Sickness Absence and Human Resources Update. Support Services Manager

Transcription

1 ITEM 8 Report to Resources Committee March 7 Title: Report of: Sickness Absence and Human Resources Update Support Services Manager Purpose of Report. To provide the committee with an update on general HR initiatives and developments from April to 3 December, including sickness absence and learning and development activity. Employee and HR Monitoring Digest. Attached at Appendix to this report is an analysis of the key employee data and HR monitoring to provide the committee with an overview of the company s performance and key priorities. 3. Attached at Appendix is key performance data relating to quarter. Sickness Absence. In comparing absence between April and 3 December with the same period in the previous year, the following trends have occurred:. The total sickness absence for the period equates to 8.3 days per person, compared to. days for the same period last year, which is an increase of.3%.. Of the 8.3 days per person 3.38 days per person are attributed to employees that were TUPE d to us in April. 7. The remaining absence of.97 days per person is 33% less than the. days for the same period last year. When a like for like comparison is made the predicated year end absence estimate for /7 is. days. This is the lowest recorded absence. 8. Short term absence is defined as a period of less than working days in duration and long term absence is greater than days in duration. 9. Short term absence for the period was.77 days per person. This compares with.7 days for the same period last year. This represents an increase of 3.7%.

2 . employees were absent in accordance with the definition for short term.. Long term absence for the period was.8 days per person, compared with 3.9 days for the same period last year. This represents an increase of.%.. employees were absent in accordance with the definition of long term absence. 3. The biggest cause of absence for the period was stress related illness with,7 days lost compared to for the same period last year. This represents an increase of.33%.. Of the,7 days lost due to stress for the period, 9 days were reported as nonwork related stress. This equates to 78.% non-work related absence and.88% work-related absence.. Of the,7 days lost due to stress for the period, days are attributed to the employees who TUPE d to us in April with.7% non-work related stress absence and.9% work-related stress absence.. employees reported non-work related stress and six employees reported work related stress. This equates to.98% of the workforce. 7. We are working with Gateshead Council s Occupational Health team to review the management of stress related absence, particularly around early intervention. 8. A personal support package continues to be provided to employees who are absent due to stress to include occupational health, occupational therapy, home visits, counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Managing Sickness Absence 9. The company has held sickness absence review meetings (short term) in the period. These meetings are triggered in response to four periods of absence or two periods of days or more in a rolling month period.. During the period, absence review meetings were held under procedure one which resulted in written cautions being issued.. Under procedure two, an absence management review meeting (long term absence) considers an employee s health and future employability with the company. Options discussed at the absence reviews include phased return to work, redeployment, work life balance, reduced hours, and reasonable adjustments to the working environment and ill health retirement.. absence review meetings were held in line with procedure two in the period. Of these, four employees have returned to work occupational health physician appointments have been attended as a result of an absence review meeting.. employees were referred to occupational health to receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) counselling support.. employees returned to work on phased hours and duties in the period.

3 . Management information and guidance on managing sickness absence is provided to managers on a monthly basis. 7. Regular case conferences are established with an Occupational Health Nurse to review complex cases. 8. One home visit was carried out. ITrent 9. We continue to work with the ITrent team to develop automatic reporting for absence. In the interim period access to Business Objects software has been enabled to assist us with the writing and running of reports from itrent. Training will be provided on the system. 3. The Managing Director attended a meeting with the project lead from the Council on January 7 and has offered to commission a consultant to carry out the work needed to resolve outstanding issues. 3. The issue with itrent calculating sickness absence over a day period was also an issue for the Council who was looking to have this resolved from April 7. We have been given access to business objects and are currently exploring the reporting functionality so that we can calculate sickness absence over days. 3. We are confident that the development needed to add new salary bands and working hours is ahead of progress. This means that all employees will be entered into the system and will be paid on 9 th of the month. We can report that the development of new salary bands and working hours has been successful. Employees who are transferring early from Mears and are on itrent and will be paid in March. The remaining employees continue to be added to the system for salaries to be paid in April. Health and Wellbeing 33. We continue to investigate initiatives that will help us to better understand the causes of depression, anxiety and stress. We aim to use the knowledge gained in this area to research new initiatives to assist employees to manage their condition and remain in work. 3. The company continues to work towards the Better Health at Work Award Gold level and will now be assessed against the revised criteria in July 7. Other HR initiatives and Developments 3. The company continues to offer a pay day pamper and chiropody service from the Occupational Health Suite at Gateshead Civic Centre. Employees are offered a wider range of appointment dates and times. We will continue to offer these initiatives off site, subject to demand, whenever possible. 7

