Dave Peasley Director of Resources

Civic Centre, Reading, RG1 7AE. 0118 937 3737

Fax: 0118 958 9770

To: Councillor Bayes (Chair); Our Ref: perscttc/agenda Councillors Lovelock, Page, Pugh and Your Ref: Steele. Direct: 0118 937 2332 e-mail:[email protected]

22 September 2010

Your contact is: Richard Woodford – Committee Services

NOTICE OF MEETING – PERSONNEL COMMITTEE – 30 SEPTEMBER 2010

A meeting of the Personnel Committee will be held on Thursday 30 September 2010 at 6.30pm in Committee Room 1, Civic Offices, Reading.

The Agenda for the meeting is set out below:

AGENDA ACTION WARDS AFFECTED PAGE NO

1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 2. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 1 INFORMATION BOROUGHWIDE 1 JULY 2010 3. PROCEEDINGS OF LOCAL JOINT INFORMATION BOROUGHWIDE 7 FORUM HELD ON 1 JULY 2010 AND 2 SEPTEMBER 2010 4. EQUALITY AUDIT 2009/10 INFORMATION BOROUGHWIDE 17

5. EQUALITIES ACT 2010 INFORMATION BOROUGHWIDE 23

6. PAY AND GRADING REVIEW - INFORMATION BOROUGHWIDE 32 IMPLEMENTATION 7. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT INFORMATIION BOROUGHWIDE 35 PROGRAMME (PIP) - UPDATE 8. STAFF BENEFITS/TOTAL REWARD DECISION BOROUGHWIDE 40

CIVIC CENTRE EMERGENCY EVACUATION: Please familiarise yourself with the emergency evacuation procedures, which are displayed inside the Council’s meeting rooms. If an alarm sounds, leave by the nearest fire exit quickly and calmly and assemble at the Hexagon sign, at the start of Queen’s Walk. You will be advised when it is safe to re-enter the building.

www.reading.gov.uk Minicom 0118 937 2700 DX 40124 Reading (Castle Street) 9. CONTRACT TO PROVIDE ACCESS DECISION BOROUGHWIDE 47 TO A CYCLE FOR WORK SCHEME 10. CHANGE PROGRAMMES – DECISION BOROUGHWIDE 52 GUIDANCE FOR STAFF

At this point, the following motion will be moved by the Chair:

“That, pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) members of the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following items on the agenda, as it is likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant Paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of that Act”

11. EARLY RETIREMENTS AND DECISION BOROUGHWIDE Report to REDUNDANCIES Follow

12. EARLY RETIREMENTS AND DECISION BOROUGHWIDE Report to REDUNDANCIES – HOUSING AND Follow COMMUNITY CARE

www.reading.gov.uk Minicom 0118 939 0700 DX 40124 Reading (Castle Street) PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MINUTES – 1 JULY 2010

Present: Councillor (Chair); Councillors Lovelock and Steele.

Also Present: A Burton, J Hoggart, D Peasley and M Popham.

Apologies: Councillors Page and Pugh.

RESOLVED ITEMS

1. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2010 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

2. APPOINTMENT TO SOUTH EAST EMPLOYERS’ EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Committee was asked to make appointments to the South East Employers’ Executive Committee for the 2010/11 Municipal Year.

Resolved –

(1) That Councillors Bayes and Steele be appointed to the South East Employers’ Executive Committee for the 2010/11 Municipal Year;

(2) That Councillor Page be appointed as the Standing Deputy to the South East Employers’ Executive Committee for the 2010/11 Municipal Year.

3. HR APPROACH TO DELIVER PIP SAVINGS

Further to Minute 29 of the meeting held on 4 March 2010, Anne Burton, Head of HR, submitted a report on the management of key HR issues arising from significant organisational change linked to savings built into the budget, based on the ten cases for change set out in the Performance Improvement Programme (PIP). In view of the tight timescales for delivering savings, it had been agreed that there would be a Council-wide approach followed to manage a reduction in the workforce, ensuring that clear links were made to the PIP cases for change. The Committee agreed that the efficiency savings to be delivered through PIP should be monitored separately to those in-year savings required by external factors, such as reduced grant funding, to assess the effects of both on staffing levels and services being delivered.

The Committee noted that service areas were looking at ways in which efficiencies and improvements could be secured through an analysis of working arrangements and structures. The proposed Refuse Pay scheme was appended to the report as an example of this process.

1 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MINUTES – 1 JULY 2010

Resolved –

(1) That, in accordance with the framework agreed at the meeting held on 4 March 2010 (Minute 29 refers), managers be authorised to take more proactive steps to manage down the workforce towards a staff cohort informed by the recommendations arising from the 10 cases for change;

(2) That these steps to manage down the workforce be based initially on an elective and voluntary approach for staff but recognising that this would need to change to a more corporately directive approach should insufficient savings be secured;

(3) That the timetable and compensation framework set out in paragraph 4 to the report be agreed;

(4) That the approach to other service efficiency reviews, as exemplified by recent refuse pay proposals set out in the Appendix to the report, be endorsed for further consultation.

4. PERFORMANCE RELATED PROGRESSION POLICY

Anne Burton, Head of HR, submitted a report on progress to introduce the new Performance Related Progression Policy using a set of council-wide 'Core Competencies', which would underpin people management from recruitment to learning and development and performance management. The competency framework had been developed and had been drawn-up in consultation with various ‘stakeholder’ groups, including trade unions. A copy of the revised Leading the Way – Managing People Performance – Contribution Based Pay Scheme competencies was appended to the report.

The main benefits of a competency-based system were:

• Employees would have a set of objectives to work towards and would be clear about how they were expected to perform their jobs; • The appraisal and recruitment systems would be fairer and more open; • There would be a link between organisational and personal objectives; • Processes would be measurable and standardised across organisational and service boundaries.

The anticipated timescale for implementation of performance-related progression would be April 2011. The Trade Unions had been generally supportive of the Policy and the increased transparency it would provide by setting clear expectations of staff and demonstrating how they could progress. However, they had made the point that performance related progression was inextricably linked to the pay and grading review, which would provide the reward element of the scheme. Therefore, the introduction of the Policy would need to be accompanied by the implementation of the new pay and grading structure. The Single Status

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Agreement (Pay and Grading Review) would be discussed in Part 2 of this meeting (Minute 7 refers).

Resolved -

That, subject to the conclusion of consultation with stakeholders, the new Performance Related Progression Policy be approved as attached to the report.

5. SAFEGUARDING – VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME

Further to Minute 30 of the meeting held on 4 March 2010, Anne Burton, Head of Human Resources, submitted a report on progress towards the implementation of the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) / Vetting and Barring Scheme. The report explained that the Home Office had announced that the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) for those working with children and vulnerable adults would be put on hold so that it could be reviewed. As a result, the Independent Safeguarding Authority registration stage of the scheme, which had been due to start on 26 July 2010, had been stopped. In the meantime, the existing requirements concerning Criminal Records Bureau checks remained in place and those checks would still be carried out where necessary; and the parts of the VBS put in place in October 2009 continued to be in force. Therefore, it remained a criminal offence for individuals barred by the ISA to work or apply to work with children and vulnerable adults across a wide-range of posts. The two ISA barred lists for children and adults, which replaced the three former lists (POCA, POVA and List 99) would continue to be operational. Local authorities, employers, professional regulators and other bodies would retain the duty to refer information to the ISA about individuals who had caused harm to or posed a potential threat to children or vulnerable adults.

Resolved –

That the position be noted.

6. EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

Resolved -

That pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) members of the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following item, as it was likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to that Act.

7. SINGLE STATUS AGREEMENT (PAY AND REWARD)

Further to Minutes 32 and 16 of the meetings held on 4 March 2010 and 29 October 2009 respectively, Dave Peasley, Director of Resources, submitted an update report on the Single Status pay and grading review. The report explained the current position in relation to implementation of the scheme. The Committee was

3 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MINUTES – 1 JULY 2010

given details of Counsel’s opinion on the implementation process in the light of the legal developments relating to the proposed scheme. As a result of the legal advice received and careful consideration of a range of options and their associated risks, it was recommended that the implementation of the pay and grading scheme should be introduced from 1 April 2011, and in those cases where individual agreement could not be secured this would be achieved by the dismissal and re-engagement of the NJC staff it affected. The report had appended the key milestones and dates for the project and the latest proposed pay and reward package. The report confirmed that the proposed new scheme would not include pay backdating or protection.

Resolved -

(1) That the Chief Executive and Director of Resources be authorised to continue to implement the Single Status Agreement (Pay and Grading Review) to the timescale set out in Appendix 1 to the report to take effect from 1 April 2011;

(2) That it be noted that the implementation of the Single Status Agreement (Pay and Grading Review) may need to be achieved by eventual dismissal and re-engagement of a proportion of the Council’s workforce where individual agreement to the Agreement could not be secured;

(3) That a further report on the implementation of the Single Status Agreement (Pay and Grading Review) be submitted to the Personnel Committee on 30 September 2010.

(Dave Peasley, Director of Resources, declared an interest in this item by virtue of his position as Section 151 Officer and on the grounds of the terms and conditions of his period of employment as Interim Chief Executive, which was agreed at the Personnel Committee Appointments held on 14 January 2008 (Minute 17 refers)).

(Exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 4 and 5).

8. EARLY RETIREMENT AND REDUNDANCIES

The Head of Human Resources, the Monitoring Officer and the Director of Resources submitted a joint report, which set out ten requests for termination of employment on the grounds of efficiency, redundancy and early retirement.

The proposals, together with the financial implications, were set out in a schedule appended to the report on the following basis:

• Financial cases were given which represented the highest cost to the Council and the Committee was asked to approve individual proposals subject to a maximum ceiling on the exercise of discretion;

• Financial implications were costed on the basis of the estimated figures, which were subject to final confirmation, and approval was sought for individual proposals on the basis of the estimated figures, subject to any

4 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MINUTES – 1 JULY 2010

proposal being brought back to Committee to confirm that there were costs which were more than 10% in excess of those reported.

The report also sought a commitment to the current basis of terms for redundancy and early retirement compensation, whilst recognising that there would be a need to keep the framework under review. The Personnel Committee would be responsible for agreeing any new framework for redundancy and early retirement, based on proposals, which would be subject to consultation with interested parties such as Trade Unions and an Equality Impact Assessment.

Resolved -

(1) That the termination of employment on the grounds of early retirement on the grounds of redundancy of employees A, B, C and D, early retirement on the grounds of efficiency and redundancy of employee H and on the grounds of redundancy of employees C, D, E, F and G be approved on the terms set out in the schedules appended to the report subject to the conclusion of all outstanding matters in each case, including ongoing consultation with the employees and their representatives;

(2) That the proposal set out in (1) above be approved on the basis of the financial implications set out in the report, and that authority to conclude the proposal be delegated to the director of resources, monitoring officer and head of human resources (acting jointly) within that framework, and subject to the maximum ceiling identified for the proposal;

(3) That the current terms for agreeing compensation packages in specific cases of early retirement or termination of employment on the grounds of redundancy or efficiency be confirmed, subject to recognising there was a commitment to review the framework in the future.

(Exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2).

9. SENIOR MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The Chief Executive submitted a report on a proposal to terminate the employment of the Director of Environment, Culture and Sport, subject to agreeing mutually acceptable terms by negotiation, including a payment of associated severance terms. The report also sought approval for the consequent recommended interim management arrangements for the Directorate, as set out in paragraphs 4.11 and 4.12.

Resolved –

(1) That the mutually agreed termination of employment of the Director of Environment, Culture and Sport, with effect from 31 July 2010 (or a date to be determined) be approved, and the severance terms payable, as set out in paragraph 4.9, of the report be agreed and the

5 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MINUTES – 1 JULY 2010

Chief Executive be authorised to enter into a Compromise Agreement with the Director to this effect;

(2) That the Chief Executive, Director of Resources and Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, be given delegated authority to determine the detail of all matters relating to this severance arising as a result of negotiation with the Director and her representative;

(3) That the outline interim management arrangements for the Environment, Culture and Sport Directorate arising as a consequence of this termination, including the appointment of Amar Dave, Head of Leisure and Cultural Services, as Acting Director, as set out in paragraphs 4.11 and 4.12 of the report, be approved and the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, be given delegated authority to settle the detail of all matters relating to these arrangements, and/or other arrangements to secure robust interim management capacity as may be determined.

(Exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2).

