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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