4 Work Life Balance 3. In the period, the following work life balance applications have been approved: No of Applications 8 8 Type of Work Life Balance Request Applications to reduce working hours Change of working pattern 37. At 3 December, we are pleased to report that of employees have a work life balance. This equates to.% of the workforce. 38. Approved work life balance requests are as follows: 9 employees work compressed hours employees work reduced hours employee works increased hours employees request to job share 7 employees have changed their working pattern return to full time working from term time working Investigation and Disciplinary 39. In the period, there were investigations, three disciplinary meetings, one final written warning was issued, eight resulted in no further action and one is ongoing. Bullying and Harassment. In the period, there were no bullying and harassment allegations to report. Other HR Initiatives and Developments Recruitment. In the period, the company has advertised 9 posts. Child Care Scheme. The company continues to offer a salary sacrifice scheme. In December, 8 employees were in the scheme. Cycle to Work Scheme 3. The current scheme ended in July. We are exploring options to continue to offer this benefit to employees. HMRC. In November we received confirmation of full compliance from HMRC in response to the company s first audit. The audit was a valuable learing experiece. 8

5 Desk Moves. Work on desk layouts to accommodate the realignment of services completed in October. Learning and Development Activity Apprenticeship Levy. The government will introduce the Apprenticeship Levy on April 7. We are working jointly with the Council s Apprenticeship Working Group to establish a process for administering the funds and ways to address the public sector target of.3% of apprenticeship starts each year based on employee payroll and head count. Safeguarding Children Learning Needs Analysis 7. We have submitted our annual learning needs required for 7. A further update will be provided as a result of organisational changes and increased workforce. We will monitor progress at the Training sub group. Volunteering 8. We are in discussions with the Council s volunteering team about the possibility of working with the volunteering service. Initially this will be in the area of support and inclusion for Syrian refugees. There is further scope to develop and extend the programme across the company. Handling Change Workshops - Managers 9. Two half day workshops have been developed for employees with Line responsibility to provide them with tools and techniques to communicate and Lead people through periods of uncertainty and change. There was positive engagement at all workshops and this is confirmed in feedback from evaluations with comments stating the sessions are useful, practical and enjoyable. Change Maker Workshop - Employees. A half day workshop has been developed for all employees to provide them with tools and techniques to assist with self-motivation and wellbeing during periods of change. Approximately 8 employees have attended and engaged positively in the sessions. The workshop also encouraged employees to identify potential opportunities to work Smarter in three categories; simplification, Ditch and Use of Technology. The evaluations have been very positive. Skills Matrix. The skills matrix has been completed and is now being circulated to a number of managers across the Company for feedback. The objective of the matrix is to incorporate the Competency framework in a user friendly matrix. 9

6 Investors in People (IiP). Further discussions are being held with the IiP assessor to plan our approach towards assessment in June 7. Best Companies 3. The organisational questionnaire and information required for our participation in the annual best copanies survey is completed. The survey was distributed to all employees in October. Results and feedback will be available in February 7. TUPE. In April 7 the repairs and maitenance contract will be delivered by the company. The organsiaiton will increase to over 8 employees with employees from Mears, Travis Perkins and Gateshead Council transferring into the company. This activity is monitored by the Repairs and Maintenance project Board with representation from human resources and organisational development. Link to values. This report links to the following company values: Fair Customer focused Open and honest Accountable Inclusive, valuing diversity Innovative Passionate about what we do Impact on Customers. Sickness absence impacts on the level of service provided to customers. Every effort is taken to keep this to a minimum. Managing absence and delivering in our commitment to have a well trained and responsive workforce will lead directly to improved services to customers. Risk Management Implications 7. Manager s not managing sickness in accordance with the policy has been identified as an operational risk and controls and future actions are in place to mitigate the risk. 8. Absence due to an epidemic has also been identified as an operational risk and if there was an epidemic which significantly reduced the workforce, this would be addressed through the Business Continuity Plan.

