Agenda item

To receive a brief overview from the cabinet member for finance and resources and the head of human resources on the annual workforce report considered by cabinet at its meeting on 8 December 2020.

The committee received a presentation from Councillor Rebecca Lury, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources on the annual workforce report 2019-20, considered by Cabinet on 8 December 2020.  The committee also heard from Melanie Medley, Head of Human Resources, Kate Enver, Strategic Leader, HR Policy and Projects, Kamran Khan, Head of Organisation Transformation.

Councillor Lury presented the report and informed the committee that the report which had been considered by cabinet in December 2020 only covered the period up to April 2020, as such didn’t cover the impact of the pandemic which would be covered in the next annual report.

Councillor Lury highlighted the following key points:

There was a gender pay gap of minus 6.6% which was a reduction from the previous year – male employees had been paid slightly less than female employees.  This was predominately due to the larger number of workers in lower paid roles across waste and cleansing services.  This was considered a positive picture as there was not a significant gender pay gap.

In terms of disability – there had been an increase in individuals declaring that they have a disability.  The council was now at the same average across all the London boroughs, which was at 6.2%.

In relation to ethnicity – there was a need to focus on grades 14 and above in terms of senior positions held by BAME staff. Representation was increasing slowly and was to be a key area of focus for the coming year.

There was a strong LGBTQ+ staff network which really helped to promote and raise awareness of the work the council was doing in this area.

Pregnancy and Maternity – there was no staff take up of shared parental leave in the last financial year, it was felt that this showed a wider resistance still in take up generally across the country in terms of that policy.  It was highlighted later on in the meeting discussion that there had been take up of shared parental leave this year.  There had been a high rate of women coming back to work, this was something the council could be proud of in terms of flexible working and doing what it can for women who want to come back to work.

Training – There was a significant number of apprentices and trainees across the council, with a good range of people at all ages who are taking up the opportunity to retrain.

Officers updated the committee on issues that had not been directly covered in the annual report and answered questions of committee members.

Reference was made by officers to the Southwark Stands Together work stream which had been set up to address inequalities across the organisation.  Significant work in this area had been undertaken since the summer – information on this would be included in future reports.

The HR function had realigned itself to focus towards the work around Southwark Stands Together.  There were new refreshed governance arrangements overseen by the chief officer team, seven working groups operating under that work stream, listening circles, and a wellbeing survey.  Key issues identified for black workers were around career progression and recruitment practices.

In terms of career progression, the learning and development team had worked on launching the coaching and mentoring scheme, including reverse mentoring.  There were also live applications for ‘Black on Boards’ which was a development scheme across a number of London boroughs.  A career development portal had also been launched 18 months ago.

The council would be celebrating Trans Week at the end of March with the launch of the transgender gender identity guidance for staff.  This would come with a whole programme of support, training, and learning and development. 

In response to a question around sickness absence reporting in relation to stress, anxiety and mental health issues, it was explained that there had been a range of initiatives undertaken including the signing of the ‘Time to Change Pledge’ for Southwark Council.  This gave the opportunity to reassure and support staff across the organisation and to actively encourage staff within the workforce to discuss mental health issues and to come forward.  The council also looked at changing the sickness absence categorisation to bring them in alignment with the National guidance and those of London councils and doing away with not having to explain why a member of staff had been off sick.  The combination of active promotion around mental health, mental health first aider training, and embedding them within teams, along with the change in sickness absence reporting, meant that where absence had been due to stress or anxiety, staff disclosed it, which in turn meant that the council was able to offer support through occupational health to managers and staff.  The council also supported the national campaign for Able Futures which was a government initiative to support mental health.

A question was asked around the use of positive action.  It was explained that the council was looking at positive action and how it could be used.  It was also reported that an external consultant had been appointed to work with staff to enable them to speak freely and openly about their experiences.

In relation to a question around the council’s approach in ensuring that the very top of the organisation reflected the community at large, specifically from a racial perspective - it was acknowledged that there was very low visibility at grade 14 and above, and this was an area of focus.

In response to a question around the monitoring of the workload of staff in light of increased insourcing, staff cuts and impact of the pandemic, the cabinet member for finance and resources advised that she was very conscious of the workload of staff especially during the pandemic.  It was acknowledged that a lot of staff hadn’t been able to take annual leave or had to work extended hours to enable the council to be in a position to tackle the pandemic.  The need for prioritising what the council was doing, especially at this moment had been raised by the trade unions and this was something that was taken away as a cabinet.  This was one of the reasons for the refreshed council plan commitments following a review of what could be realistically delivered.  Conversations were ongoing around areas of priority.

In relation to addressing BAME staffing issues it was felt that there needed to be some clear statistics and targets to work with.  Concern was also raised around the rates of disciplinary that led to dismissal of BAME staff compared to white employees.

Information was requested for a later date in terms of panel make up of unsuccessful BAME applicants at interview stage for senior level jobs and also the type of recruitment firms that the council engages with, and their success rate in recruiting a diverse pool of people.

It was also requested that the information arising from the work of the consultant working with staff be shared with the committee.

A question was asked around monitoring staff based at remote sites and whether they were reporting any discrimination.  It was explained that a lot of work had been undertaken over the last year to reach out to these staff and provide the support that they need.  This was being actively monitored with the assistance of the trade unions and feedback enabled the targeting of areas to improve the experience of staff.

A further question was asked regarding the measures in place to reduce stress, depression and anxiety in the work force in light of 9% increase from 2018 to 2019.  It was explained that changes in reporting options had seen an increase in numbers and an understanding of why people were off sick.  A range of low, medium and high provisions were being put in place to support people.  This information was on the council’s internal intranet.  There were also health and wellbeing conversations taking place with all staff via their managers.  A huge amount of support was being received from the public health team on the development of the council’s local mental health first aiders with over 30 mental health first aiders trained and providing support across all sites within the organisation.  There was also an employee assistance programme which staff could ring at any time if they felt they needed support. A trained professional could signpost them to relevant support, including free sessions of individual counselling and support without the requirement to go through their line manager.  There had also been the heavy promotion of the Able Futures offer which provides a range of support until a person accesses critical services within the NHS.  There was also a range of people trained to support people, if they are in a more acute position with their mental health so that they can be directed to the right services.

In terms of prevention, it was hoped that through the health and wellbeing conversations that the source of the issue, be it totally work related or a combination of home and work or solely home could be identified and the support targeted. There was also a microsite available that staff without access to a computer or the council’s intranet, could access from their mobile phone.  The health and wellbeing conversation and dialogue between the member of staff and their line manager in the first instance will help prevent or mitigate some of the pressures and stresses that the member of staff might be feeling.

A question was asked around career progression, how it was monitored and assessed.  It was explained that the career progression framework had been launched as part of the performance management framework, within that managers were being advised to have that career conversation.  It was however not something that was currently being measured in the performance management framework.

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Workforce Report 2019-20 be noted.