Issue - meetings

Toupdate theJoint StaffConsultative Committeeon theprogress madein 

thelast quartercompleting HRwork andprojects andsupporting people 
issues. 

The Human Resources Services Manager presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’.

Audio recording – 7 minutes 19 seconds

The Human Resources Services Manager presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’ and highlighted the following:

·       That the number of advertised vacancies had decreased over the last 3 years, however the number of applicants for these posts had increased as detailed at paragraph 3.2 of the report. The vacancies for the Revenues Officer and the Planning Compliance Officer were particularly popular.

·       The Careline technician position had now been filled. However there remained two hard to fill vacancies, the Estates Surveyor and the Senior Environmental Health Officer.

·       The staff turnover rate was now below 9%, further details regarding this data was discussed in the next agenda item.

·       There had been 228 responses to the staff survey, and work was ongoing to analyse the data. The survey did show that 90% of employees would recommend North Herts as an employer.

·       The Unions submitted a pay claim in February for pay award that was for at least £3,000 or a 10% pay rise. The National Employers made a full and final offer of £1,290 in May for all pay points and an offer of 2.5% for those above the pay points. The Unions were recommending that employees reject this offer.

·       There were 7 apprentices currently in employment with vacancies advertised on the website.

·       HR attended an apprenticeship fair in March and highlighted the careers and apprenticeships available at North Herts. Historically there had been a high number of applicants for apprenticeship vacancies.

·       The Inclusion group met quarterly and in April discussed neurodiversity in the workplace and made recommendations on how to support neurodivergent employees.

·       The days lost as absences per employee, and the absence reasons were outlined at 3.9 of the report. Short term absences had fallen with the change in seasons with long terms absences remaining the same. Support was being provided to Managers and staff who were absent for mental health reasons.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Rhona Cameron

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Daniel Allen

·       Councillor Claire Strong

In response to questions, the Human Resources Manager stated that:

·       There was a set budget for apprenticeships which was fully utilised.

·       The apprenticeships had been successful in all service areas, with some apprentices being offered permanent positions.

·       Work was ongoing with schools to promote the apprenticeship scheme and encourage work experience placements.

·       The Council had joined the National Graduate Scheme and were currently interviewing for a graduate employee.

·       The percentage of apprenticeships who had moved on to permanent positions would be provided outside of this meeting.

·       The new GrowZone system would be launched in July, with the system being more straight forward and easier to navigate.

·       A discussion paper on Mental Health had been presented to the Committee in January 2024 and this would be forwarded to new Members.

·       Regular articles were published to the Hub and the insight magazine to raise awareness of Mental Health support. 

·       HR provided support for Managers and employees with long term absences.

·       The Estates Surveyor position had been covered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5