Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services that provided information on the levels of discipline, grievance, dignity at work and sickness absence within the Council (excluding schools).

The report indicated that the management of the workforce was an important activity to ensure outcomes for Sefton’s communities were achieved and to ensure that the workforce was appropriately managed and motivated. Specific information was provided on:

·       Disciplinary, Grievance and Dignity at Work - the organisation enjoyed a comparatively good level of cases and this reflected on the whole, both the good overall industrial relations environment, the partnership approach that was undertaken and also the work undertaken within departments

·       Council Sickness Absence - Year End 2021/22 plus first quarter of 2022/23 - relating to both short-term and long-term absences; and analysis by service area

·       Health Unit Data – advising that a new report would be prepared via the new iTrent system to provide information on percentage of sickness reasons across the Council; and that past reports had always shown the top 3 reasons to interchange between mental health, musculoskeletal and medical illness /infection 

·       Occupational Health referrals – advising that as in previous years, mental health related issues continued to be the main reason for referral and that Operational In-House Services, Communities and Adult Social Care were the areas with the highest number of referrals overall

·       The Strategic Leadership Board continuing to monitor and encourage the reduction of levels of both short and long-term absence; and that the Personnel Team worked closely with departments providing information and advice and appropriate levels of support, advising managers on informal processes and assisting managers with the more formal and complex levels of sickness absence management 

·       The Council’s Sickness Absence Policy which operated in a partnership with trade unions

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·       Concern expressed that staff working from home may continue working when they were ill. It was stressed that the same rules applied to staff working from home or office based regarding sickness absence, namely, that they should report any absence to their line manager in the normal way

·       Did the Council follow the ACAS mental health guide, have mental health awareness training and have mental health champions. It was noted that the Council did not have mental health champions but that the consideration could be given to the first two issues. Information was provided on work undertaken with trades unions, staff being urged to have continuous conversations with their managers, the availability of referrals to occupational health and the provision of the appropriate kit to enable staff to work safely from home

·       A comment was made that on occasions that a manager could be the cause of mental health problems for staff

·       Regarding sickness level statistics by service area a comment was made that in areas with small numbers of staff a few people off ill in such areas could skew the percentage figure in comparison to larger service areas; and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services