Agenda item

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE CORPORATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

 

To update the Committee on the progress made in the last quarter on the People Strategy 2015 – 2020 which covers the Workforce Development Needs.

The Committee received an information note entitled People Strategy Update

The Committee received an information note entitled People Strategy Update

 

The Corporate Human Resources Manager advised that this was the annual report and drew attention to the following:

 

Recruitment

Recruitment had been an ongoing challenge due to turnover and a number of departmental restructures. Turnover figures were being monitored.

 

HR had worked with the team from EELGA regarding the recruitment and assessment for the appointment of the new Deputy Chief Executive.

 

The selection process for recruitment of senior staff was very thorough with applicants having to complete a rigorous assessment and day of events including lunch with Members, interviews and presentations.

 

Members noted that of the 6 people invited for a final interview 4 were female.

 

Feedback regarding the new improved short listing process had been positive and was now being use for the majority of vacancies. This process meant that applicant’s applied online and this was then automatically directed through to managers.

 

Apprenticeships

The Apprenticeship Levy had been paid since April 2017 and funds were being use to train apprentices and would in future be extended for training to develop existing staff  and Higher Apprenticeships would be introduced for career development purposes.

 

In response to a question the Corporate Human Resources Manager advised that the aspiration was to continue to take on apprentices at a lower level also into harder to recruit areas.

 

The aim was to invest in and grow people from within the organisation and to this end apprenticeships were available up to masters level.

 

The apprenticeship in itself was training and courses were purchased that supported the job that the apprentice had been appointed to.

 

NHDC was considering whether to join the Hertfordshire Apprentice Alliance however were attending meetings to gather information.

 

Equal Pay and Equalities

Equalities data was sent for publication at the end of January 2017.

 

Mandatory gender pay gap monitoring was introduced from the end of March 2017. with the first set of data needing to be submitted by 30tht March 2018 Discussions were underway with Serco regarding reporting requirements and a solution was being developed by the SAP system which should available by February 2018.

 

Work had commenced on the Equal Pay Review, the report would be presented to this Committee.

 

Pay and Benefits

The LG Employers announced that they would be reviewing the national pay scales and the results from this were now not expected until well into 2018. Councils have been advised to plan for potential pay increases as a consequence of the review.

 

The current Framework Agreement with HCC and Serco has been extended until March 2021. The provision of services to NHDC by Serco was now being scrutinised to ensure the new contract reflects our requirements and was value for money.

 

The Framework Agreement would not cover the provision of OH services beyond March 2019. It was being considered how OH services would be provided from April 2019.

 

It is expected that a new contract for the provision of EAP services to the Council will be required from April 2018 and arrangements will need to be put in place to ensure the continuation of this valuable service to employees without interruption.

           

In the middle of the year a new contract with a reduced commission rate was agreed for the provision of Kiddivouchers and the contract for Wider Wallet retail discount scheme was also renegotiated.

 

The contract for the cycle to work scheme ended in April 2017, but due to the low take up in recent years, it was decided not offer the scheme in 2017. The level of interest next year would be assessed before entering any new contractual arrangements.

 

IR35

Members asked how many people had been affected by the IR35 legislation

 

The Corporate Human Resources Manager advised that a maximum of two people had been affected.

 

Salary Sacrifice Schemes

Changes to the salary sacrifice car leasing schemes meant that benefits for this scheme were reduced except for ultra low emissions vehicles.

 

Since the changes to the scheme there had been no take up of vehicles and the scheme would be reviewed prior to the contract review date of 30 November 2018.

 

Pensions

Under the statutory requirements all those who have opted out of an employer’s pension scheme have to be re-enrolled every third anniversary of the original auto-enrolment. This was undertaken by the Council in March 2017 with 31 individuals being re-enrolled however the majority of these have once again opted out of the scheme.

 

A triennial valuation of the pension occurred this year which resulted in an increase in the percentage contributions and lump sum being paid by the Council.

 

Learning and Development

A new learning and development management system, Grow Zone, was being implemented for e-learning and other applications which went live on 4 December 2017. This was user friendly and very interactive.

 

Regular Performance Review

95 percent of annual reviews had been completed within the set timescales.

 

A new set of competencies had been developed and were in use and a new orgainasational values, in the form of challenges, would be communicated and used to drive and support organizational change.

 

Policies

Several policies had been reviewed and published and associated documents had also been amended

 

Absence

The short term absence target was narrowly missed for 16/17.

 

Long term absence figures were very low and on a downward trend. Every case of long term absence was closely managed.

 

Members asked what support was offered to staff with mental health issues and whether preventative measures helped with attendance levels,

 

The Corporate Human Resources Manager advised that all staff could contact the Employee Assistance Programme for support and that managers were given training.

 

The highest level of absence was for muscular skeletal issues, however mental health issues did account for a significant level of absence. Preventative measures such as referral to OH and awareness training did help with absence levels and long term absences were well managed.

 

Flu Vaccinations

There had been a good take up of the seasonal flu vaccination programme.

 

2017 Audits

During 2017 there had been audits on 5 topics in which HR were involved.