Havering Council is considering a proposal to grant staff members voting rights on the Pension Committee, a move that could reshape the committee's composition and decision-making processes. The council says that this move is in line with practices at other local councils.
The Governance Committee discussed the proposal at its meeting on 26 November 2025, where members were asked to decide whether to recommend to Full Council that the constitution be amended. Currently, the Pension Committee comprises seven councillors, one co-opted member, and two non-voting observers appointed by trade unions.
The proposal follows a discussion in September 2023, where the Governance Committee considered allowing a Trade Union representative a vote. While that proposal was not agreed, the committee supported the principle of granting a vote to a staff representative.
If approved, the changes to the constitution would include:
- Amending the composition of the Pensions Committee to include
one staff representative (with voting rights)
. - Stipulating that the staff representative is entitled to exercise full voting rights on behalf of the Officers.
- Allowing the trade unions to appoint one representative who shall be entitled to attend and speak at meetings of the Pension Committee, but not to vote.
- Outlining the staff representative election process, including eligibility, nomination, role promotion, selection process, voting mechanism, and training requirements.
The Pensions Voting Report GM details the proposal and will be submitted to Full Council for approval if the Governance Committee recommends it. The report also states that there are no financial implications arising from the contents of this report.
The staff representative election process, as outlined in Schedule 2 of the report, would involve:
- Eligibility and Nomination: Any Havering employee who is a member of the pension fund may nominate themselves, excluding officers or elected members responsible for discharging any function of the Council.
- Role Promotion and Awareness: The role will be advertised through email, the intranet, staff newsletters, and direct communication from managers.
- Selection Process: All nominations and supporting statements of interest will be presented to the Pension Committee, who may reject a nominee if they are unsuitable for the role.
- Voting Mechanism: A secure digital platform will be used for online voting, with paper ballots distributed to off-network staff.
- Training Requirement: All nominees must complete the mandatory training required of Pension Committee members before attending Committee in an official capacity.