Agenda and minutes

Moved by Kevin Shillitto (Unison) and seconded by Councillor Andrew Joesbury

RESOLVED that Chris McKinney be elected as Chair of the Safety Committee for the ensuing year.

Moved by Councillor Maxine Dixon and seconded by Kevin Shillitto (Unison)

RESOLVED that Councillor Andrew Joesbury be elected as Vice-Chair of the Safety  Committee for the ensuing year.

Councillor Andrew Joesbury in the Chair.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nick Clarke, Councillor Tricia Clough, Bronwen MacArthur-Williams (Health and Safety Manager) and Rebecca Hutchinson (Health and Safety Advisor).

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business to be considered at the meeting.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 11^th February 2021.

Moved by Councillor Allan Bailey and seconded by Kevin Shillitto (Unison)

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of the Safety Committee held on 11^th February 2021 be approved as a true and correct record.

The HR and Organisational Development Manager presented the Sickness Absence report for quarter one (April 2021 – June 2021). The average number of days lost per employee for Quarter 1 was 1.91 days therefore, the projected 2021/22 outturn figure for the average number of days lost per employee was 7.64 days.

Table one in the report showed the comparison of data to previous years with 2021/22 on track to be slightly higher than last year for average days lost per employee. An extra column had now been added to show the financial implication of the number of days lost.

Table four compared the three highest departments for sickness absence per quarter over the last three years and table five showed the departments with the lowest sickness absence levels. The Directorates would be updated to reflect the new structure for forthcoming quarters.

Key trends were detailed within the report which noted that stress/depression remained consistently high but the Council had taken steps to support employees which included Mental Health awareness sessions and resilience training. In addition, it was highlighted that 70 days were lost in quarter 1 due to employees experiencing Covid 19 symptoms and reporting as unfit for work.

Moved by Councillor Allan Bailey and seconded by Kevin Shillitto (Unison)

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

The Health and Safety Advisor presented the Committee with a Health and Safety update for Quarter 1 and details of any incidents that had occurred. The total number of employee accidents recorded was nine. These included two falls from height, one contact with electricity, one slip, trip or fall, one hit by a moving object, one contact with a moving machinery and one other incident which related to a dislocation of a finger end.

Of these accidents six occurred in Streetscene, two occurred in Housing and one was in Leisure. None of the above accidents were reportable under RIDDOR however, two of the accidents incurred lost time of up to seven days. The appendix to the report broke down each accident into more detail which included the severity and the number of days lost.

A query was raised on the accident dated 14.04.21 which related to contact with electricity and it was confirmed that there was relevant procedures in place to prevent a more severe situation from occurring in the future.

A member questioned how often the Council owned garage sites were checked. The Health and Safety team advised that they were checked annually and if any faults were identified others would be checked an example was a recent fault noted on a metal garage door, other sites that also had this door were then assessed in addition to the annual checks.

The Committee was also advised that push tests on gravestones are carried out as standard but the incident on the 29^th June 2021 was an unfortunate accident that couldn’t have been avoided as voids often can’t be seen.

Face to face training is now going ahead again following the relaxation of Covid safety measures but sessions were being undertaken with reduced numbers to maintain distance. Some sessions were still being carried out on Zoom where required and essential and refresher training would soon be undertaken.

Meeting concluded at 11:50