Thursday 30 October 2014

Bonfire night fireworks for a Brent senior manager?

There is an intriguing item on Brent Council's General Purposes Committee agenda for November 5th:
Senior Manager Restructuring Proposals 
This report outlines proposals for a further restructuring with two aims: refocusing the Council’s senior management and corporate centre to meet the substantial challenges the organisation must manage over the next period and inevitable reduction in staffing; further streamlining to deliver a £1.4 million saving in senior management costs.
Clearly £1.4m is a substantial sum so the proposals could be far-reaching. They come only a little over 18 months since the last restructuring LINK.

Unfortunately the Council has decided that the proposal must remain concealed from the public by virtue of paragraph(s) 1, 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. This protects proposals relating to an individual and which reveals the identity of the individual.

On the same agenda is a new policy on Learning and Development authored by Cara Davani. Cara Davani was the second respondent in the Employment Tribunal case against Rosemary Clarke, former head of Learning and Development.

The Watford Employment Tribunal found that Clarke had been racially discriminated against, victimised and constructively dismissed.

Brent Council is appealing the Employment Tribunal's judgment.

The new policy abolishes employees' access to funding to gain job related professional qualifications. It states:
-->
Key changes include a consistent approach to work experience and internships, the latter of which must be paid. Given the budgetary pressures the council is facing, the council is no longer able to support funding for professional qualifications, although paid time off may be available in accordance with the council’s Time Off policy.

Funding will still exist for specific initiatives, such as BAME Senior Management Development programmes
The proposed full policy document can be found HERE

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bonfire night balloon debate, eh? Or will it be a bonfire of the vanities?
Let's hope the dignity of the occasion isn't let down by vulgar pyrotechnical allusions.
Such as:
Who'll get a rocket?
Who'll go off with a bang (or, more likely, with a bung)?
Which are the pretty ones?
Who ends up as a roamin' candle?
Jumping jacks, damp squibs, Guy Fawkes was the only one ever to enter the Civic Centre with honourable intentions, you know the kind of thing ...........

Mike Hine

Anonymous said...

Let me guess, they are getting rid of the Chief Exec and the post will now be covered by Mohamed Butt?

Anonymous said...

What the hell does 'refocusing the Council’s senior management and corporate centre' mean? What is this 'centre'? A place? A person? A group? A set of beliefs? (No, certainly not that one).
How can it be 'refocused' and what will it look like when it has been? How will we tell whether they've done it properly?
Language like this is just a smokescreen, it's something to hide behind . It means nothing. Bullshit language leads to bullshit morality and bullshit behaviour, as recent events at the Civic Centre have made very clear indeed.
'Equal ops' anyone? 'Anti-bullying initiative'? 'Fair play at work'? 'Transparency'?

Unknown said...

waffle

Anonymous said...

Nice One!

Anonymous said...

'Who let the dogs out?' Seems like Brent politicians rushing to bar the kennel doors before any more moggies are let loose. Though the council isn't responsible for the legal provisions under the Local Government Act 1972 that protect the identity of an individual, Brent's use of same doesn't inspire confidence given the executive's lamentable failure to act sooner to investigate publicly the shameful goings-on amongst the inter-connected management team.

As for who's for the chop - Ms Ledden, or Ms Devani's fellow-dog breeder and senior council employee?

Anonymous said...

I've got an idea!
We'll all have a vote and the winner gets the chop. We can call it 'Brent Staff Underachievement Award 2014' and Ms Davani can present the certificate, hopefully to herself (unless Rosemarie would like to do the honours).

Mike hine

Anonymous said...

PRIVATE EYE'S CONTACT EMAIL IS:

strobes@private-eye.co.uk