(The meeting commenced at 6.35pm and closed at 8.30pm). pers cttee/minutes/100701

6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 1 JULY 2010

Present:

Councillors Bayes, Lovelock, Steele and Stevens. Mr R Ketley Education & Community Services Unions Ms P Bunch Unison, Staffside Mr M Cooper Unison, Staffside Ms D McKenzie Unison, Staffside Mr I Newnham Transport & General Workers’ Union (JSSC) Ms A Burton Head of Human Resources Mr J Hoggart Human Resources Manager Mr M Popham Committee Services Apologies: Mr B Jones Transport & General Workers’ Union (JSSC) Councillor Page

1. ELECTION OF CHAIR

AGREED:

That Councillor Steele was appointed as Chairman of the Forum for the meeting.

(Councillor Steele in the Chair)

2. PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM MEETING HELD ON 11 NOVEMBER 2009

The Proceedings of the Local Joint Forum meeting held on 11 November 2009 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

3. HR ISSUES - GENERAL UPDATE

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report updating the Forum on a number of ongoing Human Resource (HR) and development issues:

Performance Improvement Programme

The report stated that the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) was based on a premise of streamlining business processes and would inevitably impact on salaries budgets. More specifically, a reduction in headcount of 165 FTE was estimated to be an outcome of service changes resulting from the PIP. In view of the tight timescales for delivering savings, Personnel Committee had agreed to work towards a reduction in the workforce in the current year ensuring that clear links were made to the PIP cases for change, in addition to any service-based savings required.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 1 JULY 2010

In the current year there was a need to achieve savings before the new operating models were fully scoped and developed, prior to the new organisational structure being mapped and implemented. There would therefore inevitably be a need for a more ‘blunt’ approach to staff reductions in year 1, with the consequent need to build structures afterwards and address retraining / reskilling needs. Care needed to be taken to ensure that key skills and experience were not lost in this process.

The next steps entailed action across three strands: restricting recruitment and deleting vacancies; reducing staffing; and increasing flexibility of the workforce. The PIP Staffing reductions would be based on the offer of voluntary options for change to a focussed cohort of staff. The proposed process and possible options for early retirement, redundancy and flexible working were set out in the report.

Rob Ketley said that there was recognition of the need to reduce staffing across the Council in the current climate. However, he added that job losses would need to be reviewed in the context of maintaining the position and well-being of existing staff and in this regard there would need to be assurance that workloads of remaining staff would continue to be manageable. In relation to parallel processes to identify in-year savings driven by external factors, such as reductions in grant funding, Rob advised that these should be considered separately to the PIP to avoid staff forming the view that they were part of the same process.

Performance Related Progression

The HR Service had been consulting, as part of its programme of reviewing collectively agreed procedures, with the trades unions on a variety of policies, procedures and guides. In addition, the single status pay and grading review to introduce incremental progression based on satisfactory performance was being progressed. The current NJC conditions of service note: ‘The EOC Code of Practice and case law had highlighted the potentially discriminatory effect of incremental scales based purely on length of service’ and ‘Transparent and objective criteria for progression through incremental pay scales would also be needed and must be applied consistently.’ Therefore, the Council needed to establish the detail of how to implement performance-related progression from April 2011. The proposed implementation of the single status pay and grading review, together with the development of our new approach to people performance management, including core competencies and the ‘dials’ scheme for appraisals, led to the recommendation that there should be a contribution-related pay (progression) scheme. The key elements of the scheme were set out in the report and the proposed Performance Related Progression Policy was attached as an Appendix to the report.

Mike Cooper and Debbie McKenzie explained that the Trade Union side was generally supportive of the Policy and the increased transparency it would provide by setting clear expectations of staff and demonstrating how they could progress.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 1 JULY 2010

However, they made the point that performance related progression was inextricably linked to the pay and grading review, which would provide the reward element of the scheme. Therefore, the introduction of the Policy would need to be accompanied by the implementation of the new pay and grading structure.

Single Status/ Pay and Grading Implementation

The Single Status and Pay and Grading Implementation had been developed to harmonise the pay structures for manual and white collar local government officers into a single pay structure for the authority. The report explained the current position in relation to implementation of the scheme. The Forum was given details of the reasons why it had not been possible to implement the pay and reward package that had been agreed in April 2008, which had reached consensus with local and regional trade unions. As a result of legal advice and careful consideration of a range of options and their associated risks, the Personnel Committee would be recommended to implement the pay and grading scheme from 1 April 2011, at its meeting on 1 July 2010. The report confirmed that the proposed new scheme would not include pay backdating or protection.

Safeguarding/ Vetting and Barring Scheme

The Forum received an update on progress towards the implementation of the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) / Vetting and Barring Scheme. The report explained that the Home Office had announced that the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) for those working with children and vulnerable adults would be put on hold so that it could be reviewed. As a result, the Independent Safeguarding Authority registration stage of the scheme, which had been due to start on 26 July 2010, had been stopped. In the meantime, the existing requirements concerning Criminal Records Bureau checks remained in place and those checks would still be carried out where necessary; and the parts of the VBS put in place in October 2009 continued to be in force. Therefore, it remained a criminal offence for individuals barred by the ISA to work or apply to work with children and vulnerable adults across a wide-range of posts. The two ISA barred lists for children and adults, which replaced the three former lists (POCA, POVA and List 99) would continue to be operational. Local authorities, employers, professional regulators and other bodies would retain the duty to refer information to the ISA about individuals who had caused harm to or posed a potential threat to children or vulnerable adults.

AGREED: That the report be noted.

4. DATES OF MEETINGS 2010/11

Thursday 2 September 2010 at 5pm; Thursday 11 November 2010 at 5pm; Thursday 10 February 2011 at 5pm.

(The meeting opened at 5.30 pm and closed at 6.35 pm).

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 1 JULY 2010

N:ljf/minutes/100107

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

Present:

Councillors Bayes (Chair), Lovelock, Page, Steele and Stevens. Mr R Ketley Education & Community Services Unions Mr B Jones Transport & General Workers’ Union (JSSC) Mr R Kiff Unison, Staffside Ms A Burton Head of Human Resources Mr T Milgate Committee Services Apologies: Mr J Hoggart Human Resources Manager

1. ELECTION OF CHAIR

Councillor Bayes was elected Chair of the Local Joint Forum for 2010/11.

2. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR

Mr R Ketley was elected Vice-Chair of the Local Joint Forum for 2010/11.

3. PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM MEETING HELD ON 1 JULY 2010

The Proceedings of the Local Joint Forum meeting held on 1 July 2010 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

4. MINUTES OF THE CENTRAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 28 JULY 2010

The Forum received the minutes of the Central Health and Safety Committee held on 28 July 2010 and raised the following points thereon:

Minute 2.1 – Matters Arising

Mr R Ketley raised a concern over the waiting times for staff to see the Occupational Health specialist although it was acknowledged that this was a budget issue.

Minute 6.3 – DECS

Mr R Ketley reported that the Unions had raised a concern over the DECS Health and Safety Forum which was being Chaired by a third-tier officer but should have been chaired by a more senior officer due to its importance. It was noted that the Central Health and Safety Committee used to have a Councillor representative but this seemed to no longer be the case.

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5. EQUALITIES AUDIT 2009/10

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report which presented a statistical summary of equal opportunities monitoring under the Council’s Equality Monitoring Framework for the financial year 2009/10.

The report stated that the Council used NBVPI return methodology to compile the equalities statistics which included all full time and part time permanent staff and school based staff. The proportion of women employed by the Council had remained static at 77%. The proportion of BME staff employed by the Council had increased form 11% to 11.2%. The number of staff who had declared a disability had remained constant at 1.9%.

Table 4 within the report showed employees at 31 March 2008 by salary band and then by gender, ethnic origin and disability. The report also looked at the progress of applicants through recruitment, access to corporate training, involvement in Council procedures and the turnover and attrition rates.

A concern was raised around the BME and disability figures for recruitment in schools. It was noted that schools had a statutory duty to take positive action in this area and the Forum agreed that a note be circulated to the Director of Education and Children’s Services to remind her of the equalities and inclusion remit within DECS.

AGREED:

(1) That the report be noted;

(2) That the Head of Human Resources, in consultation with the Chair, draft a letter to the Director of Education and Children’s Services to remind her of the (impending) statutory duty on schools for positive action on reporting / monitoring for BME and staff with disabilities, and circulate to the other members of the Forum for comment before sending to the Director.

6. PAY AND GRADING REVIEW – IMPLEMENTATION

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report updating the Forum on progress towards implementation of the revised Pay and Grading scheme.

The report stated that the NJC ‘Single Status Agreement’ (reached in 1997) set out requirements to bring together the pay structures for manual workers and white collar (APT&C) local government officers, into a single spinal column and to sort out a local pay structure for the authority.

In Reading, the Council had been undertaking job evaluation using the NJC scheme as a joint process with the trades unions. The resulting revised ranked hierarchy of jobs had been subject to joint assessment and moderation along the way, and

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agreement reached. From this ranking a local grading structure would be ‘equality proofed’ when implemented as a result of the robust basis of the national NJC JE scheme. The pay and reward proposals for the Council were designed to apply a consistent and equal approach on grading and allowances for NJC staff across the board.

A full report on options for implementation was considered by Personnel Committee at its meeting on 1 July 2010. Following that meeting, approval had been given to proceed with implementation on 1 April 2011.

The next step was to write to every individual member of (NJC) staff, later this month, to inform them about the implementation proposals, including the impact on their own pay and grading position, and to invite further responses to the consultation on implementation. A copy of all the material which would be sent to staff was attached as appendices to the report.

AGREED: That the report be noted.

7. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME – UPDATE

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report updating the Forum on progress on the Human Resources matters associated with implementation of the Performance Improvement Programme.

The report stated that update reports on Project Discovery, IEP and PIP had been brought to the Forum on a regular basis. As described in detail in previous reports, the work associated with the PIP was based on a premise of streamlining business processes.

At its previous meeting in July 2010, the Forum had received a report about the proposed Voluntary Change Scheme associated with the programme (PIPVCS), aimed at achieving staffing reductions through voluntary supported means as far as possible (as well as any reductions achieved through natural wastage, restricting recruitment and cutting out vacancies). However, earmarked savings needed to be achieved before any new organisational structure had been mapped and implemented. This would inevitably entail a more ‘blunt’ approach to staff reductions in year 1, with a consequent need to build structures afterwards and address retraining/re-skilling needs. A timetable for the process was attached. A copy of the information letter for staff was attached as an appendix to the report

Personnel Committee at its meeting in July 2010 had also agreed the terms of the PIPVCS severance offer, in accordance with Council policy and legislation governing severance and pension payments.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

The outcome results of the PIPVCS was as follows:

Description Number Notes Total number of staff (headcount) included as covered by the PIP PIP ‘cohort’ 679 programme – to whom the voluntary change offer was made This includes termination of Final applications for 76 (11% of the employment and early retirement severance total cohort) applications This includes applications for Final applications for 47 (7% of the reduction in working hours; term- other voluntary change total cohort) time only working; ‘buying’ extra annual leave; redeployment etc.

At present, the applications were being assessed by Directorate managers and would be taken to the Corporate Management Team on 14 September 2010, with a view to final decisions on severance packages being taken to Personnel Committee on 30 September 2010. Applicants would be informed of the management decisions shortly after the CMT meeting on 14 September 2010.

AGREED: That the position be noted.

8. STAFF BENEFITS/TOTAL REWARD

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report that brought to the Forum’s attention the range of staff benefits currently available at Reading Borough Council and to set out the proposal to move towards a ‘total reward’ approach by, in the first instance, implementing a staff benefits portal using a third party provider, Vectis. The report also outlined a selection of additional staff benefits offered by other unitary authorities and to seek approval to consider including some of these in the range of Reading Borough Council staff benefits.

The report stated that the Council needed to highlight more effectively the rewards that employees enjoyed as a result of working for the Council and taking a total reward approach would bring together all the monetary and non-monetary rewards enjoyed by employees of the Council and could add value at minimal cost making benefits more visible to employees.

To ascertain whether the Council was offering employees a comprehensive range of benefits, eleven unitary authorities had been contacted to find out which staff benefits were offered to their employees. Six authorities responded, most of which offered similar staff benefits. The staff benefits currently offered were outlined in Appendix A.

