Sleep In Policy & Procedure

Transcription

1 SH HR 73 Summary: Keywords: Target Audience: This document outlines the policy and procedure in respect of staff undertaking sleep in shifts. It clarifies payment arrangements including the availability payment and payment for work done. It also sets out requirements for the recording of any work done, the process for arranging cover where required, and consideration of the working time regulations when sleep ins are undertaken. Sleep in, working time regulations, compensate, availability, work done, pensionable, non-pensionable, hourly rate, disturbed night records, on call, facilities. SHFT employees working in social care settings. Next Review Date: August 2019 Approved & Ratified by: Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee Date of meeting: 19 July 2016 Date issued: Author: Director: Louise Jones, Senior HR Manager Best Practice Development Associate Director, Learning Disabilities & Social Care 1

2 Version Control Change Record Date Author Version Page Reason for Change July 2016 Louise Jones 1 All New Policy Reviewers/contributors Name Position Version Reviewed & Date M Howell Support Worker V1 November 2015 C Cleary Interim Head of Services V1 November 2015, January 2016, June 2016 K Salt Senior HR Manager Employee Resourcing V1 February 2016 Sara Grossert Divisional Accountant V1 June 2016 Anne Prout Staff Side Chair V1 June

3 Quick Reference Guide For quick reference, this page summarises the actions required by this policy. This does not negate the need to be aware of and to follow the further detail provided in this policy. 1. Where Sleep ins are required, the sleep in policy and procedure will be covered during local induction including a clear description of the responsibilities and expectations should service user disturbance require attendance. All staff working within SHFT social care settings who support individuals requiring a member of staff to be available in their home at night should familiarise themselves with the content of this policy. 2. A sleeping-in session may incorporate the following elements: hours of wakefulness, sleep, work done. Sleep in shifts are undertaken in addition to standard contracted hours. All staff will be expected to work flexibly across an area to achieve the sleep in support individuals require. 3. Under the Working Time Regulations if an individual is required to sleep in at a work place this counts as working time (but not contracted hours). Staff wishing to work more than one sleep in per week should sign a working time directive opt out 4. Where actual work is done during a sleep in shift, staff will be paid for that work according to their hourly rate. The amount of the payment attributable to hours worked will be in line with the individual s basic rate of pay. 5. Staff should claim for the Sleep In Payment and any payment for work done during a shift via e- pay to the nearest 15 mins, in line with the salary claim guidance available on the intranet. 6. Staff must keep a record of the work done during a sleep in shift. This record should be made using the disturbance recording sheet (appendix 2). These forms should be returned on a weekly basis to the Locality Office for review. These records will be used for verification for salary claims. 7. If a staff member has been disturbed during their Sleep In shift/ duty to such a degree that the safety of themselves and others may be at risk, arrangements should be made for this person to be relieved and sent home for the remainder of their morning shift (see appendix 3). It is the responsibility of the staff member to contact On Call (out of office hours) or Support Manager/Coordinator to seek permission to obtain cover. 8. The On-call procedure should only be used if staff need support to make arrangements for staff cover outside of office hours. 9. Where staff are required to sleep in for the duration of a specified period, local agreements should be made for compensatory rest to ensure the total rest entitlement for the week of 90 hours is taken, in line with the working time directive. 3

4 Contents Section Title Page 1. Introduction 5 2. Who does this policy apply to? 5 3. Definitions 5 4. Duties and responsibilities 6 5. Main policy content 6 6. Training requirements 7 7. Monitoring compliance 8 8. Evaluation process 8 9. Policy review Associated trust documents Supporting references 8 Appendix 1 Equality Impact Assessment 9 Appendix 2 Sleep in Disturbance Recording Sheet 10 Appendix 3 Guidelines for Staff who need to find cover for the a.m. shift as a result of a significantly disturbed night 11 4

