Appointment of two new members to the Employment Forum.

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A decision made (15/04/08) regarding: Appointment of two new members to the Employment Forum.

Decision Reference: MD-S-2008-0024
Decision Summary Title :	L:\General Information\Workgroups\Policy\Employment\Ministerial decisions\DS Forum new members 28Mar08		Date of Decision Summary:	28/03/2008
Decision Summary Author:	Kate Morel, Policy Principal		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	L:\General Information\Workgroups\Policy\Employment\Ministerial decisions\SD Forum new members 28Mar08		Date of Written Report:	28/03/2008
Written Report Author:	Kate Morel, Policy Principal		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Appointment of two new members to the Employment Forum
Decision(s): The Minister decided to appoint Mr Mark Richardson and Mrs Jeralie Pallot to the Employment Forum for a three year term each.
Reason(s) for Decision: Two positions on the Forum were advertised in an open recruitment and selection process and interviews were undertaken in March 2008 by the Chair of the Forum and one Forum member. Mr Mark Richardson was recommended by the Forum for appointment as an “employee representative” from 1 May 2008, and Mrs Jeralie Pallot was recommended by the Forum for appointment as an “employer representative” from 1 June 2008. The proposed new members are highly recommended by the Forum as possessing a great deal of knowledge and experience that will enable them to make a valuable contribution to the work of the Forum in continuing with Phase 2 of the employment legislation.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: The Minister to formally approve the appointment and confirm in writing to the two successful candidates. It is not necessary to inform the States of the appointment.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Appointment of two new members to the Employment Forum.

Employment Forum Membership

BACKGROUND

The Employment Forum is intended to consist of nine members, appointed on the basis of their interest in employment relations and diversity of backgrounds, with three employer, three employee and three independent representatives. The Employment Law requires that members are appointed by the Social Security Minister.

Vacant “employee” position - Brendan Renehan retired at the end of his term in September 2007, leaving a vacant employee position. Noting that the Forum’s terms of reference state that a member may be excluded from attending meetings about an issue if they have missed vital meetings where important decisions have been made, or significant developments have been made, the Forum considered that it’s maternity and family friendly rights consultation was too far under way to involve a new member. Schedule 2 of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 provides that the validity of the proceeding of the forum shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members. It was therefore agreed that a new member would be recruited after the completion of that recommendation.

“Employer position” - Although the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 does not limit the number of terms that a member may hold, the Forum has suggested that in accordance with good practice, there must be an opportunity to recruit new members in order to prevent stagnation. The Forum suggested that when a member has completed three terms, their position should be openly advertised, whilst allowing that existing member to be considered along with the other applicants, if they wish to continue. Tina Palmer has served three terms on the Forum, the third of which was due to end in November 2007. Where a member has been involved with a large consultation project and wishes to complete it, the Forum typically requests that the appointment is informally extended until completion. Mrs Palmer’s position will therefore end on 31 May 2008.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

An advertisement was placed in the Jersey Evening Post, on the Social Security ‘Jobs in Jersey’ website and was sent to all of those on the Forum’s consultation database (approximately 150, including employers and employees, trade unions and employers associations). Nine applications were received and, following short-listing, seven candidates were selected for interview.

The interviews were conducted in March by the Chair of the Forum, Wendy Lambert (an Independent representative) and Jan McCarthy (an employer representative) who is an experienced HR professional.

The two candidates are recommended for appointment as having a great deal of knowledge and experience to bring to the Forum.

Mark Richardson

Born and educated in Jersey, Mr Mark Richardson is currently a Communications Officer for the States of Jersey and is a member of the Jersey Civil Service Association. For 18 years until 2007, he was a writer and publications editor for the well respected Incomes Data Services in the UK, focusing on Human Resources policy and practice. During that time, Mr Richardson was a member of the National Union of Journalists, involved in the negotiation of terms and conditions, and was a pension scheme trustee.

Mr Richardson has been invited to join the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a three year term of appointment, to begin on 1 May 2008.

Jeralie Pallot

Managing Director of the well-established Rowlands Recruitment Consultancy, Mrs Jeralie Pallot has 14 years experience in the Jersey recruitment industry; managing 12 permanent employees and a large bank of temporary staff. Mrs Pallot deals with clients from a wide range of local industries and has demonstrated her integrity, negotiation and conciliation skills in balancing the needs and concerns of clients and temporary employees. Mrs Pallot is a Fellow of the industry’s professional body, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

Mrs Pallot has been invited to join the Forum, subject to Ministerial approval, for a three year term of appointment, to begin on 1 June 2008.

The current members and their terms of appointment are:

Independent	Appointment end/renewal date
Wendy Lambert	31 Nov 2008
Sally Johnson	30 Sep 2009
Carol Le Cocq	31 Dec 2008

Employer reps
Jeralie Pallot	31 May 2011
Melvin Le Feuvre	31 Aug 2008
Jan McCarthy	31 Dec 2008

Employee reps
David Robinson	31 Dec 2008
Rosemary Pestana	31 Oct 2009
Mark Richardson	30 April 2011

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