The report stated that Vectis marketed itself as an ‘integrated voluntary benefits solution’ and brought all the benefits together into a ‘portal’ which allowed

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communication about benefits to appear more professional and coherent. The added advantage was that it was web-based, so all employees could access via work or home computers, including the possibility of setting up terminals in areas such as the depot, for general access for employees without other means. A number of local authorities currently used its service.

The cost for the proposal were as follows (assuming 4,800 employees):

• Website access – 75p per employee (£3,600 per annum);

• Co-branded local discount card and benefits booklet – 60p per employee (£2,880 per annum);

• Shopping cards which gave 5% off shopping in Asda and Sainsbury – 12p per employee (£576 per annum);

The whole package was £1.47 per employee per annum, fixed for three years. This equated to around £7,056 per annum for the whole package. Members of the Corporate Resources/Chief Executive’s Directorate Management Team (DMT) had had an opportunity to test the demonstration version of the Vectis portal that was sent to HR, with very positive feedback. The Head of Human Resources would circulate the link to the Vectis test site to the Trades Unions and others. A similar organisation had quoted a minimum of £45,000 per annum for a similar package.

HR would look to investigate further the use of Vectis as a means of using a total reward approach and to investigate further the implementation of those benefits which would be of minimal (or no) cost to the Council.

The trade union members of the Forum were not supportive of the proposal as it felt that many of the benefits were provided for employees currently, or were just an extension of benefits staff could get through membership of the staff club. The Forum proposed that the £7,000 per annum outlay would be better invested towards greater Occupational Health provision.

AGREED:

(1) That the report be noted;

(2) That the Forum place on record the trade union side opposition to the proposal for the use of Vectis to provide a staff benefits portal and ask that ways to invest the £7,000 per annum in additional Occupational Health provision be investigated.;

(3) That the Head of Human Resources be requested to provide the link to Vectis’ website and test portal to Trades Unions and others.

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9. CONTRACT TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO A CYCLE FOR WORK SCHEME

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report which brought to the Forum’s attention the success of the implementation of the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme for Council employees, using Cyclescheme as the third party provider. The report also advised the Forum of the intention to seek Personnel Committee approval to continue the contract with Cyclescheme on an open-ended basis, subject to legal advice on this matter.

The report stated that the Council had introduced the cycle to work scheme in May 2009 using salary sacrifice with the scheme offered through a third party provider, Cyclescheme, and offering bicycles, accessories and safety equipment to its employees under this legislation. The scheme used salary sacrifice which meant that employees paid for the bike and associated equipment (up to a maximum £1,000) from gross salary. The scheme was open to all employees except where the length of temporary contract was less than the length of the lease period or where salary sacrifice would bring an employee’s salary below the national minimum wage.

The benefits of the scheme were as follows:

For employers Š Cost neutral; Š Reclaim VAT (where the bike is being used as the main form of transport to work); Š No National Insurance Contribution collected for the portion of salary sacrificed; Š Reduces car usage; Š Encourages greener transport; Š Reduces need for parking spaces; Š Tax break associated with the scheme;

For employees Š Tax break because tax is only applied to the salary after the salary sacrifice has been made; Š No National Insurance Contribution collected for the portion of salary sacrifice; Š Discount on bikes can be substantial; Š Discount on bikes depends on an employee’s personal circumstances with higher discounts for those in the higher tax bracket; Š Some schemes allow savings of up to 50% on the cost of bikes; Š Purchase of new bike and safety accessories (eg lights, locks and waterproof clothing) at greatly reduced cost; Š Payment is made through a salary sacrifice scheme; Š At the end of the loan period, employees can purchase the bike for a nominal fee;

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE LOCAL JOINT FORUM – 2 SEPTEMBER 2010

It would be proposed to the Personnel Committee that Reading Borough Council continue to offer a salary sacrifice cycle scheme, using Cyclescheme, on an ongoing basis, subject to legal advice on this matter.

There were several providers in the market who were invited to quote at the start of the initial 18 month scheme. Cyclescheme was awarded the contract on the basis that it offered a greater range of choice to the employee for the supplier of the bike and better quality after sale support. It was intended to negotiate directly with Cyclescheme to provide an open-ended commitment that could be brought to an end at any time by the provision of a set period of notice.

AGREED: That the report be noted.

10. CHANGE PROGRAMMES – GUIDANCE FOR STAFF

The Head of Human Resources submitted a report which present a copy of the proposed guidance document for staff and sought comments and feedback from the Forum.

The report stated that, in order to provide further focused and consistent guidance for staff, the guidance note had been prepared and was offered to the Forum for comment before it was launched in the autumn. The draft had been the subject of consultation with the JTUC and a trial had been carried out with a small number of staff.

It was anticipated that the guide would be a ‘work in progress’ and adapted, adjusted and updated in the light of feedback and developments in related policy, procedures and systems of support. It was commended to the Forum as a first step to meet an identified need for staff affected by change.

The guidance document was attached as an appendix.

Agreed: That the report be noted.

11. DATES OF MEETINGS 2010/11

Thursday 11 November 2010 at 5pm; Thursday 10 February 2011 at 5pm.

(The meeting opened at 5.00 pm and closed at 6.02 pm).

17

READING BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 4

TITLE: EQUALITY AUDIT 2009/10

LEAD KIRSTEN BAYES PORTFOLIO: COUNCILLOR: SERVICE: HR WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE

LEAD OFFICER: JIM HOGGART TEL: Ext: 72215 / 9390215 JOB TITLE: DIRECTORATE HR E-MAIL [email protected] SERVICES MANAGER

1. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF REPORT 1.1. To present a statistical summary of equal opportunities monitoring under the Council’s Equality Monitoring Framework for the financial year 2009/10.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION 2.1. That you note the report.

3. POLICY CONTEXT 3.1. The report is a component of the Council’s Equal Opportunity and Fair Treatment Policy. It is presented annually to the Local Joint Forum (LJF) to provide background data that will assist and inform the work of the Forum as well as the development and implementation of the Council’s equality objectives generally. This data is intended to provide an equalities context and focus for ongoing discussions with internal and external stakeholders. 3.2. The report takes the form set out in the Equality Monitoring Framework endorsed by the LJF, this Committee and the (then) Black Communities Forum in September 2004. 3.3. The framework contains key employment profiles which the Council has to measure by law and also includes other profile data based on previous national performance indicator (PIs) outturns where relevant. 3.4. In addition, each directorate is expected to set its own targets based on its clients, customers or users of its services and the data from this report is provided to assist the process of target setting. 3.5. The agreed framework reporting heads are: • All Council Staff by directorate, gender, ethnic origin and disability • All Council Staff by gender, ethnic origin and disability across salary bands

• Proportion of female, BME and disabled job applicants. • Female, BME and disabled applicants as a proportion of their relative cohorts, who progress to through shortlisting to appointment compared with male, white and non-disabled applicants • Proportion of female, BME and disabled employees accessing Council training by directorate, training type, compared to male, white and non-disabled employees • Proportion of female, BME and disabled employees involved in Council procedures, compared to male, white and non-disabled employees • Staff turnover data analysed by gender and ethnicity.

SUMMARY OF STATISTICS

3.6. We use NBVPI return methodology to compile the statistics, unless stated otherwise. This includes all full time and part time permanent staff and school based staff (unless otherwise stated). Casual staff or those on fixed term contracts of less than 12 months duration are excluded. 3.7. Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 are snapshots of the workforce at the 31 March 2009. The following is a summary of what each table shows. 3.8. The non-declaration (ND) data in tables reflects those employees who have made a positive decision not to declare their ethnicity or a disability or where information is not available. Since the validation exercise in 2006/7, further efforts have been made to obtain declarations from staff who have previously declined to take part and this will continue.

Comparisons of Gender, Ethnicity and Disability Within Directorates 3.9. Tables 1, 2 and 3 show employees at 31 March 2010 by directorate, gender, ethnic origin and disability compared with those at 31 March 2009. 3.10. The numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) employees and disabled employees are shown as a proportion of employees who have made a positive declaration. 3.11. The proportion of women employed by the Council has remained static at 77%. The lowest percentage is employed in Environment, Culture and Sport (ENCAS) at 51.7 %, where there are a larger number of traditionally male occupations. The largest percentage is in Education & Children’s Services (DECS), where the proportion remains at 90%. Corporate Resources and Chief Executive’s (RES/CEX) and Housing & Community Care (HCC) remain at around 70%. 3.12. The proportion of BME staff employed by the Council has increased from 11.0% to 11.2% - in real terms an increase from 488 in 2009 to 520 in 2010. The highest proportion of BME staff are in H&CC as last year at 14.4%, followed by RES/CEX at 13.1%. ENCAS has shown a slight increase from 9.6% last year to 10.6% in 2009/10. The lowest percentage is in DECS at 10.0%, but this is a slight increase from 9.5% last year and continues the upward trends of previous years. These outturns compare with a 12.9% BEM population within the borough boundaries according to 2001 census data. This comparison figure will be replaced with data from the 18

planned 2011 census. 3.13. Table 3 below shows the profile of employees who have declared a disability. The overall percentage has remained consistent at 1.9%. 3.14. The proportion of staff with a disability is around 2.2% - 3.7% except for DECS where the level is 0.8% - the latter is mainly due to the low level of staff with a disability within schools. If school based staff are taken out of the calculation, the proportion of staff in the Council with a disability would be 2.2%. The proportion of BME staff would be 12.8%.

Comparisons of Gender, Ethnicity and Disability Across Salary Bands 3.15. Table 4 shows employees at 31 March 2008 by salary band and then by gender, ethnic origin and disability. Salary bands are based on 2009/10 pay scales and earnings. The totals for staff are different from those in tables 1, 2 and 3, which show all employees as this data is drawn from NBVPI 11 earnings data which excludes school based staff in its methodology. 3.16. The numbers of black and minority ethnic employees and disabled employees are shown as a proportion of employees who have made a positive declaration 3.17. Female employees continue to form the greater percentage across all salary bands. Each band has over 50% women, with the proportion reaching around 70% in band 2 and 3. 3.18. This analysis shows that the level of BME staff in the higher earnings bands is continuing to increase in 2009/10 - the level of BME staff in band 7 has shown a small increase from 4% to 4.9% (from 5 to 7 staff) which is lower than the proportion of BME staff in the Council as a whole, but continues the growth of this group year on year. 3.19 The overall number of employees who have declared a disability across salary bands ranges between 1.7 and 4.8%. Setting aside band 1 earners, the proportion of people with a disability is relatively even across most of the bands.

Progress of Applicants Through Recruitment

3.21 In 2009/10 the Council received 7,416 applications for 333 appointments. Of these, 4442 were from women (60%), 1971 from BME applicants (26.6%) and 271 from people with a declared disability (3.2%). 3.23 26% of BME applicants were rejected at the shortlisting stage with 25% rejected at interview. A further 15% rejected offers of employment, 27% did not attend for interview and 19% withdrew their application. 3.24 Of the disabled applicants, 3% were rejected at shortlisting, 5% at interview, 7% rejected offers with 4% not turning up and 6% withdrawing during the process. 3.25 Of the successful applicants, 74% were women, 12.5% were BME and 1.6% were applicants with a disability.

Access to Corporate Training 3.26 Tables 5 and 6 show access to Corporate Training by Directorate and by type of training for employees from the different groups during 2009/10.

19

Individual Employees by Group and Directorate 3.27 Table 5 shows the percentage of employees who accessed Corporate Training by Directorate during the year April to March 2009/10. 3.28 Generally, the data reflects the proportions of these groups of employees in the workforce. Overall a much larger percentage (71%) of women than men undertook training during last year, a slight increase of 3% on the previous year. 3.29 BME employee access to training increased by 2% compared to the previous year. 3.30 Employees, who had declared themselves as having a disability, formed 4% of the total employees on corporate training, the same as the previous year. Access to Type of Training by Group 3.31 Table 6 presents a different perspective as it shows the type of training accessed by the different groups. Again the ethnicity and disability data shows people who have made a positive declaration under ethnicity and disability. 3.32 Female participants made up the largest percentage on all types of corporate training; these figures reflect the larger percentage of women in the workforce. 3.33 BME participants made up 13% across all types of corporate training. A slight increase of 2% overall on the previous year. There was an increase of 5% of BME participants on Corporate Induction, 4% increase of BME participants on Health and Safety events, a 6% increase of BME participants on IT events and an increase of 13% of BME participants on Equality and Diversity events. There was no change for Personal Development. 3.34 There was also no change to attendance on Management Development (training provided for new and existing managers). This year an additional line is given to show attendance on the Managers’ Induction, as this is an indicator of development provided to new managers. This indicates that 15% of participants were from BME groups which is higher than the proportion of BME staff in the Council as a whole and is a positive indication of BME staff accessing management development opportunities. 3.35 Disabled participants made up 4% across all types of corporate training that is the same as the previous year. There was an increase of 3% of participants who declared disabilities attending the Corporate Induction, an increase of 3% on Equality and Diversity courses and a decrease of 3% on IT courses.

