Employment Forum Membership: Re-appointment of Employee Member

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A decision made on 8 April 2019

Decision Reference: MD-S-2019-0032
Decision Summary Title :	DS Employment Forum membership – reappoint Gray		Date of Decision Summary:	8 April 2019
Decision Summary Author:	Policy Principal		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	WR Employment Forum membership – re-appoint Gray		Date of Written Report:	8 April 2019
Written Report Author:	Policy Principal		Written Report: Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Employment Forum Membership – Re-appointment of Employee Member
Decision(s): The Minister decided to re-appoint Mr Douglas Gray to the Employment Forum.
Reason(s) for Decision: Schedule 2 to the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 requires that members of the Employment Forum must be appointed by the Minister for Social Security. Mr Douglas Gray has served for three years on the Forum as an ‘employee’ member. He has requested a further term and it was recommended that the Minister re-appoint Mr Gray as an ‘employee’ member for a further three-year term.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: Policy Principal to advise Mr Gray that he has been re-appointed. The Employment Law does not require that the States Assembly is notified.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Employment Forum Membership - Re-appointment of Employee Member

Employment Forum – RE-APPOINT MEMBER

Background

The Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the ‘Employment Law’) provides that the Employment Forum (the ‘Forum’) consists of eight members and a Chairman who must be appointed by the Minister for Social Security (the ‘Minister’). Members must be appointed having regard to the desirability of securing an appropriate balance between members with experience as employers, members with experience as employees and members with other relevant experience.

It is vital to provide a balance between introducing new perspectives and skills to the Forum, as well as providing continuity amongst the membership with the retention of knowledge and experience. Forum members are usually appointed for an initial three-year term and may request to be re-appointed. The Forum does not fall within the direct remit of the Jersey Appointments Commission (the ‘Commission’). However, the Forum operates in accordance with the Commission’s guidance [1] which states that “members of independent bodies should not normally be appointed for terms in excess of nine years”.

The current members and their terms of office are as follows:

	Term of office end date
Independent
Helen Ruelle	30 November 2019
Malcolm Ferey	17 October 2020
John Everett	30 April 2021

Employer
Thomas Quinlan	30 November 2019
Julie Fairclough	17 October 2020
Graeme Stokes	30 April 2021

Employee
Barbara Ward	30 November 2019
Douglas Gray	27 April 2019
Marina Mauger	30 April 2021

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister re-appoints Mr Douglas Gray as a member of the Employment Forum for a further 3-year term of office.

Mr Gray has been a trade union member for more than 50 years. After working for the Government of Jersey since 1972, Mr Gray retired in November 2016. Mr Gray then took on the part-time position of Joint Unions Administrator in January 2017, in accordance with the terms of the Joint Unions Framework Agreement. Mr Gray is the elected Branch Secretary and Equality Officer for Civil Service Unite which involves representing union members in employment relations issues, as well as in briefings and negotiations in relation to the ongoing major changes within the Government of Jersey. Mr Gray is a member of the Unite South West Regional and National Disability Committees and is a member of the Joint Civil Service Association Executive.

[1]www.gov.je/Government/Departments/ChiefMinisters/ChiefMinistersSections/JerseyAppointmentsCommission/Pages/GuidelinesRecruitmentSeniorEmployeesAppointeesIndependents.aspx