Employment Forum: Appointment of Members

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A decision made 6 April 2018:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2018-0026
Decision Summary Title :	DS Appoint 3 Employment Forum members		Date of Decision Summary:	6 April 2018
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 Appoint 3 Employment Forum members		Date of Written Report:	6 April 2018
Written Report Author:	Policy Principal		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Employment Forum – Appointment of three new members
Decision(s): The Minister decided to appoint Marina Mauger, John Everett and Graeme Stokes as members of the Employment Forum, each for a three-year term, starting on 1 May 2018.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Employment Law provides that members of the Employment Forum must be appointed by the Minister for Social Security. Following a period of open recruitment and selection undertaken by representatives of the Forum during March 2018, the three candidates were recommended to the Minister for appointment. The Minister is satisfied that the three appointees possess a broad range of valuable skills and experience to contribute to the work of the Forum.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: Policy Principal to advise the three appointees that the Minister has approved their appointments. The Employment Law does not require the States Assembly to be notified of appointments to the Forum.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Employment Forum: Appointment of Members

APPOINTMENT OF Employment Forum Members

Background

The Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the ‘Employment Law’)[1] 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 [2] which states that “members of independent bodies should not normally be appointed for terms in excess of nine years”.

Vacancies

The terms of office of two members ended in 2017. Gary Du Heaume’s term ended after three years and the Minister is very grateful to him for his service as an employee member. Gary Jones resigned after three years and the Minister is grateful to him for his service as an independent member.

Jeralie Pallot is the Forum’s longest serving member having served for ten years in total [3]. Jeralie’s term of office is due to end on 31 May 2018 but she will resign effective from 30 April 2018 so that her replacement can be appointed on 1 May 2018, before the Forum starts work on the minimum wage review.

Recruitment

The three vacancies were openly advertised in February and March 2018. An advertisement was placed in the Jersey Evening Post, on the ‘Jobs in Jersey’ website and was sent to those on the Forum’s consultation database (approximately 300 contacts, including employers and employees, trade unions and employers’ associations). In addition, the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service circulated the advert as part of its electronic newsletter.

Eight applications were received and six applicants was interviewed. The interview panel consisted of two current Forum members; Helen Ruelle (Chairman) and Malcolm Ferey (Deputy Chairman). The Forum Secretary, Kate Morel, was present in an administrative capacity. Best practice was followed in the recruitment process.

The Forum’s main priority in its selection of members is to maintain diversity within the group; the Forum must ensure that its nine members cover the widest range of skills, expertise and industry types possible. The Forum also seeks to ensure that members have recent knowledge and relevant experience of employment relations issues, as well as an interest in employment policy and legislation. The interview panel was satisfied that the three candidates have a broad range of appropriate skills and experience to bring to the Forum and recommended the following three candidates for appointment by the Minister.

Marina Mauger – employee member

Marina has served for 8 years as the Local Negotiating Secretary (Head) for NASUWT, the Teachers’ Union in Jersey, which has an education partnership agreement with the States of Jersey. Marina’s role involves employment relations casework, including bullying and harassment cases and compromise agreements, as well as helping to create employment policies for the States of Jersey. Marina is a member of the States of Jersey Workforce Modernisation Board and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Group. Marina was previously a member of the local Living Wage Commission. For the past 21 years, Marina has worked as a Lecturer at Highlands College and currently teaches Foundation Studies.

John Everett – independent member

John has worked for the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) for nearly four years, in the role of Deputy Director General since November 2015. As a senior representative of an independent regulator John’s responsibilities include membership of the Executive Board, leading the Commission’s change programme with financial oversight of projects to update practices and managing the Commission’s relationship with stakeholders, including the States of Jersey. John is also a member of the JFSC Staff Pension Scheme Oversight Committee. Having worked for 10 years in a policy role for the UK Financial Services Authority, John has significant previous experience of stakeholder consultation and adjusting policy from an independent and regulatory perspective. John has previously served in a number of voluntary roles, including as a member of a UK train company’s ‘passenger panel’.

Graeme Stokes - employer member

Graeme is the Health and Safety Manager for the Jersey Royal Company – one of the largest minimum wage employers in Jersey – and he has worked in that role for the past 7 years. Graeme has day-to-day human resources responsibility for a multi-national workforce of up to 500 staff, including disciplinary and grievance procedures, health and welfare issues and training and development. Graeme has previous experience in a range of other sectors including engineering, construction and manufacturing. Graeme has a science and risk based analytical background, with a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering and postgraduate qualifications in occupational and environmental health and safety management. Graeme also serves as an on-call firefighter for the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service.

Recommendation

Appoint Marina Mauger, John Everett and Graeme Stokes as members of the Employment Forum, each for a three-year term of office starting on 1 May 2018.

The current and proposed members 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
Jeralie Pallot	31 May 2018 (to resign effective 30 April 2018)
Thomas Quinlan	30 November 2019
Julie Fairclough	17 October 2020
Graeme Stokes	30 April 2021

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

[1] Paragraph 1, Schedule 2 www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/Pages/05.255.aspx

[2]www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/P%20JAC%20recruiting%20guidelines%2020160706%20JP.pdf

[3] MD-S-2017-0003 Term of office extended to ten years with the approval of the Commission.