Involvement in Council Procedures 3.36 Table 7 shows a breakdown of those involved in the Council’s formal procedures: capability ill health, capability performance, discipline and grievance. Whilst the absolute numbers are too small to draw definite conclusions, there are some interesting variations between the different groups: • The total number of cases was 109 (similar to last year) involving 60 women (55%). 80% of harassment cases involved women (4) which is similar to last year and lower than in 2008/9. 2 of those cases involved BME staff. Women were involved in 38% of all disciplinary cases and 61% of capability ill-health cases. • Around 18% of all cases involved BME employees (slightly higher than last year), spread across all categories. The harassment figure looks high but this

20

was 2 out of 5 cases. • Nearly 13% of cases involved disabled employees (same as last year), the majority of these within the capability ill-health procedure. Turnover and Attrition 3.37 Table 8 shows a profile of ‘leavers’ from the Council divvied between ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ forms of exit. 3.38 Total turnover for the Council was 9.8% for the year. The table shows that for most forms of exit, women, BME staff and staff with a disability did not leave the Council in higher than expected proportions – that is to say, the level of exit indicates that these staff are generally being retained – albeit the level of resignations by female staff is higher than the proportion in the Council as a whole (77% to 82% resigning). For BME staff the proportions are lower than for the cohort as a whole and about equal for staff with a disability.

4. CONTRIBUTION TO STRATEGIC AIMS 4.1 Monitoring our workforce is linked specifically to the promotion of equality and ensuring that we move to a position where our workforce represents the community it serves.

5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Equalities legislation requires us to monitor staff profiles and employment policies and procedures.

6. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS None

7. BACKGROUND PAPERS None

21

Appendix 1

Employee Profiles by Directorate at 31.03.10 compared to 31.03.08

Table 1 Employee Gender Profile

31.03.09 31.03.10 All % All DIRECTORATE Women Women % Women staff Women staff CRES/CEX 406 283 69.7% 397 282 71.0% DECS 2564 2318 90.4% 2646 2385 90.1% ENCAS 997 522 52.4% 999 517 51.7% H&CC 867 602 69.4% 873 604 69.2% TOTALS 4834 3725 77.1% 4915 3788 77.0%

Table 2 Employee Ethnicity

31.03.09 31.03.10 Directorate All All % No % BME2 ND No ND staff staff BME2 RES/CEX 406 51 12.8% 10 397 51 13.1% 8 DECS 2564 214 9.5% 315 2646 241 10.0% 224 ENCAS 997 95 9.6% 15 999 105 10.6% 11 H&CC 867 128 15.2% 26 873 123 14.4% 21 TOTALS1 4834 488 11.0% 366 4915 520 11.2% 264

Table 3 – Employee Disability

31.03.09 31.03.10 Directorate All All Dis % Dis2 ND Dis % Dis2 ND staff staff RES/CEX 406 12 3.1% 18 397 14 3.7% 22 DECS 2564 19 1.0% 483 2646 17 0.8% 483 ENCAS 997 25 2.7% 72 999 20 2.2% 83 H&CC 867 23 2.9% 61 873 27 3.3% 56 1 TOTALS 4834 79 1.9% 634 4915 78 1.9% 644

1. Includes all permanent employees, teachers & school based employees; does not include those on temporary contracts for less than a year 2. As a proportion of employees who have made a positive declaration

22

Appendix 1 Table 4 - Council Employees Across Salary Bands as at 31.3.10

Salary Bands 1 Numbers Percentages BME Disab All Women Women BME 2 Disab2 No ND No ND Band 1 (Below SCP 11) - £14,732 and 27 7 1 0 1 6 25.9% 3.7% 4.8% less Band 2 (between SCP 11 and top of 715 545 119 24 17 104 76.2% 17.2% 2.8% Scale 3) - £14,733 to £16,830 Band 3 (to top of Scale 6) - £16,831 990 679 128 20 26 77 68.6% 13.2% 2.8% to £23,708 Band 4 (SO) - 389 255 49 15 8 36 65.6% 13.1% 2.3% £23,709 to £28,636 Band 5 (to PO4) - 594 371 64 23 12 35 62.5% 11.2% 2.1% £28,637 to £38,961 Band 6 (to PO6) - 130 82 11 6 2 10 63.1% 8.9% 1.7% £38,962 to £44,299 Band 7 - Above 146 86 7 3 3 11 58.9% 4.9% 2.2% £44,300 Totals 3 2991 2025 379 91 69 279 67.7% 13.1% 2.5%

1 – Based on 2009/10 pay bands and earnings 2 – As a proportion of employees who have made a positive declaration 3 - Excludes schools)

23

Appendix 1 Table 5 - Individual Employee Access to Corporate Training By Directorate April 2009 to March 2010

Gender Ethnic Origin Disability Directorate Total Women Men BME1 White1 Yes1 No1 CEX 151 64% 36% 15% 85% 2% 98% DECS 935 86% 14% 14% 86% 2% 98% ENCAS 569 46% 54% 8% 92% 3% 97% HCC 863 74% 26% 16% 84% 5% 95% RESOURCES 191 55% 45% 12% 88% 8% 92% TOTALS 2709 71% 31% 13% 87% 4% 96%

Table 6 - Access to Corporate Training By Type April 2009 to March 2010 Gender Ethnic Origin Disability Training Type Total Women Men BME1 White1 Yes1 No1

Corporate Induction 270 72% 28% 20% 80% 2% 98%

Health & Safety 735 69% 31% 15% 85% 3% 97%

Management Development 968 70% 30% 8% 92% 4% 96%

Managers’ Induction * 59 76% 24% 15% 85% 5% 95% Equal Opportunities/ 111 75% 25% 23% 77% 7% 93% Positive action Personal Development 450 68% 32% 13% 87% 4% 96%

IT Courses 175 79% 21% 16% 86% 4% 96%

Total All Training 2709 71% 31% 13% 87% 4% 96%

24

Appendix 1 1 shows those staff who have declared their ethnicity or a disability * Included in Management Development totals but also shown separately

Table 7 Completed HR Casework – Use of Formal Procedures – April 2009 to March 2010 - Analysis by Employee Profile

Gender BME Disability Case Type All Cases Women % No % No %

Capability IH 39 24 61.5% 11 28.0% 7 17.9% Capability – 8 6 75% 2 25.0% 0 0% Performance

Disciplinary 44 17 38.6% 4 9.1% 6 13.6%

Grievance 13 9 69% 1 7.7% 1 7.7%

Bullying / 5 4 80.0% 2 40.0% 0 0% Harassment

TOTALS 109 60 55% 20 18.3% 14 12.8%

25

Appendix 1 Table 8 – Turnover / Leavers

REASON FEMALE BME DISAB INVOLUNTARY EXIT Death 5 3 60.0% 1 20.0% 1 0.2 Dismissal 19 12 63.2% 4 21.1% 0 0.0% Ill Health Dismissal 4 3 75.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Ill Health Retirement 6 3 50.0% 2 33.3% 1 16.7% Redundancy 7 4 57.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% Redundancy / ER 12 7 58.3% 2 16.7% 0 0.0% Retirement 35 28 80.0% 3 8.6% 1 2.9% End of Fixed term/ Temp Contract 19 15 78.9% 1 5.3% 0 0.0% TOTAL 107 75 70.1% 13 12.1% 3 2.8% VOLUNTARY EXIT Mutual Agreement 14 9 64.3% 3 21.4% 0 0.0% Efficiency Retire 2 1 50.0% 0 0.0% 1 50.0% Resignation 357 293 82.1% 33 9.2% 5 1.4% TOTAL 373 303 81.2% 36 9.7% 6 1.6% TOAL ALL 480 378 78.8% 49 10.2% 9 1.9%

26

READING BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 5

TITLE: EQUALITY ACT 2010

LEAD PERSONNEL COMMITTEE COUNCILLOR KIRSTEN BAYES PORTFOLIO: CHAIR : SERVICE: HR WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE LEAD JIM HOGGART TEL: Ext: 72215 / 9390215 OFFICER: JOB TITLE: DIRECTORATE HR E-MAIL [email protected] SERVICES MANAGER

1. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF REPORT 1.1. To brief the Committee on the forthcoming enactment of the Equality Act 2010 and its likely impact, in particular to assist members of the Committee to – • Appraise themselves of the key elements of the Act in relation to employment and the Public Sector Duty. • Identify new elements to existing equality legislation and where things stay the same • Identify what else is going to change in the future

and provide a framework within which further management and joint work with stakeholders can be undertaken.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION 2.1. That you note the report and the actions highlighted in section 4 below.

3. BACKGROUND

3.1 The Act provides a redefinition of ‘types’ of discrimination that are unlawful and also redefines the categories of people who may be affected – using the term ‘protected characteristics’.

3.2 A summary of the ‘protected characteristics’ within the Act and the new types of discrimination (as well as pre-existing types that remain) can be found at Appendix A (courtesy of ACAS).

23

3.3 A guide to the new Act and its key provisions can be found at Appendix B.

4. CURRENT / FUTURE ACTIONS

4.1 The following actions will follow on from the introduction of the Act and the ongoing consultation process around the Public Sector Duty elements reported above – • The Equality Development Officer Group is preparing a draft response to the consultation for consideration by elected members.

• An electronic and paper based briefing on the Equality Act including the protected characteristics and public duty to assess the equality impact of policies and practices will be provided to staff.

• The Recruitment and Selection, Equality and Diversity course and related material have been amended to reflect the requirements of the Act.

• Current policies, procedures and reporting regimes (including the annual HR audit) will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the legislation.

4.2 In addition, there will be discussion with Trades Unions and other stakeholders about the impact and implications of the Act as its various provisions are implemented.

24 APPENDIX B

EQUALITY ACT 2010 – SUMMARY OF MAIN PROVISIONS

1. TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION

1.1 DIRECT DISCRIMINATION

Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have (see perceptive discrimination below), or because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic (see associative discrimination below).

1.2 ASSOCIATIVE DISCRIMINATION

Already applies to race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Now extended to cover age, disability, gender reassignment and sex. This is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic.

1.3 PERCEPTIVE DISCRIMINATION

Already applies to age, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Now extended to cover disability, gender reassignment and sex. This is direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic.

1.4 INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION

Already applies to age, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage and civil partnership. Now extended to cover disability and gender reassignment.

Indirect discrimination can occur when there is a condition, rule, policy or even a practice in the organisation that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination can be justified if it can be shown that the employer acted reasonably in managing the business, ie that it is ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.

1.5 HARASSMENT

Harassment is “unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual”.

Harassment applies to all protected characteristics except for pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership. Employees will now be

25 able to complain of behaviour that they find offensive even if it is not directed at them, and the complainant need not possess the relevant characteristic themselves.

Employees are also protected from harassment because of perception and Association.

1.6 THIRD PARTY HARASSMENT

Already applies to sex. Now extended to cover age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

The Equality Act makes an employer potentially liable for harassment of his / her employees by people (third parties) who are not employees of the company, such as customers or clients. The employer will only be liable when harassment has occurred on at least two previous occasions, the employer is aware that it has taken place, and has not taken reasonable steps to prevent it from happening again.

1.7 VICTIMISATION

Victimisation occurs when an employee is treated badly because they have made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act; or because they are suspected of doing so. An employee is not protected from victimisation if they have maliciously made or supported an untrue complaint.

2. PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS

2.1 ‘Protected characteristics’ under the Act and consist of the following –

• Age • Disability • Gender Reassignment • Marriage and Civil Partnership • Pregnancy and Maternity • Race • Religion or Belief • Sex • Sexual Orientation

These are defined further below –

2.2 AGE (no change)

The Act protects people of all ages. However, different treatment because of age is not unlawful direct or indirect discrimination if you can justify it, ie if you can demonstrate that it is a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim.

26 Age is the only protected characteristic that allows employers to justify direct discrimination. The Act continues to allow employers to have a default retirement age of 65.

2.3 DISABILITY (new definition and changes)

The Act has made it easier for a person to show that they are disabled and protected from disability discrimination. Under the Act, a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, which would include things like using a telephone, reading a book or using public transport.