7 Financial Implications 9. The financial cost of sickness absence to the Company for the period April to December was compared to 3. for the same period last year which equates to a 3% increase. Equality and Diversity Implications. The Company s commitment to being an equal opportunities employer is an integral part of every aspect of the company s activities. All training is designed to meet the diverse needs of the community and employees. Value for Money implications. We continue to manage sickness absence in order to maximise service delivery to tenants and customers. Through an increased use of internal delivery and development value for money is being achieved. We aim to use the most beneficial methods of delivery to maximise the return on our investments for the benefit of the company and customers. Values for money principles are followed in all aspects of the service to include work life balance requests, recruitment and selection. Health Implications. The initiatives and prevention work that has been introduced has had a positive impact on the health of our employees. The clearest measure of this is the achievement of Investors in People (IiP) and Health and Wellbeing Award and the North East Better Health at Work Silver Award. 3. The Company s commitment to learning and development is embedded in the Investors in People award (IiP) and is applied consistently across the company. Our approach to provide tailored learning will have a positive impact on employee s health and overall wellbeing and will minimise stress. Environmental Implications. There are no environmental implications arising from this report. Consultation carried out. The Company s HR consultants EEF Northern and Trade Unions have been consulted on aspects of the report. Recommendation. The views of the committee are sought as to whether it is satisfied with the Human Resources update. Contact: Jennifer Aston, Support Services Manager Tel No: (9)

8 Appendix Employee and HR Monitoring Digest /7 Performance Measure Qtr Qtr Qtr 3 Qtr Headcount (end of previous Qtr) Headcount (end of current Qtr) 3 Male Female 3 7 Permanent Employees Temporary Employees Casual Full Time Part Time Number of starters 3 Number of leavers 9 Ill health retirements Number of employees seeking redeployment Diversity Monitoring Gender Male Female 3 7 Age Under Disability Perceived themselves as disabled Do not perceive themselves as disabled

9 Appendix Employee and HR Monitoring Digest /7 Performance Measure Qtr Qtr Qtr 3 Qtr Ethnicity White British White Irish White Other White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Asian or Asian British Indian Asian or Asian British Pakistani Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi Asian or Asian British Other Black or Black British Caribbean Black or Black British African Black or Black British Other Chinese Other Recruitment Monitoring Number of BME applicants for posts Application for employment Short listed for interview Offered post 9 Number of disabled applicants for posts Application for Employment Short listed for interview Offered post HR advisory issues Investigations Disciplinary Suspensions No Further Action Ongoing Oral Warning First Written Warning Final Written Warning Dismissals Appeals Submitted Stage Grievance Stage Grievance Capability Bullying and Harassment Whistleblowing 3 3

10 Appendix Employee and HR Monitoring Digest /7 Performance Measure Qtr Qtr Qtr 3 Qtr Employment Tribunals Health and Wellbeing Total number of working days lost to sickness Total number of working days lost per employee Total number of working days lost per employee Long Term Short Term Number of Occupational Health appointments New referrals Surgery appointments Home appointments Number of employee counselling/cbt sessions 7 9 Number of Absence Management Reviews Short Term Long Term 9 8 Number of employees who have had a phased return Learning and Development Number of new staff receiving induction 3 Number of staff undertaking professional Qualifications

11 Appendix Absence Comparison Quarter Three / to /7 Days Lost Per Person /7 / /7 / /7 / Total Sickness Short Term Long Term Long Term v Short Term, Percentage of Employees Quarter Three /7 % 79% Short Term Long Term

12 Absence by Service Area Quarter Three 3% 3% % Coporate Services Customers Services Housing Services 3% Property Services Neighbourhood Services %