People and Workspace Committee terms of reference

1. The People and Workspace Committee (P&WC) is established by the Board as an advisory committee in exercise of the Commission’s powers under Schedule 1 to the Equality Act 2006. 

2. The purpose of the P&WC is to provide strategic advice and challenge to officers and assurance to the Board on all people, infrastructure and remuneration matters affecting the employee lifecycle. Key areas of focus shall include, but are not limited to:

a)   Developing the Commission as an ‘exemplar employer’ – and the people policies, processes and initiatives that this encompasses

b)   Inclusion, diversity and equality – policies, initiatives and outturns

c)    Reward strategy and annual pay award (including pay gaps – action plans and outturns)

d)   Performance management policy, process and outturns

e)   Strategic workforce planning and organisation design

f)     Talent management and succession planning

g)   Employee engagement initiatives and outturns

h)   Infrastructure strategies, policies and services (ICT, Locations and Estates)

i)     Environmental and Social Governance (ESG)

j)     The wellbeing of colleagues and the culture of the Commission

k)    Oversight of the Commission’s organisational change processes and programmes

l)     Oversight of strategic and operational people, estates and IT risks, providing assurance as required to Board and ARAC of their effective scrutiny and mitigation.

3. The Committee will consider and recommend to the Board the remuneration package and terms of service for the CEO, subject to any necessary consents or approvals of the Sponsor Department, HM Treasury or the Secretary of State.

4. The Board will on the recommendation of the EHRC Chair appoint a Committee Chair and not less than one ordinary member of the P&WC from amongst the Commissioners. The Chair of the EHRC and the CEO will not be members, but may attend from time to time as required.

5. The P&WC may, with the agreement of the Board, appoint up to two independent members for a period of up to two years, renewable for up to a further two years, to provide specialist skills, knowledge and advice.

6. In addition, the P&WC may, with the approval of the Board, co-opt additional external members for a period of time (not exceeding two years) to provide specialist skills, knowledge and experience which the Committee needs at a particular time. These may, with the approval of the Scotland/Wales Commissioner and the Chair, be a member of the Scotland/Wales Committee.

7. P&WC members who are members of the Board may stand down with the consent of the Board and their service will discontinue if they no longer serve as members of the Board.

8. P&WC Members will act with independence and objectivity and have a sound understanding of the Commission’s objectives and priorities. P&WC Members must abide by the principles contained in the Commission’s Governance Manual and their Terms and Conditions of Appointment.

9. Any P&WC member or attendee who becomes aware of a potential conflict of interest relating to matters to be discussed by the P&WC shall give prior notification to the Chair, Lead Officer, and Corporate Governance Team. If the conflict only becomes apparent at the meeting, they should declare this at the meeting and, where necessary, withdraw during discussion of the relevant agenda item. Declarations of interest shall be a standing item on P&WC agendas.

10. Meetings shall be held not less than four times a year. The Chair may convene additional formal or informal meetings as they deem necessary and the Board or AO may request P&WC to convene further meetings to discuss particular issues upon which they would like to seek P&WC’s advice.

11. Before each meeting the Chair and lead officer will agree an agenda that addresses relevant and timely issues. The agenda will always include an updated HR dashboard with key metrics.

12. The Chair may ask any or all of those who normally attend, but who are not members of the P&WC, to withdraw to facilitate open and frank discussions of particular matters should this be deemed appropriate.

13. The Commission’s lead officer for the P&WC will be the Director of People and Infrastructure (or their nominated representative) and shall have a standing invitation to meetings. The secretariat for the P&WC shall be provided by the Corporate Governance Team. The Chair may invite other internal or external guests at their discretion.

14. To be quorate, at least three members of the P&WC, of whom two must be Commissioner members, must be present in person or in attendance remotely. In the absence of the Chair, another Commissioner should be asked to chair the meeting in their place. In the event of inquoracy, those present may adjourn the meeting, or continue to meet with no formal decisions being made, or with decisions confirmed in subsequent correspondence.

15. Exceptionally, papers may be circulated outside formal meetings for approval by correspondence. Any such papers must be considered and consented to by a simple majority of all P&WC members who would have been entitled to vote on the subject. The responses of individuals and the final decision should be recorded in the minutes of the subsequent formal P&WC meeting.

16. The Chair is responsible for communicating the P&WC’s activities to the Board and sharing Board feedback with P&WC members and the lead officer. To communicate its work to the Board and other Committees effectively, the Chair of the P&WC will present a written or oral report to the subsequent Board meeting. In addition P&WC minutes will be made available to the Board.

17. The P&WC may from time to time undertake detailed scrutiny of risks relating to people, infrastructure and change either of its own volition or as referred by ARAC. The Chairs of P&WC and ARAC will maintain regular dialogue on such matters and will share information across Committees as required.

18. The lead officer (supported by the secretariat) is responsible for communicating the Committee’s activities and tasks to officers.

19. The P&WC will review its effectiveness every 18 months, taking into account best practice in corporate governance, and recommend to the Board for approval any changes necessary to facilitate the effective and efficient conduct of P&WC business.

These Terms of Reference were agreed by the Committee on 11 December 2023 to reflect some additional responsibilities of the Committee, clarify quoracy and make provision for the membership of Scotland or Wales Committee members, and were approved by the Board at its meeting of 24 January 2024.