5 1. Introduction 1.1 This policy is intended to cover situations where individuals, being supported by TQ21 or other SHFT staff, do not require the level of care and support normally given by staff on "Waking Night Duty" but do need one or more members of staff to be present in the house during the night on a "Sleep In Shift/ Duty", and to be available to provide support if needed. 1.2 Staff will undertake sleeping-in in addition to their normal work and contracted hours. 1.3 This policy details the typical arrangements and minimum standards that should apply. 1.4 Account is taken of arrangements in respect of the European Working Time Directive. 2. Who does this policy apply to? 2.1 Staff working within TQ21 or other SHFT social care settings who support individuals requiring a member of staff to be available in their home at night. 3. Definitions 3.1 Sleep in shift/ duty - sleeping in at a work place A Sleep In shift or duty is defined as the staff availability period between the end of the evening shift and the beginning of the morning shift. During this time the staff member is expected to remain available on site. It is not expected that they would routinely provide any support or duties during this period. Staff should use this as a rest/sleep period A sleeping-in session may incorporate the following elements: hours of wakefulness, sleep, work done. Sleep in shifts are undertaken in addition to standard contracted hours. All staff will be expected to work flexibly across an area to achieve the sleep in support individuals require Example of work done: An epilepsy alarm is triggered and the staff member has to check the service user, who may or may not require support Example of wakefulness: A service user goes to the toilet and the staff member has been woken by a door shutting, then this would be considered a normal aspect of sleeping in There are no standard hours for a Sleep in shift/ duty, they are dictated by a Service User support need, for example a sleep in could commence between hrs and midnight, and finish between hours and hrs. Typically they are not longer than 9 hours Under the Working Time Regulations if an individual is required to sleep in at a work place this counts as working time (but not contracted hours). Staff wishing to work more than one sleep in per week should sign a working time directive opt out available in the flexible working toolkit 3.2 Sleep In Payment Staff will receive a flat rate availability payment to provide for a sleep in shift/ duty ( the Sleep In Payment as set out in the TQ21 pay scales The Sleep In Payment is made purely to compensate staff for availability and in recognition of the time that they must spend away from their home in order to undertake a sleep in shift. The circumstances in which sleep in availability payments are pensionable is as follows: 5

6 Where work is done during the sleep in shift the payment is pensionable. Where no work is done during a sleep in shift the payment is non-pensionable From the date of ratification of this policy, the Trust has decided at its absolute discretion that where work is required or necessary and is done during a sleep in shift, staff will be paid for that work according to their hourly rate. The amount of the payment attributable to hours worked will be in line with the individual s basic rate of pay From the date of ratification of this policy, this additional payment for work that is required or necessary and is done during a sleep in shift, will be pensionable up to whole time weekly hours only. It follows that when a member already works whole time the hours worked during a sleep-in would be classed as overtime and non-pensionable Staff should claim for the Sleep In Payment and any payment for work done during a shift via e- pay to the nearest 15 mins, in line with the salary claim guidance available on the intranet. When claiming, staff should claim whether work was done during the sleep in shift or not so that the appropriate pensions deductions can be made Employee and employer pension contributions will be deducted from all payments in line with the pension scheme rules as set out in TN10 (see section 9) at the relevant rate as appropriate. Employee contribution rates are variable based on whole time equivalent earnings. Details on NHS Pension contribution rates are available at In light of recent case law, the Trust has decided to take a voluntary position and include the Sleep In Payment in the calculation of holiday pay. Due to the systems in place this will be paid as a Working Time Directive (WTD) payment at the rate of 8.33%; this is based on the statutory leave entitlement of 20 days. This will be added to the flat rate [currently 45] and paid together as a single sum on the payslip [currently totalling 48.75]. 4. Duties and responsibilities 4.1 Support workers will be offered to undertake Sleep In shifts/ duties depending on the support need of the individuals. 5. Main policy content Disturbed Night Records and Compensatory rest 5.1 Staff must keep a record of the work done during a sleep in shift. This record should be made using the disturbance recording sheet (appendix 2). These forms should be returned on a weekly basis to the Locality Office for review. These records will be used for verification for salary claims. 5.2 If a staff member has been disturbed during their Sleep In shift/ duty to such a degree that the safety of themselves and others may be at risk, arrangements should be made for this person to be relieved and sent home for the remainder of their morning shift (see appendix 3). It is the responsibility of the staff member to contact On Call (out of office hours) or Support Manager/Coordinator to seek permission to obtain cover. 5.3 In the first instance, when permission is given, the member of staff should endeavour to find shift cover. 5.4 The On-call procedure should only be used if staff need support to make arrangements for staff cover outside of office hours. 6