As before, the Act puts a duty on you as an employer to make reasonable adjustments for staff to help them overcome disadvantage resulting from an impairment (eg by providing assistive technologies to help visually impaired staff use computers effectively).

The Act includes a new protection from discrimination arising from disability. This states that it is discrimination to treat a disabled person unfavorably because of something connected with their disability (eg a tendency to make spelling mistakes arising from dyslexia). This type of discrimination is unlawful where the employer or other person acting for the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the person has a disability.

This type of discrimination is only justifiable if an employer can show that it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Additionally, indirect discrimination now covers disabled people. This means that a job applicant or employee could claim that a particular rule or requirement you have in place disadvantages people with the same disability.

The Act also includes a new provision which makes it unlawful, except in certain circumstances, for employers to ask about a candidate’s health before offering them work.

2.4 GENDER REASSIGNMENT (new definition)

The Act provides protection for transsexual people. A transsexual person is someone who proposes to, starts or has completed a process to change his or her gender. The Act no longer requires a person to be under medical supervision to be protected – so a woman who decides to live permanently as a man but does not undergo any medical procedures would be covered. Transgender people such as cross dressers, who are not transsexual because they do not intend to live permanently in the gender opposite to their birth sex, are not protected by the Act.

It is discrimination to treat transsexual people less favorably for being absent from work because they propose to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment than they would be treated if they

27 were absent because they were ill or injured.

Medical procedures for gender reassignment such as hormone treatment, should not be treated as a ‘lifestyle’ choice.

2.6 MARRIAGE AND CIVIL PARTNERSHIP (no change)

The Act protects employees who are married or in a civil partnership against discrimination. Single people are not protected.

2.7 PREGNANCY AND MATERNITY (no change)

A woman is protected against discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity during the period of her pregnancy and any statutory maternity leave to which she is entitled. During this period, pregnancy and maternity discrimination cannot be treated as sex discrimination.

An employee’s period of absence due to pregnancy-related illness can not be taken into account when making a decision about her employment.

2.8 RACE (no change)

For the purposes of the Act ‘race’ includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins.

A racial group can be made up of two or more different racial groups (eg Black Britons).

2.9 RELIGION OR BELIEF (no change)

In the Equality Act, religion includes any religion. It also includes a lack of religion, in other words employees or jobseekers are protected if they do not follow a certain religion or have no religion at all. Additionally, a religion must have a clear structure and belief system. Belief means any religious or philosophical belief or a lack of such belief.

To be protected, a belief must satisfy various criteria, including that it is a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour. Denominations or sects within a religion can be considered a protected religion or religious belief. Humanism is a protected philosophical belief but political beliefs would not be protected.

Discrimination because of religion or belief can occur even where both the discriminator and recipient are of the same religion or belief.

2.10 SEX (no change)

Both men and women are protected under the Act.

2.11 SEXUAL ORIENTATION (no change)

28 The Act protects bisexual, gay, heterosexual and lesbian people.

3. OTHER KEY ELEMENTS

3.1 POSITIVE ACTION

As with previous equality legislation, the Equality Act allows an employer to take positive action if they think that employees or job applicants who share a particular protected characteristic suffer a disadvantage connected to that characteristic, or if their participation in an activity is disproportionately low.

3.2 PRE-EMPLOYMENT HEALTH-RELATED CHECKS

The Equality Act limits the circumstances when an employer can ask health- related questions before offering an individual a job. Up to this point (pre offer), you can only ask health-related questions to help you to:

• decide whether you need to make any reasonable adjustments for the person to the selection process

• decide whether an applicant can carry out a function that is essential (‘intrinsic’) to the job

• monitor diversity among people making applications for jobs

• take positive action to assist disabled people

• assure yourself that a candidate has the disability where the job genuinely requires the jobholder to have a disability

According to ACAS it is only once a person has passed the interview and they have been offered a job (whether this is an unconditional or conditional job offer) it is permitted to ask appropriate health-related questions.

3.3 EQUAL PAY – DIRECT DISCRIMINATION

The Equality Act retains the framework that was previously in place. This means that in most circumstances a challenge to pay inequality and other contractual terms and conditions still has to be made by comparison with a real person of the opposite sex in the same employment.

However, a change in the Equality Act allows a claim of direct pay discrimination to be made, even if no real person comparator can be found. This means that a claimant who can show evidence that they would have received better remuneration from their employer if they were of a different sex may have a claim, even if there is no-one of the opposite sex doing equal work in the organisation. This would be a claim under sex discrimination.

3.4 PAY SECRECY

29

The Act makes it unlawful for an employer to restrict employees from having a discussion to establish if differences in pay exist that are related to protected characteristics. It also makes terms of the contract of employment that require pay secrecy unenforceable because of these discussions.

An employer can require their employees to keep pay rates confidential from some people outside the workplace, for example a competitor organisation.

4. THE PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY

4.1 Under the section 149 of the Equality Act a public authority must have due regard to the need to –

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation (b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; (c) foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

4.2 A public authority must publish information relating to its performance of the section 149 duty by 4 April 2011 and annually thereafter.

4.3 The information that must be published includes –

(a) information relating to the protected characteristics of its employees (b) assessments of the impact of policies and practices, and the likely impact of proposed policies and practices (c) information it took into account when it assessed the impact including engagement with the public

4.4 By 2 April 2012 and every 4 years thereafter a public authority must prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable objectives and set out how progress towards the objectives should be measured.

4.5 The Government is currently consulting on the regulations for the Public Sector duty. The consultation will close on the 10th November 2010.

4.6 Whilst the proposals for employment reporting set out that data will need to be reported for protected characteristics the details of the requirements for employment reporting will not be published until the statutory Code of Practice and guidance on the Equality Duty is published in January 2011.

30 legislation –still notcoveredCharacteristic inexisting legislation – notcoveredCharacteristic inexisting legislation –butsome coveredCharacteristic inexisting legislation – coveredCharacteristic inexisting supported acomplaint or grievance under the Act supported istreatedSomeone badlybecause theyhave made/ Victimisation staff Employers are potentially liablefor harassment oftheir Harassment byathirdparty off Employees cannow complain ofbehaviour theyfi Harassment PC to butdisadvantagesa particular everyone Can occur whenyou thatapplies have aruleorpolicy Indirect discrimination PC others thinktheypossessaparticular discriminationagainstsomeonebecause the Direct Discrimination by perception associate withanotherpersonwhopossessesaPC discriminationagainstsomeonebecause they Direct Associative discrimination person becauseofaprotected (PC) characteristic istreatedSomeone lessfavourably thananother Direct discrimination Key ensive even ifitisnotdirected atthem by people theydon’t employ

now covered no changes

not covered

changes What’s new&what’schanged: ataglance Changes New nd Changes Changes New New Age Changes Changes New New New New Equality Act2010 Disability Changes Changes New New New New Gender Reassignment Changes Changes New Race Changes Changes New Religion or Belief Changes New New Sex Changes Changes New Sexual Orientation Changes Marriage & Civil Partnership Changes Pregnancy & Maternity READING BOROUGH COUNCIL

REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE DATE: 30 September 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 6

TITLE: PAY AND GRADING REVIEW – IMPLEMENTATION

LEAD CLLR BAYES PERSONNEL COMMITTEE CHAIR MEMBER SERVICE: CORPORATE RESOURCES WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE

AUTHOR: ANNE BURTON TEL: 72492/939 0492

JOB TITLE: HEAD OF HR E-MAIL: [email protected]

1. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF REPORT

1.1. To update the Committee on progress towards implementation of the revised Pay and Grading scheme.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION

2.1. That you note the report.

3. POLICY CONTEXT

3.1. This matter has been the subject of previous full and detailed reports to the Local Joint Forum and Personnel Committee. 3.2. By way of background, the NJC ‘Single Status Agreement’ (reached in 1997) sets out requirements to bring together the pay structures for manual workers and white collar (APT&C) local government officers, into a single spinal column and to sort out a local pay structure for the authority. 3.3. In Reading, we have undertaken job evaluation (using the NJC scheme) as a joint process with the trades unions. The resulting revised ranked hierarchy of jobs has been subject to joint assessment and moderation along the way, and agreement reached. From this ranking a local grading structure has been developed. This revised hierarchy and grading structure will be ‘equality proofed’ when implemented as a result of the robust basis of the national NJC JE scheme. 3.4. In addition, other elements of pay, such as allowances and market supplements have been discussed, and local proposals have been developed jointly for all these elements. The framework will be implemented alongside the new pay structure. In equal pay terms, the total remuneration package is looked at, not just the grading. Bonus schemes and other payments need to be removed unless they can be genuinely defended as being linked to productivity. The pay and reward proposals for RBC are designed to apply a consistent and equal approach on grading and

33 allowances for NJC staff across the board (as ‘one employer’) and sweep away any local variations. 3.5. Consensus on a pay & reward package for RBC (including limited backdating and protection) was reached with local and regional trades unions in April 2008 – endorsed by Personnel Committee at the time. However, it was not approved by the TUs’ national bodies, and was then subject to review as a result of budget considerations and developments in equal pay tribunal decisions (particularly the Court of Appeal cases (Redcar & Cleveland BC v. Bainbridge and Surtees v. Middlesbrough Council) where pay protection was found to be discriminatory). 3.6. Since then, following decisions at Personnel Committee (and in particular in December 2008), we have been consulting on a proposed package that does not include backdating or protection. 3.7. A full report on options for implementation was considered by Personnel Committee in Part 2 session on 1st July. Following that meeting, approval was given (through delegated authority to the Chief Executive and Director of Resources) to proceed with implementation on 1st April 2011. This decision takes account of the continuing need for consultation on the transitional arrangements for implementation, with particular reference to the fact that there will be no backdating or pay protection, and action to support, as far as possible, employees whose overall pay is reduced as a result of implementation. 3.8. The next step has been to write to every individual member of (NJC) staff to inform them about the implementation proposals, including the impact on their own pay and grading position, and to invite further responses to the consultation on implementation. Any responses will be reported to the Committee.

4. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 4.1. Included in the report, where applicable.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1. None arising directly from the report.

6. BACKGROUND PAPERS 6.1. None

34 READING BOROUGH COUNCIL

REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE DATE: 30 September 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 7

TITLE: PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME (PIP) UPDATE

LEAD CLLR BAYES PERSONNEL COMMITTEE CHAIR MEMBER SERVICE: CORPORATE RESOURCES WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE

AUTHOR: ANNE BURTON TEL: 72492/939 0492

JOB TITLE: HEAD OF HR E-MAIL: [email protected]

1. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF REPORT

1.1. To update the Committee on progress on the HR matters associated with implementation of the Performance Improvement Programme.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION

2.1. That you note the report.

3. POLICY CONTEXT

3.1. Update reports on Project Discovery, IEP and now PIP have been brought to the Local Joint Forum and this Committee on a regular basis. As described in detail in previous reports, the work associated with the PIP is based on a premise of streamlining business processes. Salaries and other staffing costs represent the Council’s major area of spend, and so savings identified against this programme (£931K in the current year) inevitably impact on salaries budgets. More specifically, a reduction in headcount of 160 - 165 FTE (over the 3-4 year programme) is estimated to be an outcome of service changes resulting from the PIP. 3.2. In July, this Committee received a report about the proposed Voluntary Change Scheme associated with the programme (PIPVCS), aimed at achieving staffing reductions through voluntary supported means as far as possible (as well as any reductions achieved through natural wastage, restricting recruitment and cutting out vacancies). This Committee recognised that, for the first year, there is a timing mismatch, such that the earmarked savings need to be achieved before the new operating models are fully scoped and developed, and before any new organisational structure is mapped and implemented. This inevitably entails a more ‘blunt’ approach to staff reductions in year 1, with the consequent need to build structures afterwards and address retraining / reskilling needs. 3.3. The report in July identified the timescale for the PIPVCS, as follows:

35

Date Action

By 30 June Managers to identify individual staff included in (PIP) staff groupings.

