Tower Hamlets Constitution

Subject to Rule 1.2 and Rule 10 below, the function of appointment and dismissal of, and taking disciplinary action against, a Member of staff of the authority must be discharged, on behalf of the authority by the Head of the Paid Service or by an officer nominated by her/him.

Rule 1.1 shall not apply to the appointment or dismissal of, or disciplinary action against:

1. The Head of the Paid Service;

2. A statutory chief officer within the meaning of section 2(6) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989;

3. A non-statutory chief officer within the meaning of section 2(7) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989;

4. A deputy chief officer within the meaning of section 2(8) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (subject to Rule 5.6 below);

5. A political assistant appointed in pursuance of section 9 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989; or

6. A Mayor’s assistant appointed in pursuance of regulations under paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Local Government Act 2000.

Declarations

1. The Council will draw up a statement requiring any candidate for appointment as an officer to state in writing whether they are the parent, grandparent, partner, child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece of the Mayor or an existing Councillor or officer of the Council; or of the partner of such persons.

2. No candidate so related to the Mayor or a Councillor or an officer will be appointed without the authority of the relevant chief officer or an officer nominated by her/him.

Seeking support for Appointment

1. The Council will disqualify any applicant who directly or indirectly seeks the support of the Mayor or any Councillor for any appointment with the Council. The content of this Rule will be included in any recruitment information.

2. Neither the Mayor nor any Councillor will seek support for any person for any appointment with the Council.

3. Neither the Mayor nor any Councillor shall give a reference (oral or written) for a candidate for employment by the Council.

Where the Council proposes to appoint a chief officer and it is not proposed that the appointment be made exclusively from among their existing officers, the Council will:

1. draw up a statement specifying:

   1. the duties of the officer concerned; and

   2. any qualifications or qualities to be sought in the person to be appointed.

2. make arrangements for the post to be advertised in such a way as is likely to bring it to the attention of persons who are qualified to apply for it; and

3. make arrangements for a copy of the statement mentioned in Rule 3.1(a) to be sent to any person on request.

Where a Committee, Sub-Committee or officer is discharging, on behalf of the authority, the function of the appointment of an officer designated as the head of the authority’s paid service, the authority must approve that appointment before an offer of appointment is made to that person.

The full Council will approve the appointment of the Head of Paid Service following the recommendation of such an appointment by an Appointments Sub-Committee established in accordance with Rule 5.1 below. That Sub-Committee must include at least one Member of the Executive.

The full Council may only make or approve the appointment of the Head of Paid Service where no well-founded objection has been made by any Member of the Executive.

The Chief Executive will establish Appointments Sub-Committees upon criteria approved by the Human Resources Committee comprising relevant Members to make appointment to Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer posts. Any Appointments Sub-Committee established in accordance with this rule must include at least one (1) Member of the Executive.

Engagement of Chief Officers, to permanent positions or interim positions of over six (6) months, will be through the normal recruitment process overseen by the Human Resources Committee. The Chief Executive may make appointments to interim positions of up to six (6) months.

Where an interim appointment, approved by the Chief Executive, extends beyond six months it must be approved at the next available Human Resources Committee and in any case not later than two months after the end of the extension.

An offer of employment as a chief officer or deputy chief officer shall only be made where no well-founded objection from any Member of the Executive has been received. Subject to Rule 5.6 below, in these Rules, chief officers are defined as:

1. the Chief Executive (as Head of Paid Service)

2. the statutory Chief Officers, (including the Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Director, Children’s Services, Corporate Director, Adults’ Services, and the Monitoring Officer)

3. the non-statutory chief officers which are:

   1. Officers for whom the Chief Executive is responsible (other directors);

   2. Officers who report to or who are directly accountable to the Chief Executive by virtue of the nature of their duties; and

   3. Officers who report to or who are directly accountable to the Council itself or any committee of the Council by virtue of the nature of their duties.