7 5.5 Any disturbance must be recorded accurately to demonstrate; the hours worked, the situation that caused the disturbance and how the situation was resolved (Appendix 2). 5.6 In the event of frequently disturbed nights, teams will be expected to consider possible strategies to resolve issues along with the line managers. Once this approach has been exhausted referral should be made to commissioners. Working time regulations Maximum weekly working time 5.7 Control on working hours should be regarded as an integral element of managing health and safety at work and promoting health at work. Employees will normally not be expected to work on average more than 48 hours per each seven-day period, calculated over 17 weeks. A full time member of staff therefore should work no more than one sleep in per week, unless they have used their individual option to opt to work more than 48 hours per week. Further information regarding the option to opt out is available in the Flexible Working Policy and Procedure toolkit. 5.8 Where staff are required to sleep in for the duration of a specified period, local agreements should be made for compensatory rest to ensure the total rest entitlement for the week of 90 hours is taken, in line with the working time directive. Sleep in Facilities 5.9 Where possible a separate room, either a bedroom or study/ Sleep In room will be provided. However, in some premises it is recognised that this may not always be possible. A good quality bed/ sofa bed and mattress will be supplied. The bed must conform to current and relevant Health and Safety regulations Clean linen, duvet and pillows of a non-allergic fibre filling will be available and will be regularly cleaned or washed, and replaced as required. Clean sheets will be available for each Sleep In shift Staff should use existing bathroom and toilet facilities In all new builds where a sleep in is required, this should be given consideration at the planning stage In some services it will be possible with assistive technology to share sleep in staff across services and this may mean that a specific room is available at one of the addresses. It may be possible for sleep in provision to be made, with the use of assistive technology, away from the services. Payment review 5.15 The arrangements for reviewing the Sleep In Payment will take place on an annual basis as part of annual pay review for local social care terms and conditions. 6. Training requirements 6.1 Where Sleep ins are required, the sleep in policy and procedure will be covered during local induction including clear description of the responsibilities and expectations of working a sleep in shift should service user disturbance require attendance. The Sleep in Policy and Procedure will be cascaded via the line management route, Managers Bulletin and News and at local induction. 7

8 7. Monitoring compliance 7.1 Application of the policy will be reviewed in team meetings and recorded in the minutes of those meetings. It will also be reviewed through the recording of disturbances to ensure this is the correct support for the individual. If significant changes are identified, a referral to Care Management / Commissioning would be made by line management. 8. Evaluation process 8.1 Services much keep record charts which show the reason for disturbance during the night. Evaluation will need to be used to assess the cause of the disturbances and procedures to support the individual. This would be done considering feedback in addition to indicators from the disturbance recording sheets (Appendix 2). 9. Policy review 9.1 The TQ21 Management team will consider whether the policy and / or practices need to be amended, based on lessons learnt and legislative changes, in advance of the policy review date. 9.2 The arrangements for reviewing the Sleep In Payment will take place on an annual basis as part of annual pay review for local social care terms and conditions. 10. Associated trust documents Flexible Working Policy and Procedure 11. Supporting references 8

9 Appendix 1: Equality Impact Assessment The Equality Analysis is a written record that demonstrates that you have shown due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations with respect to the characteristics protected by the Equality Act Stage 1: Screening Date of assessment: 14 January 2016 Name of person completing the assessment: Louise Jones Job title: Senior HR Manager Best Practice Development Responsible department: HR Intended equality outcomes: Sleep in P&P does not have any detrimental impact on protected groups Who was involved in the consultation of this document? Management and Staff Side representatives Equality and Diversity lead Please describe the positive and any potential negative impact of the policy on service users or staff. The creation of the Sleep in P&P will positively assist in providing guidance to staff and managers in terms of pay and health and safety entitlements related to sleep in shifts. In the case of negative impact, please indicate any measures planned to mitigate against this by completing stage 2. Supporting Information can be found be following the link: Protected Characteristic Positive impact Negative impact Age For staff of all ages this P&P provides clarity in respect of how sleep ins should be claimed in line with NHS Pensions technical newsletters. Disability Gender reassignment Marriage & civil partnership Pregnancy & maternity Race Religion Sex Sexual orientation Stage 2: Full impact assessment What is the impact? Mitigating actions Monitoring of actions 9

10 Appendix 2 SLEEP-IN DISTURBANCE RECORDING SHEET Week commencing (Sunday): Month& Year: House/ Team: Assignment No STAFF NAME Full time/ Part time? DATE TIME WORKED WORK ACTIVITY UNDERTAKEN & SERVICE USER S NAME From To TOTAL TIME CLAIMED (NEAREST 15 MINS) AT THE END OF EACH WEEK, PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS SHEET TO YOUR LOCALITY TEAM OFFICE 10

11 Appendix 3 Guidelines for Staff who need to find cover for the a.m. shift as a result of a significantly Definition of a significantly disturbed night. disturbed night. Staff have had continual disturbances during the night to the extent that they are not fit to provide the necessary support to the service users for the following shift. Procedure: Telephone On Call (if out of office hours) and request permission to go home and ask for authority to back fill the shift. If you feel unable to undertake any specific tasks eg administration of medication or driving, you must explain this to the on call manager. It is important to consider if the service would be safe with 1 less member of staff for a period of time and to discuss this with on call. Ensure you reference any specific risks to the service users, consult with any completed risk assessments and discuss these with the on call manager When you have been given permission to fill the shift, contact staff as per local short notice cover arrangements. You must stay on shift until cover arrives or there are enough staff in the service to make it safe. If you have been unable to cover the shift you must contact the Support Manager/Coordinator after 9am and explain the situation. It will then be the Support Manager/Coordinator s responsibility to get shift cover to enable you to go home. If the shift has been covered you must ensure the Support Manager/Coordinator is informed of the situation. 11