1 July Personnel Committee – to approve approach

July Managers to hold conversations about voluntary options with identified staff, and staff can seek confidential estimates for individual retirement/compensation packages from HR. The range of voluntary options includes the following: • Voluntary early retirement or termination of employment on efficiency grounds (see note in 4.3 below) • Voluntary flexible retirement (change of hours or job grade) • Voluntary redeployment / job move (no salary protection) • Voluntary job swap (identify a swap partner who may be interested in a voluntary change but is not within the group – and retraining needs can be accommodated) • Voluntary reduction in working time (part time, term time only etc.) on a permanent or temporary basis • Voluntary options around annual leave – e.g. giving up salary to buy additional leave (to be used on a fixed or flexible basis according to service need) • Voluntary sabbaticals • Other creative suggestions for voluntary permanent or temporary changes…

End July Deadline for expressions of interest from staff in voluntary early retirement / termination of employment / other job changes.

August Directorate Management to review expressions of interest in retirement / termination of employment.

CMT – To review management proposals for termination of employment / retirement. 14 September To ensure consistency of application across services. To avoid double-counting between PIP and service-based savings proposals.

September Management review of individual applications against agreed criteria.

30 September Personnel Committee – to agree early retirements / termination of employment.

3.4. Personnel Committee in July also agreed the terms of the PIPVCS severance offer (‘efficiency of the service’ termination or retirement), as follows, in accordance with Council policy and legislation governing severance and pension payments: • For those eligible to receive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits – immediate (early) release of unreduced pension;

36 • For those not eligible to receive immediate LGPS benefits – severance compensation (lump sum) equivalent to Council redundancy terms.

3.5. We are on track to achieve the timescale set out above. The scheme was launched following Personnel Committee in July, and the closing date for applications was extended to 15th August. 3.6. A copy of the information letter for staff is attached as an Appendix to this report. 3.7. The outcome results to date are as follows:

Description Number Notes

Total number of staff (headcount) included as covered by the PIP PIP ‘cohort’ 679 programme – to whom the voluntary change offer was made

This includes termination of Final applications for 76 (11% of the employment and early retirement severance total cohort) applications

This includes applications for reduction Final applications for other 47 (7% of the in working hours; term-time only voluntary change total cohort) working; ‘buying’ extra annual leave; redeployment etc.

3.8. The applications were assessed by Directorate managers and Corporate Management Team, and proposals for final decisions on severance packages are included on the Part 2 agenda for this meeting.

4. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 4.1. Included in the report, where applicable.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1. None arising directly from the report.

6. BACKGROUND PAPERS 6.1. None

37

JULY 2010 Dear Colleague, PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME (PIP) VOLUNTARY CHANGE SCHEME (VCS) The Performance Improvement Programme (or ‘PIP’) is an important part of our 'Leading the Way' service transformation and will help deliver our key priorities in the future. As well as service improvements, the PIP will particularly help us to develop more efficient and effective ways of organising the way in which the Council carries out its work. The PIP focuses on jobs, teams and roles (within Directorates as well as at the Corporate Centre) that support and enable the delivery of front line services.

The PIP will mean major changes to the organisation as a whole and everyone will feel the change to some extent with more emphasis on efficiency, customer focus and performance management. This will affect people in different ways; for a few people there may be little change as they continue with their day-to-day job. For others some re-skilling might be needed to perform different duties whilst others may work in a different part of the council or experience a change of line management.

As with any efficiency programme there will be a number of staff who will leave the organisation and the PIP will mean a reduction of 160 - 165 full time equivalent posts during the term of the programme (3 – 4 years). We want to try to achieve these PIP staffing reductions by minimising the impact and avoiding redundancies as far as possible. For example, we have been cutting back on recruitment for a long time now, and reviewing our use of agency staff and consultants, as well as holding posts vacant or filling them on a temporary basis so that they can be freed up at a later stage.

Another means of achieving agreed staffing reductions is by the introduction of this PIP voluntary change scheme (PIPVCS). Through this scheme, we are offering voluntary options for change to staff whose job role is covered by the performance improvement programme. For example, the PIP will look at the way in which we handle contact or enquiries from the public or our customers in the future. Therefore, staff whose job role currently includes a responsibility to deal with direct public or customer enquiries will be covered by the PIP and will be offered voluntary change options under this scheme. There are many other examples, focusing on job roles that support and enable front line service delivery in many ways. Job roles that are solely front line service delivery (e.g. care providers) are not covered by the PIP.

You have been handed this letter because your Directorate managers have assessed that your current job role falls within the scope of the PIP. This does not mean that your post is redundant, nor does it mean that your performance has been assessed as inadequate – the PIP is looking at the Council’s overall performance, not individual performance.

Through this letter, you are being given the opportunity to volunteer for a range of options to change your employment with the Council. The options include:  Voluntary early retirement or termination of employment on efficiency grounds  Voluntary flexible retirement (change of hours or job grade leading up to full retirement)  Voluntary redeployment / job move  Voluntary reduction in working time (part time, term time only etc.) on a permanent or temp basis  Voluntary job share  Voluntary options around annual leave – e.g. giving up salary to buy additional leave (to be used on a fixed or flexible basis according to service need)  Voluntary job swap (identify a swap partner who may be interested in a voluntary change but is not within the PIP group – and retraining needs can be accommodated)  Voluntary (unpaid) sabbaticals

Staff may now apply or express an interest to their managers to be considered for the above voluntary change options. We cannot, unfortunately, give a guarantee at this stage that your application will be accepted. We may have too many volunteers to leave the Council, and some staff may not be able to be released because we will need to retain key skills and experience for the future. Who will be released and when will be determined by Corporate Management Team (CMT) in September after reviewing the requests made and assessing the impact of releasing staff across the organisation.

Staff who volunteer and are accepted to leave the employment of the Council under this scheme will have compensation benefits paid to them, as follows:  For those (aged 55 or over) eligible to receive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits – immediate (early) release of unreduced pension; OR  For those not eligible to receive immediate LGPS benefits – severance compensation (lump sum) equivalent to Council redundancy terms.

We must emphasise that whether you make an application to be considered for one of the above change options is entirely voluntary at this stage. We can arrange for a confidential estimate of benefits to be provided to you before you make up your mind about expressing an interest to your manager. We have also gathered together a lot more information about this programme and you can find it on IRIS (link: Change and PIP Pod ).

Your manager should have had a discussion about this programme with you, either in a team meeting or individually. The next steps in this process for you are as follows:  Find out more about the programme by looking at the IRIS site, asking your manager or sending an e-mail to the HR ‘PIP HR Enquiries’ mailbox on Outlook  Consider whether you may be interested in one of the voluntary options for change  If you would like to have an initial confidential estimate of leaving or retiring benefits, please complete the ‘PIP Estimate Request’ form (on IRIS) and send it in an e-mail to the confidential HR ‘PIP HR Enquiries’ mailbox (your enquiry WILL NOT be passed on to your manager at this stage)  Have a further conversation with your manager if necessary  If you are interested in one of the change options, complete the ‘PIP VCS Application Form’ (on IRIS) and submit it to HR in electronic format (e-mail it to the HR ‘PIP HR Enquiries’ mailbox), and HR will ensure a copy is sent to your manager. We are looking for applications or expressions of interest to be submitted by 15th August.  If you are not interested in any of the voluntary change options, you need take no further action.

The Performance Improvement Programme is only one of the many changes happening throughout the Council at the moment, in response to national developments and budget considerations. You, or people you know or work with, may be separately consulted about service restructuring or other service changes in your area, and those consultations will invite separate responses from you or your colleagues. It is important to note, however, that the PIP VCS is a Council-wide scheme and is specific to job roles covered by the performance improvement programme. The provisions in this letter only apply to this scheme at the moment.

We have only been able to give limited information about the scheme in this letter, but we hope that it has stimulated your interest. There is a lot more information available on the IRIS ‘Change and PIP’ Info Pod, including ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ which we hope address many of the issues you may be uncertain about. The site will be updated as the scheme rolls out over the summer.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Coughlin, Chief Executive, on behalf of the RBC Corporate Management Team

READING BOROUGH COUNCIL

REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 8

TITLE: STAFF BENEFITS / TOTAL REWARD

LEAD CLLR BAYES PERSONNEL COMMITTEE CHAIR MEMBER SERVICE: CORPORATE RESOURCES WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE

AUTHOR: ANNE BURTON TEL: 72492/939 0492

JOB TITLE: HEAD OF HR E-MAIL: [email protected]

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 To bring to this Committee’s attention the range of staff benefits currently available at Reading Borough Council.

1.2 To set out the proposal to move towards a ‘total reward’ approach by, in the first instance, implementing a staff benefits portal using a third party provider, Vectis.

1.3 To outline a selection of additional staff benefits offered by other unitary authorities and seek approval to investigate the inclusion of certain of those options in the range of Reading Borough Council staff benefits.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION

2.1 That you note the report.

2.2 That the proposal to implement a staff benefits portal using third party provider, Vectis, be endorsed, with final decision delegated to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Personnel Committee Chair and Vice-Chair.

2.3 That the Committee approve HR investigating the inclusion of further staff benefits which will have minimal cost to the Council and represent value for money.

3. POLICY CONTEXT

3.1 The Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition agreement states ‘we will look at providing ‘added value’ benefits to council employees through negotiation with council suppliers and other organisations’.

40 3.2 The Council needs to more effectively highlight the rewards that employees enjoy as a result of working for Reading Borough Council. Taking a total reward approach will bring together all the monetary and non-monetary rewards enjoyed by employees of the Council and can add value at minimal cost making benefits more visible to employees.

3.3 Reading Borough Council has a range of staff benefits, all of which are outlined on the intranet (IRIS), and brought to employees’ attention by managers and through other means (e.g. advice with contracts, letters with payslips etc.). This range includes statutory benefits, such as maternity and paternity leave (some of which are enhanced by national and local policy), benefits from being a local government employee, such as an index-linked final salary pension as well as ‘lifestyle’ benefits, such as discounts at events and fitness centres and retail discounts. Most of the ‘lifestyle’ benefits can be found on the Staff Benefits pod on IRIS.

3.4 A staff benefits leaflet, outlining the main benefits in the Council, is given to new employees at Corporate Induction.

3.5 To ascertain if Reading Borough Council is offering employees a comprehensive range of benefits, eleven unitary authorities were contacted to find out which staff benefits were offered to their employees. Six authorities responded, most of which offer similar staff benefits.

4. THE PROPOSAL

(a) Current Position:

Reading Borough Council has a number of staff benefits which are outlined in Appendix A.

(b) Options Proposed

a) All staff benefits are listed on the intranet albeit in different places depending on the type of benefits.

Vectis markets itself as an ‘integrated voluntary benefits solution’. It brings together all the benefits in one place into a ‘portal’ which allows communication about benefits to appear more professional and coherent. The added advantage is that this is web-based, so all employees can access via work or home computers – including the possibility of setting up terminals in areas such as the depot, for general access for employees without other means. The company has been in business for around 20 years and has a number of local authorities currently using its service.

The scheme summary:

i. Employee offers - Vectis has negotiated with a range of nationally known retailers (eg Halfords, British Gas) and will negotiate with local 41 retailers to bring discounts to employees. The areas where discounts can be found range from travel to leisure to health and wellbeing. Included in employee offers will be salary sacrifice schemes such as childcare vouchers and the cycle to work scheme which the Council is currently running. ii. Branded communication - An easy to use corporately branded website is included in the package. Also included are posters, booklet (employee guide), discount card and one roadshow when the website is launched. iii. Access for Employees

• Online – dedicated website links to national and local offers • Telephone access • Point of sale discount card which can be used in local and national retailers and leisure outlets. iv. Scheme management - A dedicated Business Relationship Manager will be available for delivery and support. Online and off line usage by employees can be captured by the Vectis Support Team to analyse how well the scheme is working.

The costs for this proposal are (assuming 4,800 employees):

• Website access - 75p per employee (£3,600 per annum) • Co-branded local discount card and benefits booklet – 60p per employee (£2,880 per annum) • Shopping cards which give 5% off shopping in Asda and Sainsbury – 12p per employee (£576 per annum)

The whole package is £1.47 per employee per annum. This price is fixed for three years. This equates to around £7,056 per annum for the whole package.

Members of Corporate Resources/Chief Executive’s DMT have had an opportunity to test the demonstration version of the Vectis portal that was sent to HR, with very positive feedback.

