Agenda item

This is the annual report of the Chief Officer, Human Resources to the committee concerning the Council’s employment policies and employee conduct. The report provides assurance to the Committee that, employee conduct is properly managed, policies are regularly reviewed and employee conduct forms part of normal manager/ employee relations.

This report presented the Chief HR Officer’s annual report to the committee concerning the Council’s employment policies and practice. The report provided assurance to the Committee that employee conduct is properly managed, policies are regularly reviewed and employee conduct forms part of normal manager/ employee relations.

The Chief HR Officer highlighted the following information:

• It was noted that Appendix 1 provided a detailed account of the employment policies and practices, and this information had been shared and discussed at Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board and Executive Board through 2023.
• The actions set out in the report were linked to the 5-year People Strategy which links to the organisational plan and the organisational values.
• There was a new recruitment and selection toolkit and guidance which was issued during the year. The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy had also been updated.
• It was acknowledged that there was an internal audit during 2023 on organisational culture and HR are working through the specific actions and recommendations from this.
• The staff survey had taken place in 2023. HR have shared the results of the survey throughout the organisation with actions developed at an organisational, team and individual level.
• There was also the survey of internal control which is important as it checks how well embedded the employment policies and procedures are across the organisation. Appendix 1 showed analysis from this survey.

Responding to questions from Members the following information was provided:

• The survey of internal control recommended that HR develop towards a consistent model for employment to ensure that the organisational values and behaviours are reflected. It was recognised that the organisation has several employment policies and there is a new framework that sets out the rolling programme of review over the next few years. It was noted that these have been RAG rated to identify those which are more critical. It was the view that it would take two to three years to embed the new framework. Members requested that the framework and the RAG rating be provided to the Committee.
• It was acknowledged that the policies and procedures of a contractual nature are reviewed in consultation with the trade unions.
• It was noted that some policies will need to be updated on a timeframe to reflect legislative changes (e.g. flexible working, family leave, carers leave). It was noted that the Employee Code of Conduct was close to being finalised and would be ready for the next meeting of Standards and Conduct Committee. Councillor Dowson the Chair of the Standards and Conduct Committee said that this Committee would meet as often as was necessary to review relevant policies.
• During the meeting last year on the annual report from HR, Members had raised concerns regarding formal and meaningful performance indicators especially in areas to illustrate that staff were doing a good job and providing services that were value for money. It was noted that the employment performance indicators are well established and are regularly presented to Scrutiny. It was also explained that for the first time there are explicit managerial expectations set out in the organisational plan which references performance management. There was also clear development and training provision for managers, including a new performance management toolkit developed to support managers. There had also been targeted HR intervention into areas of issue. However, it was the view that this report should go into more detail and should cove specific numbers of cases in this particular area. It was noted that this information could be provided to the Committee and the Committee requested that the information was sent to them.
• The survey of internal control provides some assurance and the outcome of the staff survey and interventions with managers. However, this can be worked on for future reports.
• Members requested that graphics in future reports should make the information clearer with keys when using colour schemes.
• It was recognised that there had been an increase in participation to the staff survey for those who work online and offline. A range of different interventions introduced at the time included drop-in sessions and workshops, paper copies of the survey and the use of a QR code so people could also use their own device to participate in the survey. The team found that direct engagement with managers to enable and encourage staff to complete the survey provided an increase in response rates.
• Members were advised that the links within the narrative of the report provided in depth information in the reports to Scrutiny Board and Executive Board. Officers were asked to be mindful that when writing reports, they are not just for Elected Members but also for the public.
• It was noted that over 7,500 people engaged in the staff survey, and when compared to a similar sized organisation such as the NHS, the Council with a 50% response was higher than most comparable organisations. It was acknowledged that a dashboard was produced to inform what was happening at a local level. Members requested more comparison information in future reports.

RESOLVED – To receive the report and the attached Appendix 1 to provide key forms of assurance on the robustness of the Council’s employment policies and procedures in place to manage employee conduct.