Agenda item
HR INFORMATION NOTE
INFORMATION NOTE OF THE HR SERVICES MANAGER
To update the Joint Staff Consultative Committee on the progress made in the last quarter completing HR work and projects and supporting people issues.
Decision:
The Director – Resources presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’, following which Members asked questions.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 06 minutes 10 seconds
The Director – Resources presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’ and advised that:
· Recruitment was higher than the same quarter in previous years, and above target levels.
· Turnover was low and trending at the same level as recent figures.
· Absence figures were above target levels, but it was noted that these were ambitious targets, and support to staff continued to be provided to staff through various measures.
· A staff pay award had been agreed and paid to all staff in September.
· New apprentices and graduates continued to be recruited, and rotations between departments for graduates had also continued.
· All-staff events had been postponed due to the pause on Local Government Reorganisation as this would have been the focus of the events. These would be rescheduled in due course.
The following Members asked questions:
· Councillor Bryony May
· Councillor Ian Albert
· Councillor Claire Strong
In response to questions, the Director – Resources advised that:
· Increased absences had been driven by a higher percentage of long-term absences, which had increased from 3.47% to 5.19%, but while there was concern about this, there was no general pattern and support continued to be provided where needed.
· Existing staff were encouraged to undertake apprenticeship qualifications, which the Council could claim for under the apprenticeship levy.
· Apprenticeship post opportunities were regularly discussed by the Leadership Team and it was believed the Council had the right number to satisfy demand.
· A discussion paper on the implications of the motion relating to paternity leave passed at Full Council would be presented to the Committee at the next meeting.
· Implementing the recommendations from the paternity leave motion would require a decision by the Chief Executive or relevant Executive Member, which would be subject to discussion by the Committee and consultation of staff and UNISON. Therefore, the outcomes could not be implemented until the new year.
In response to questions, the HR Operations Manager advised that:
· Entry-level apprenticeships were mostly filled by external candidates who were younger, and they aimed to advertise roles in line with summer exam results to attract school and college leavers.
· Apprenticeships undertaken by existing staff were generally more specialist.
· Parental bereavement leave allowed 4 weeks paid leave, and it had been agreed by the Leadership Team to extend this benefit to the loss of a spouse/partner.
· There was provision for 5 days paid leave for other forms of bereavement.
· Bereavement might also create stress or mental health related absences, which would be paid through sick pay rather than bereavement.
· Bereavement and leave offered by the Council could be benchmarked against other authorities and be included in an information note or discussion paper at a future meeting.
· Bereavement leave was managed on a case-by-case basis, and while the Council did not have a specific policy for staff with spouses/partners coming to the end of their lives, they aimed to support staff appropriately in all circumstances.
Councillor Ian Albert requested that benchmarking bereavement and other leave offered by the Council against other authorities should be looked at further at a future Committee meeting and this was agreed by Members and the UNISON Representative.
Supporting documents:
PDF 144 KB