Subject to Rule 5.6 below, in these Rules, deputy chief officers are defined as officers in departments who, by virtue of the nature of their duties, either report to or are directly accountable to the statutory or non-statutory chief officer responsible for that department.

Rules 5.4 and 5.5 do not apply to:

1. officers whose duties are solely secretarial and clerical or are in the nature of support services; or

2. Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher posts in schools with delegated budgets.

A permanent appointment to either the Chief Finance Officer of Monitoring Officer positions proposed by the Appointment Sub-Committee must be confirmed by a meeting of Council.

Officers below Deputy Chief Officer. Appointment of officers below deputy chief officer (other than any assistants to the political groups and any Mayor’s assistant as defined at (e) and (f) respectively of Rule 1.2 above) is the responsibility of the Head of Paid Service or her/his nominee, and may not be made by the Mayor or Councillors.

Assistants to Political Groups. Appointment of an assistant to a political group shall be made in accordance with the wishes of that political group.

Mayor’s Assistant. Appointment of a Mayor’s Assistant shall be made in accordance with the wishes of the Mayor.

In this Rule 8:

• “the 2011 Act” means the Localism Act 2011;

• “independent person” means a person appointed under section 28(7) of the 2011 Act;

• “local government elector” means a person registered as a local government elector in the council’s area

• “The Panel” means a committee appointed by the Council for the purposes of advising the Council on matters relating to the dismissal of the Head of Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer or the Chief Financial Officer;

• “relevant meeting” means a meeting of the Full Council to consider whether or not to approve a proposal to dismiss the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer or Chief Financial Officer

The Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer or Chief Finance Officer may not be dismissed for disciplinary or misconduct reasons unless the procedure set out in the following Rule 8.3 (a) to (e) is complied with:

1. An Investigating and Disciplinary Sub-Committee (IDSC) must be established to deal with formal disciplinary matters of the Relevant Officers.

2. Where the IDSC proposes dismissal it must ask the Executive if there are objections to the proposal. If there are material, well-founded objections the IDSC must consider those.

3. Where there is a recommendation to dismiss, the Council must then appoint an Independent Panel of at least two independent persons to consider the recommendation for dismissal.

4. The reports of the IDSC and the Independent Panel must be considered by a meeting of Council which must consider and approve the proposal to dismiss before the notice of dismissal is issued.

5. The Relevant Officer will have the opportunity to appear before the council meeting to put their case before a decision is taken.

Involvement of Members in Disciplinary Action.Neither the Mayor nor any Member of the Council will be involved in disciplinary action against any officer below deputy chief officer except where set out in Paragraph 10.

A Disciplinary Policy and Procedure for the Head of Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer and the Chief Financial Officer shall from time to time be issued or updated. That document does not form part of the Council’s Constitution but should be read alongside these Officer Employment Procedure Rules.

Neither the Mayor nor any Member of the Council will be involved in the dismissal of any officer below deputy chief officer except where set out in Paragraph 10.

Where a committee, sub-committee or officer is discharging, on behalf of the authority, the function of the dismissal of an officer designated as the head of the authority’s paid service, as the authority’s Chief Finance Officer, or as the authority’s Monitoring Officer, the authority must approve that dismissal before notice is given to that person.

Where a committee or a sub-committee of the authority is discharging, on behalf of the authority, the function of the dismissal of any officer referred to at (a) to (d) of Rule 1.2 above, at least one member of the Executive must be a member of that committee or sub-committee.

Where the authority or a Committee, Sub-Committee or officer (“the dismissor”) proposes to dismiss:

• The Head of the Paid Service;

• A statutory chief officer;

• A non-statutory chief officer; or

• A deputy chief officer,

Nothing in Rule 1.1 above shall prevent a person from serving as a member of any committee or sub-committee established by the authority to consider an appeal by:-

1. another person against any decision relating to the appointment of that other person as a member of staff of the authority;

2. a member of staff of the authority against any decision relating to the dismissal of that member of staff.