< Previous page ^ Table of Contents Next page >

Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on amendments to certain regulations consequential to the creation of a Personnel Division within the University Offices

The COUNCIL and the GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Hitherto, the personnel function within the University has been undertaken largely (but not exclusively) by two separate offices - the Assistant Staff Office in Trumpington Street and the Work and Stipends and Academic Staff Development Section of the General Board in the Old Schools. Similarly, personnel policies and procedures for University officers and assistant staff have been considered in two separate committees - the Work and Stipends Committee and the Assistant Staff Committee, respectively.

2. The Council and the General Board have identified the need for a more coherent and inclusive approach to personnel policy and practice. In order to give effect to this they have approved new arrangements having three major elements: these are (i) the establishment of an integrated Personnel Division within the University Offices, (ii) the appointment of a Director of Personnel, initially on an unestablished basis, to lead the new Division, and (iii) the formation of a single Personnel Committee as a Joint Committee of the Council and the Board to replace the existing Assistant Staff and Work and Stipends Committees.

3. Although it has yet to come together in a single location, the Personnel Division of the University Offices, which includes the Assistant Staff Office and the Work and Stipends and Academic Staff Development Section, was created on 1 November 1999 when the Director of Personnel took up his appointment (see the Notice in Reporter, p. 102). The Director's responsibilities include those formerly undertaken by the Personnel Officer and it is proposed that the regulations for this post therefore be rescinded. At the same time it is proposed to rescind the regulations relating to Job Analysts as these are now redundant.

4. The Council and the General Board have agreed that the Personnel Committee will have the following terms of reference:

(a) to recommend to the Council and the General Board, as appropriate, personnel strategies, policies, and procedures required to fulfil the University's statutory obligations and to meet institutional requirements, having particular regard to the University's mission statement and strategic plan, and inform the Planning and Resources Committee of any proposals that have substantial resource implications;
(b) to review from time to time the effectiveness of such strategies, policies, and procedures;
(c) to discharge such duties as required of it under those strategies, policies, and procedures;
(d) to receive regularly statistics on the staff employed by the University and persons applying for employment to and leaving the employment of the University;
(e) to determine the arrangements for employee relations, equal opportunity in respect of staff, and staff development and training;
(f) to consult the Colleges through the Colleges Committee over matters of mutual concern relating to the terms and conditions of employment of staff.

These terms of reference will provide the Personnel Committee with both a general role - with an overview of policies, procedures, and practices - and an inclusive role - with all groups of staff employed by the University falling within its purview. As such the new committee would subsume the functions carried out by the Assistant Staff and Work and Stipends Committees, both of which would therefore be discharged, with consequential amendments to the regulations for the University and Assistants Joint Board. However, although the Personnel Committee would have responsibility for determining arrangements for employee relations, it would not itself replace the existing University and Assistants Joint Board.

5. The current Academic Staff Development Committee will remain a committee of the General Board but will report directly to the Personnel Committee in the first instance to ensure that the new committee has within its purview all aspects of personnel policy. It is expected that the Academic Staff Development Committee (and any successor committee) would continue to have strong links with the General Board's Education Committee.

6. The Council and the General Board have agreed that the Personnel Committee will consist of the following members:

(a) one member of the Council and one member of the General Board (one of whom shall be appointed Chairman by the Council, having consulted the General Board);
(b) two persons, one of whom is the Head of an academic Department or other academic institution and one of whom is the Chairman of a Board of a Faculty not organized into Departments, neither of whom is a member of the Council or the General Board, appointed by the General Board;
(c) the Registrary, as Head of the University Offices;
(d) one person who is the Head of an institution under the supervision of the Council or the General Board not principally involved in teaching, and not within the Unified Administrative Service, appointed by the Council, having consulted the General Board;
(e) not more than two persons co-opted by the Committee having regard to the composition of the committee as regards factors such as gender and ethnicity;

with the Treasurer, the Secretary General of the Faculties, and the Director of Personnel, who will act as Secretary of the Committee, in attendance. Members in classes (a), (b), and (d) would be appointed to serve for a period of four years, while members in class (e) would be co-opted to serve for one year. The constitution of the committee is designed to reconcile the desirability of having a reasonably small body to consider personnel matters on behalf of the University as an employer with the need for it to reflect the broad make up of the University.

7. As a consequence of the new arrangements described in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of this Report, the Council and the General Board recommend the following amendments to the regulations for the University and Assistants Joint Board and for the Unified Administrative Service:

I. That the regulations for the University and Assistants Joint Board (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 131) be amended as follows:

Regulation 1.

By amending sub-paragraph (b)(ii) so as to read 'The Registrary, the Treasurer, and the Secretary General of the Faculties, and the Head of the Personnel Division of the University Offices (or their deputies) who shall be members ex officio;

Regulation 2.

By rescinding this regulation;

Regulation 5.

By replacing in line 3 of sub-paragraph (c) and in line 2 of sub-paragraph (d) the words 'the Personnel Officer' with the words 'the Head of the Personnel Division of the University Offices';

Regulation 11.

By replacing in line 2 the words 'the Assistant Staff Committee' with the words 'the Council and the General Board';

II. That the regulations for the Unified Administrative Service (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 614) be amended as follows:

By deleting Regulations 20 to 26.

31 January 2000

ALEC N. BROERS, Vice-Chancellor T. JONES ONORA O'NEILL
G. R. EVANS DONALD LAMING JEREMY SANDERS
A. L. R. FINDLAY MELISSA LANE M. SARDY
S. L. GROO JOHN A. LEAKE M. SCHOFIELD
DAVID HARRISON A. M. LONSDALE DAVID M. THOMPSON
GORDON JOHNSON M. D. MACLEOD R. E. THORNTON

12 January 2000

ALEC N. BROERS, Vice-Chancellor MALCOLM GRANT N. J. MACKINTOSH
P. J. BAYLEY BRIAN F. G. JOHNSON ADRIAN POOLE
A. L. R. FINDLAY JOHN A. LEAKE KATE PRETTY
K. GLOVER PETER LIPTON M. SCHOFIELD

< Previous page ^ Table of Contents Next page >

Cambridge University Reporter, 2 February 2000
Copyright © 2000 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.