(Note: A similar organisation Vebnet, which is the technology arm of Standard Life, has quoted a minimum of £45,000 per annum for a similar service. This consists of £15,000 set up fee, £24,000 licence fee each year and £6,000 for leaflets and launch of the portal.) b) The following local authorities responded to requests for information about their staff benefits:

• Bracknell Forest • Brighton and Hove City Council

42 • Slough • West Berkshire • Windsor and Maidenhead • Wokingham

The staff benefits they offer which Reading Borough Council does not are:

• Private health cover (BUPA) • Dental insurance (Denplan) • On-site massage and reflexology (small cost to employee) • On-site yoga sessions • Health promotions • Always paying for professional fees where it is a job requirement • Shopping vouchers (Sainsbury) – bought at a discounted rate • Buying and selling annual leave • Microsoft Home Use Programme – entitles staff to order a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 for personal use on home IT equipment • Discount on car servicing, MOT and hire cars • Annual health screening (small cost to employee) • Health screening funded by local Primary Care Trust • Health cash plan (eg HSA) • Travel discounts • Discounted dance classes • Discounted car parking – using work and public car parks via salary sacrifice • Cheaper mortgages • Affordable houses – key worker housing • West End theatre club • Tastecard – provides cheap meals at a range of nationally recognised restaurants • Physiotherapy services

(it should be noted that some of these benefits are offered by the RBC Staff Club)

In addition, the Council has been approached by:

1. Boyes Turner solicitors - can provide a legal expenses insurance policy for staff which covers all types of accidents, including accidents at work. This is free to staff and the Council.

2. Benenden Healthcare Society - a not for profit, mutual society which provides healthcare to public sector employees. It can be seen as an alternative to private medical insurance and provides a range of advisory, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services for employees. The minimum cost for the Council is £1.50 per employee per week. Employees may also join as individuals at a minimum cost of £1.50 per person per week.

43

HR would look to investigate further the use of Vectis as a means of using a total reward approach and to investigate further the implementation of those benefits which will be of minimal (or no) cost to the Council. It should be noted by this Committee that these proposals did not have the support of the trades union representatives at the Local Joint Forum earlier this month.

5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 Included in the report, where applicable.

6. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1 The cost of the full Vectis package will be £1.47 per person per annum. This is fixed for three years. Depending on the outcome of this Forum and further consultation, we will have discussions with the Director of Resources on where this funding may be secured within existing budgets.

8.2 Costs of other benefits will be of minimal cost to the Council or borne by employees.

7. BACKGROUND PAPERS

9.1 None.

44 APPENDIX A

Staff Benefit Annual leave For most employees 24 days, rising to 29 days after 5 years and 32 days after 10 years Banked leave Can ‘bank’ (save up) leave and carry forward up to 5 days (from the leave entitlement) for each of the two years leading up to the employee’s 5 year RBC/BCC (continuous) service anniversary dates (i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 etc). Bicycle/scooter loan Interest free loan; maximum £1,000, repayable over a period up to 12 months. Book People Books at cheap prices Car Club Membership of Reading’s Car Club (Pay As You Go) Career breaks/sabbaticals Allows employees to take unpaid leave for a maximum of 12 months Car loan For employees who need their car for work Car parking Onsite parking for some employees Childcare vouchers Costs of childcare deducted from gross salary which gives savings in tax and National Insurance Costco A membership warehouse club which sells a wide selection of brand name merchandise at reduced prices Cyclescheme Hire a bicycle and safety equipment (maximum £1,000) tax-free and make payments over 12 months. Employee Assistance Free, confidential, anonymous counselling and Programme (EAP) information service Family friendly policies For example, maternity, paternity, parental, adoption and compassionate leave Financial advice Fluent IFA – independent financial advice Flexible working Flexibility of working hours; flexibility of location Give as you earn Charity donation scheme directly from salary Hexagon Discounts 20% discount for RBC employees in the Café at the Hexagon and at the 3Bs in the Town Hall. 10% discount on selected shows throughout the year Learning and Development Range of workshops and courses for all opportunities employees Leisure Centre Corporate Special rates at Reading Leisure & Sport fitness Membership centres Long service award One off money award after 20 years continuous service Mortgage seminars Mortgage advice Pension Index-linked final salary pension 45 Staff Benefit Pool cars Can be used for general corporate use; some Directorates have a small number of additional pool cars Relocation package Assists new employees who need to move to Reading as a direct result of taking up an appointment with the Council Retail discounts Kaarp – discounts on days out, shopping Retirement award One off money award after years of continuous service (different amounts depending on the number of years – minimum 10 years, maximum 40 years) Season tickets Bus and car park season ticket discount (10%) Season ticket loan Interest free loan for public transport or car parks; minimum £250, minimum 6 months and maximum 12 months Sick pay entitlement During 1st year of service - 1 month’s full pay and after completing 4 months’ service 2 months’ half pay During 2nd year of service - 2 months’ full pay and 2 months’ half pay During 3rd year of service - 4 months’ full pay and 4 months’ half pay During 4th and 5th year of service - 5 months’ full pay and 5 months’ half pay After 5 years’ service - 6 months’ full pay and 6 months’ half pay Spice Social and leisure group Staff Club Social club that provides trips, discounts etc Workplace Nursery Over-subscribed Kennet Day Nursery based at the Civic Centre Your Reading Passport • After school clubs/holiday clubs; Sports discounts and special prices Courses • Selected shows at Reading Arts and Venues • Gardening courses & workshops; allotment rental • Reading Libraries • Local services and entertainment • Special events & festivals • New Directions courses

46 READING BOROUGH COUNCIL

REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 9

TITLE: CONTRACT TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO A CYCLE FOR WORK SCHEME

LEAD COUNCILLOR BAYES CHAIR OF PERSONNEL COUNCILLOR: COMMITTEE

SERVICE: CORPORATE WARDS: BOROUGHWIDE RESOURCES

AUTHOR: ANNE BURTON TEL: 72492/937 2492

JOB TITLE: HEAD OF HR E-MAIL: [email protected]

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 To report the Committee on the success of the implementation of the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme for Reading Borough Council employees, using Cyclescheme as the third party provider.

1.2 To update the Committee on the steps being taken to establish a longer term contract to continue availability of this staff benefit.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION

2.1 That the Committee note the successful operation of the trial scheme operated through Cyclescheme.

2.2 That the Committee approve the proposal set out in paragraph 4(b) to establish the scheme on a longer term basis.

3. POLICY CONTEXT

3.1 Legislation was introduced by the Government to encourage employees to cycle to work as part of its Green Travel Plan, which was launched in 1999 (re-branded in 2005 as ‘Cycle to Work’).

3.2 Reading Borough Council was keen to implement a Cycle to Work Scheme and an initial 18 month contract was approved by Personnel Committee in December 2008.

47 3.3 Reading Borough Council introduced the cycle to work scheme in May 2009 using salary sacrifice. The scheme was offered through a third party provider, Cyclescheme, and offers bicycles, accessories and safety equipment to its employees under this legislation.

3.4 The scheme uses salary sacrifice which means that employees pay for the bike and associated equipment (up to a maximum of £1000) from gross salary. This means that an employee has agreed to a reduction in gross salary and receives an amount, equivalent to the reduction, in bicycles and associated equipment.

3.5 The scheme is open to all employees except where the length of a temporary contract is less than the length of the lease period or where salary sacrifice would bring an employee’s salary below national minimum wage.

3.6 Under the scheme, the bicycle and any associated equipment are purchased by the Council and remain the property of the Council until the end of the hire agreement period. Employees who take part in the scheme are issued with a voucher which they exchange for the bicycle and associated equipment at the cycle shop. At the end of the hire agreement period, employees are given the option to buy the bicycle and associated equipment at a price that is dependent on the condition of the bicycle (a small nominal fee) or return the bicycle and associated safety equipment to Cyclescheme. During the period of the Hire Agreement the employee is responsible for insuring and maintaining the bike and equipment, in a safe and roadworthy condition.

3.7 Cyclescheme manages the process free of charge to Reading Borough Council and earns a commission from the cycle shops which are part of its partnership. Cyclescheme is in partnership with 6 independent cycle retailers within a 5 mile radius of central Reading, but employees may buy bicycles and equipment from any cycle retailer as long as they are part of the partnership. Cyclescheme provided marketing and publicity material for the Council.

3.8 The benefits of the scheme are:

For employers

Š Cost neutral Š Reclaim VAT (where the bike is being used as the main form of transport to work) Š No National Insurance Contribution collected for the portion of salary sacrificed Š Reduces car usage Š Encourages greener transport Š Reduces need for parking spaces Š Tax break associated with the scheme

48 For employees

Š Tax efficient as tax is only applied to the salary after the salary sacrifice has been made Š No National Insurance Contribution collected for the portion of salary sacrifice Š Discount on bikes can be substantial Š Discount on bikes depends on an employee’s personal circumstances with higher discounts for those in the higher tax bracket Š Some schemes allow savings of up to 50% on the cost of bikes Š Purchase of new bike and safety accessories (eg lights, locks and waterproof clothing) at greatly reduced cost Š Payment is made through a salary sacrifice scheme Š At the end of the loan period, employees can purchase the bike for a nominal fee

As a result of the reduction in cash pay, there may be a small effect on:

o Contribution to the pension scheme (this may be important if the employee is nearing retirement and in a final salary pension scheme) o Entitlement to contribution based benefits like a State Pension o Entitlement to earnings related benefits like Maternity Allowance o Entitlement to work related payments like Statutory Sick Pay

4. THE PROPOSAL

(a) Current Position:

In December 2008, Personnel Committee approved entering into an 18 month contract with Cyclescheme. Uptake was to be monitored and procurement for a supplier for subsequent periods would be based on actual take up levels. Cyclescheme has proved to be highly efficient and the scheme is operating with little demand on RBC staff to administer.

From May 2009 until July 2010, the total value of vouchers requested (ie the value of the bicycles and accessories) was £3,2402.88. To date, 45 employees have paid for or are in the process of paying for bicycles and accessories. One employee has chosen to buy the original bike and has requested a voucher for another bike.

(b) Options Proposed

It is proposed that Reading Borough Council continues to offer a salary sacrifice cycle scheme, using Cyclescheme, on an ongoing basis. As more employees have heard about the scheme from colleagues or from the cycle shops, they have been keen to enter request vouchers. The process has been simple and there has been minimal administration for Payroll as

49 Cyclescheme issue vouchers, the hire agreement and deal with administration at the end of the hire agreement.

There are several providers in the market who were invited to quote at the start of the initial 18 month scheme. Cyclescheme was awarded the contract on the basis that it offered a greater range of choice to the employee for the supplier of the bike and better quality after sale support through the larger number of local suppliers.

Since that time, a number of new providers have set up competing schemes in the market. Officers have established that none of the newer providers offer a significantly different or better solution to that provided by Cyclescheme.

For the purpose of determining the estimated contract value for an open- ended contract, the value is calculated based on 48 months of anticipated expenditure. Based on the pattern of the initial contract, this suggests that the contract value for procurement purposes is approximately £80,000 - £100,000. This falls well below the current threshold that would require an OJEU advertised tender exercise.

The contractor provides the service at no cost to the council, so there is no direct cost benefit to the Council in seeking competitive tenders. The indirect costs and risks of a tender exercise could not be justified in value for money terms.

It is proposed that the new arrangement for a contract to follow on from the initial 18 month period be negotiated directly with Cyclescheme and be exempt from the contract procedure rule requirement to tender on the basis of exemption CPR 5(1) (l) “where demonstrable benefits in service or value for money or price are likely to be obtainable by way of direct negotiation with the potential supplier or contractors….”.

It is intended to negotiate an agreement with Cyclescheme to provide an open-ended commitment that can be brought to an end at any time by the provision of a set period of notice. Should the value for money position change, or if the value of the contract were to increase to require a full OJEU tender exercise, then a new procurement can be carried out subject only to the notice period.

Once satisfactory terms have been negotiated with Cyclescheme, the Head of HR will use delegated authority to enter into the contract. Should formal Committee approval be considered necessary, a further report will be brought to a future meeting.

50 5. CONTRIBUTION TO STRATEGIC AIMS

5.1 A Cycle to Work scheme will help to create a healthier and fitter workforce, may reduce the need for parking spaces and contribute to protecting the environment.

6. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

6.1 Included in the report, where applicable.

7. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 The Council’s financial outlay happens at the beginning of any hire agreement and the costs are refunded to the council through the employee entering into a salary sacrifice scheme.

