Agenda item

            (a)       That the report be noted; and

(b)       That a report be submitted to the committee after the physiotherapy pilot has been running for six months to ascertain its effectiveness.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development introduced a work force report for the first quarter of 2012/13.

                        The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development highlighted trends and commented on exceptions.  She reported that there had been a significant reduction in the use of agency workers due to the recruitment of staff in street scene and that there had been a reduction of agency workers in Community Services.  There had been a reduction in the use of agency staff for 12 weeks or more during the last quarter.  In all, there had been a 34% reduction in the use of agency staff when compared with the same quarter last year.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development reported that there had been 21 early retirements from January to June all due to redundancy which had cost £844,000.  She reported that the first quarter’s absence levels had increased in comparison with the same period the previous year and that the target of 2.30 days per FTE for quarter one had

not been achieved, with the actual figure at 2.64 days.  Delays in paper work being received from managers to notify HR of employees returning to work was a contributory factor to the target not being met. This would be reflected by a decrease in sickness absence for this quarter when the workforce information reports were generated for quarter 3 as this occurs every quarter. With regards to 100% attendance, during the first quarter of 2012, 75% or 6300 employees had achieved this.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that attendance was a priority for the council and performance was not at the expected level.  She said that specific service areas had higher levels absence and that trends and themes would need to be investigated.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development reported that absence rates for Adult Social Services had risen, and it was likely that there were many absences which were as a result of musculoskeletal issues. A pilot physiotherapy scheme for Streetscene staff had been set up in conjunction with Occupational Health and extending the pilot to employees in Adult Social Services was being considered. She stressed that potential recipients had to undertake a thorough medical assessment by Occupational Health in order to access the service.  A report would be submitted to committee after the first six months of operation in order to evaluate its effectiveness.  Performance had improved in Lifelong Learning and noted that 25% of absences were in Catering, Cleaning and Facilities Services.  She reported that overall performance in schools was good.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development concluded her report by saying that Flintshire sickness absence levels over recent years have been at or below the average for all Welsh local authorities and that she wanted to see performance improve in this area.

                        Councillor P.J. Curtis said that improving performance was difficult given the wide range of jobs within the council.  Councillor Curtis said that even the highest performing directorate in terms of 100 % attendance by 81% of staff for quarter 1 was not good enough.  He said that the slow return of paper work should be addressed.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that she shared his concerns and would like to see improvement.  She said that the forthcoming introduction of I-Trent manager self service project would allow managers to complete absence administration electronically and that the system would quickly highlight managers that did not complete records on time.

Councillor P. Shotton said that it was a good report and was pleased that the pilot physiotherapy project had been rolled out, whilst Councillor I Dunbar asked about authorisation for the physiotherapy service.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that the service was managed by the Occupational Health team and referrals were carefully assessed by Occupational Health practitioners.

Councillor M. Bateman asked if there were any incentives for attendance improvement, if sickness was reported from day one and if there were any trends with types of sickness. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that it would be inappropriate to offer any incentives (in terms of financial incentives) but that renewed focus on improving health and well-being of employees was being considered as a proactive measure.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development confirmed that absence was measured from Day 1 and that absences over 20 days became long term absence.  She said that she would look at offering additional information on long term and short term absence in the next report.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services said that managers had an integral role to play in attendance management.

The Chair asked if there were any members of staff with underlying, ongoing conditions or disabilities who were absent due to regular medical treatments.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that reasonable adjustments were made for persons with specific conditions to help them remain in the work place.  One such adjustment was  time off to attend appointments which would not be classed as an absence.

                        Councillor A. Woolley asked if there had been any major changes in head count and asked for the total number of F.T.E. staff.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that she would provide him a written response on current head count.  Councillor Woolley asked about the number of equal pay claims against the council.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that there were currently 500 claims for equal pay which would be dealt with by Single Status and the settlement strategy.

                        Councillor R.G. Hampson asked about the procedure for reporting absence.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that a member of staff must ring their manager themselves on the first day of absence and on their day of return, they would have a return to work interview with their manager which could highlight any underlying issues.

                        The Chair asked if any managers had poor attendance records. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that there could possibly be such managers and hoped they were a very small minority.  She added that attendance management trends would be picked up at every level.

                        Councillor G. H. Bateman asked if applicants could be given a medical as part of the application process and if temporary staff had to be used to cover absences. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that every employee had to undergo medical clearance and if there were any issues further checks would be made.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that most of the time the work of an absent colleague was absorbed by their team, but in some areas this was not manageable, and temporary workers could be employed.

            RESOLVED:

            (a)       That the report be noted; and

(b)       That a report be submitted to the committee after the physiotherapy pilot has been running for six months to ascertain its effectiveness.