10am on 12 November 2025 had not been included within the agenda pack. The officer noted that the draft minutes were available online and would be presented to the next meeting of the Employment Committee.

The Pay Policy Statement 2026/27 was introduced by the Leader of the Council.

The Pay Policy Statement was presented to the Employment Committee on 12 November 2025 which voted to recommend the Statement to Full Council.

Since the Employment Committee voted to recommend the Pay Policy Statement, there was one minor amendment to the Statement (section 8.6) to reflect the Council’s position on the ‘sale of annual leave’. This addition was in response to a recommendation from the Council’s External Auditors.  Consultation was undertaken with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of Employment Committee and the Cabinet Member for HR.

During discussions, Members commented on the following:

-       It was noted that the text in section 9.2 of the policy, referencing that the Pay Policy would be updated to reflect the minimum wage figures, could be removed now that the figures had been released and included within the report.

-       It was clarified that the sale of annual leave was scope for employees to exchange remaining annual leave for money in some circumstances. The Leader confirmed this to be positive, demonstrating SKDC to be flexible and responsive to the needs of employees.

-       A Member noted concern at the level of reimbursement for travel expenses. The Chief Finance Officer confirmed that 45p per mile was the rate set by HMRC and was not determined locally.

Following discussions, it was proposed, seconded, and AGREED to recommend the Pay Policy Statement 2026/27 to Council for approval.

The Head of Paid Service noted that they would engage with the Chairman and relevant officers to further populate the Work Programme following the meeting.

The Work Programme 2025-26 was noted by the committee.  

There was none.

The meeting concluded at 11.49 am.