8. BACKGROUND PAPERS

8.1 Personnel Committee – December 2008 Personnel Committee – July 2009

51 READING BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORT BY DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES

TO: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 2010 AGENDA ITEM: 10

TITLE: CHANGE PROGRAMMES – GUIDANCE FOR STAFF

LEAD CHAIR OF PERSONNEL KIRSTEN BAYES PORTFOLIO: COUNCILLOR: COMMITTEE SERVICE: HR WARDS: BOROUGH WIDE

LEAD OFFICER: JIM HOGGART TEL: Ext: 72215 / 9390215 JOB TITLE: DIRECTORATE HR E-MAIL [email protected]. SERVICES MANAGER uk

1. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF REPORT 1.1. To present a copy of a proposed guidance document for staff and to seek endorsement for its use from the committee.

2. RECOMMENDED ACTION 2.1. That you note the report. 2.2. That you endorse the attached guidance document.

3. POLICY CONTEXT

3.1 The Council currently has a number of policies, procedures and guidance document available for managers (and staff) that deal with aspects of change management, ie –

• Employment Stability Agreement (ESA) • Employment Stability Agreement – Management Guidance • RBC Change Management Model

3.2 Useful as these documents may be in terms of setting out the procedural and policy context for change in the Council, it has been noted that there is no specific guidance designed for staff – albeit there are a number of ‘ad hoc’ documents drawn up for specific change programmes.

52 4. PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT

4.1 In order to provide further, focused and consistent guidance for staff, the attached guidance note has been prepared for launch in the Autumn. 4.2 The draft has been the subject of consultation with JTUC and has been trialed with a small number of staff who have recently attended a change workshop and comments from these stakeholders have been incorporated into the current draft.

4.3 It is anticipated that this guide will be a ‘work in progress’ and adapted, adjusted and updated in the light of feedback and developments in related policy, procedures and systems of support. It is, however, commended to the Commitee as a first step to meet an indentified need for staff affected by change.

5. CONTRIBUTION TO STRATEGIC AIMS 5.1 Achieving successful organisational change is a key objective for the Council and assists employee and industrial relations overall.

6. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 6.1 This guidance is regarded as ‘good practice’ rather than a firm legal requirement.

6. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS None

7. BACKGROUND PAPERS None

53

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYEES

Change Management – Guidance for Employees

1. Introduction

We are all working within environments where structural and organisational change is becoming more common – these could be changes to the structures of our departments / sections, the ways in which we work and provide our services or even, on occasions, the organisation that we work for through a transfer of our employment.

The Council is committed to ensuring that staff are engaged and consulted throughout the change process and we will actively involve you as a team member and as an individual. By continuing to talk with you and listen to your thoughts and ideas we want you to ensure that you are involved and supported at all stages.

2. Using the Guidance

This guidance is designed to help you find advice and guidance to support you through the process – what you can expect to happen, what part you will play and includes answers to some frequently asked questions.

It is important that this guide is read alongside the Employment Stability Agreement (ESA) which sets out the principles and process that should be followed by the Council when undertaking change. The ESA has been negotiated and agreed with the Council’s trades unions.

You will see references to the ESA within this Guide.

3. Key Principles & Commitments

In dealing with change, the Council will adhere to its core value principles of –

• We will learn from what we do and develop • We will be open and honest • We will value and respect diversity • We will take responsibility for ourselves • We will work together • We will meet high standards

And aspire to meet our key vision of becoming -

‘A highly regarded, leading Council; ambitious and focused on what matters most to our communities, delivering value for money and quality services’.

The Council is committed to the principle that if change is necessary that it should be achieved through a framework which seeks to protect staff and as far as possible eliminates the need for compulsory / enforced redundancies.

4. Key Support Sources

Many staff find periods of change unsettling and maybe even upsetting. The Council strives to provide a supportive environment in which change can happen, but also recognises that staff may want to access a range of support services. The following sources may be of assistance to you –

• Council documents and guides available on IRIS –

¾ Employment Stability Agreement (ESA) ¾ Change Management Checklist

• The Employee Assistance Programme are also there to provide independent and confidential advice and support. They can be contacted on 0800 282193

• If you are a member of a trade union you can also direct questions to them.

• Formal and informal discussions with team colleagues and your manager.

• Other support and development links provided by the Council’s Learning and Development (L&D) Service – ‘Further Support’ at the end of this document (APPENDIX 2).

5. Roles and Responsibilities

Role of line managers

The key point of contact for any questions or queries:

• Supporting individuals through organisational change • Provide accurate and timely information to individuals • Ensure that where staff are absent due to sickness or maternity etc they are included in consultation and notification arrangements.

Role of Human Resources

• To provide advice, guidance and support to in relation to the application of the Employment Stability Agreement and change management generally. • To manage and promote the Employee Assistance Programme and advise on other support services where necessary • Ensure compliance with legal and good practice requirements in achieving change.

Role of Trade Unions

• To provide advice, guidance and support for their members 56 • To participate in individual and collective consultation arrangements.

Role of Employees

• Participate in consultation arrangements and the change process generally • Actively engage with managers and HR in identifying alternative employment choices.

6. What Happens when Change is necessary?

The Employment Stability Agreement sets out the steps that will be taken, which in summary are –

¾ Staff may be involved in developing options for change prior to formal consultation starting

¾ Formal consultation with staff and unions will take place as soon as it becomes known that there is a need to effect change and meaningful details can be tabled.

¾ Consultation will take place ‘collectively’ (ie with teams or groups of staff) and with you individually. Staff indirectly impacted, but affected by the change will also be consulted.

¾ Consultation will be ‘active’ – that is to say, it will not be the passive passing of information to you, but seek your involvement and contribution.

The information that will be provided to you as part of the consultation is –

• Details of the change and the reasons for them • The likely impact of the changes on structures and organisation of your service • Details of changes to job roles / job descriptions • The estimated number of possible job losses (if any) • The timetable for the change programme / process

These processes are set out in Section 4 of the ESA.

7. Vocabulary

Often during change programmes, there is confusion about the language being used and this is understandable. Often the terms used to describe change have very specific meaning and are defined in law or in Council procedures / agreements. In this section, some of those terms are defined. Slotting in

Where a post in a new structure is wholly or largely the same as your old job, then you may be ‘slotted in’ to the new post providing that you meet the basic requirement for the post contained in the person specification and the 57 new post is the same grade (or one grade above / below your current grade) – See ESA Section 6 (b).

Ring Fenced

If a post in the new structure is the result of combining the duties of 2 or more posts in the old structure, then the original postholders will be ‘ring fenced’ – that is that they will be considered for appointment to the new post before any other member of staff. The selection method used will be based around the Council’s recruitment and selection procedure. See ESA Section 6 (b)

‘At Risk’ and ‘Redeployment’

Where a post has been deleted and not replaced or you have not been successful for a ‘ring fenced’ post, then you will be categorised as ‘at risk’ of redundancy at the end of the consultation period. If this is the case, the Council – with your active participation – will seek to identify alternative employment for you – this is called ‘redeployment’ an you are the ‘redeployee’. The steps that will be taken are set out in Section 6 (c) of the ESA.

Prior Consideration

Staff who are designated as ‘at risk’ (ie a redeployee) will be given ‘prior consideration’ for available posts. This means that if you meet the basic requirements for the post that there is a presumption that it will be offered to you. It may be necessary to undertake a formal interview to make this assessment. See ESA Section 6 (c) (ii)

Trial Period

If you are offered alternative employment as a redeployee ‘at risk’ of redundancy, then there will be a minimum 4 week trial period where you or your manager can assess whether the new post is suitable for you. Your right to a redundancy payment is protected during the trial. However, the amount of redundancy payable may be reduced in the event that you unreasonably refuse an offer of suitable alternative employment. See ESA Section 6 (c) (v)

Notice Period

All employees are entitled to a period of notice before their contract with the Council is ended and period is set down in law and in your main terms and conditions document. You will be given notice by letter that your contract is to end on the due date and the period between the letter and the end date is the ‘notice period’. See ESA Section 8 (a)

58 APPENDIX 1

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How do I know whether I am entitled to a redundancy payment?

You must have 2 years continuous service to be eligible to a redundancy payment.

2. Am I entitled to a redundancy payment if my post is deleted?

Provided that you have 2 years continuous service, yes. However the Council is committed to retaining staff and reducing the need for redundancies by actively seeking redeployment for displaced staff. This will continue throughout your ‘at risk’ and formal notice period and therefore there is no guarantee until your last day of service that you will be made redundant.

3. Will I get paid notice?

Yes. You will be entitled to the period of notice allowed within your contract of employment and will normally be required to work during this period.

4. Can I choose to be made redundant instead of accepting alternative employment?

Where suitable alternative employment has been offered and refused without good reason an employee may have their entitlement to a redundancy payment reduced.

5. How am I considered for alternative employment?

You will be given ‘prior consideration’ for posts if you are a ‘redeployee’ (ie declared formally ‘at risk’). This means that there is a presumption that you will be offered a vacant post in the event that you meet the minimum requirements. However, you may need to be interviewed to assess this ‘match’ and if there are other redeployees who are also interested in a vacant post, then there may be an element of competition depending on circumstances. You will be sent details of existing vacancies each week.

6. Will I get my pension paid once I have been made redundant?

Only those over the age of 55 when made redundant will receive immediate payment of pension benefits. Those under 55 will be able to take their pension at the normal retirement age or look at the option of transferring it to a new pension provider.

7. Will I get financial information with regard to my redundancy package?

59 Yes, you will be given an estimate of your redundancy entitlement as calculated as at the estimated date of leaving (this may change), and any pension benefits if applicable.

8. If any pay award is delayed – how will this affect my redundancy calculation?

Your redundancy entitlement will be calculated using the current pay rates. If these are changed retrospectively for any reason, then your compensation will be recalculated and the balance sent to you.

For those in receipt of a Local Government pension, this will be adjusted automatically.

9. As I am nearing retirement age will I be entitled to the phased reduction of my working hours?

You can find details about flexible retirement on IRIS in the Pension POD.

10. Do Elected Members see the representations put forward by staff during the formal consultation period?

Responsibility for leading and implementing change is devolved to Council Managers to lead and deliver. Elected Members may receive updates or briefings on progress, but are not involved in assessing detailed comments.

11. What happens to any holiday entitlement before I leave?

You will be given sufficient notice of any termination date to allow you to use any holiday accrued by this date. If you have used more than your holiday entitlement, this will be recovered from your final salary.

12. When does pay protection take place and for how long?

If you accept suitable alternative employment you will be entitled to 4 years pay protection. This means that you will not receive any increments, but will receive cost of living increases over this period. Alternatively, you could accept a ‘buy out’ of this protection. The full details of your entitlement are set out in Section 6 (d) of the ESA

13. Can I return to Work After Taking Redundancy /Early Retirement?

If you are dismissed by reason of redundancy (or receive early retirement / redundancy for staff over 55 and members of the local government pension scheme), then you cannot work for another local authority or organisation covered by the Local Government Redundancy Modification Order for 4 weeks after the point of dismissal. In addition, if your redundancy / early retirement compensation is given discretionary enhancement by Personnel Committee then you may not be employed by the Council in a permanent capacity for a period of up to 12 months from the date that your employment ceased.

60 14. What if I am Offered Another Job?

If you have been given formal notice that your employment will be terminated by reason of redundancy, then you may give the Council ‘counter notice’ of your intention to leave – that is the period of notice that you must give under your contract of employment – and still protect your right to a redundancy payment.

61 APPENDIX 2

Further Support in Interview skills, Building your CV or Careers Advice

Learning & Development has a series of training and support to help staff meet the requirements of Core Competency 5 - Embracing and delivering change.

These are:

1. Online learning resources

Detail on the resources available on change:

Development Workshop E-learning & other resources need Enhancing your Interview skills Learning Pool course – interview and workshop Writing a CV employment Career planning Interview Skills [under development] skills workshop [under Career planning [under development] development] Get that Job or Promotion CD Rom

Assertiveness Assertiveness skills Academy10 course - workshop Assertiveness Coaching skills Coaching Skills for Academy10 course - High Performance Coaching for Performance Improvement workshop (for Module managers) Developing Supporting staff Academy10 course - yourself development Developing People Module Learning Pool course - Learning & Development

Ashridge Learning Tools

Online resources covering all aspects of managing and leading in local government. Free to RBC staff. http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5221549

Employee Assistance Programme

A vast array of excellent information for managers, advice and one to one telephone support. All day every day, also call 0800 282 193. http://www.ppconline.info/- Username: RBC, Password: Reading.

RBC L&D Lending Library Lots of excellent books and resources on a variety of topics. See L&D Pod.

RBC L&D Pod http://inside.reading.gov.uk/areas/corporateresources/learninganddevelopm ent/ 62