Minutes

4               LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY – The Director: Outcomes submitted a report seeking approval for a new Learning and Development Policy with a Business Case and Learning Agreement appendix.

The existing Learning and Development policy had been in place for a number of years, and over time it had become outdated, including some of the references used.

Following a recent review of the council’s Finance Manual, certain sections of the Manual had been brought into the HR Manual as they had a greater affinity with employment policies and procedures.

One of these elements was the Training Expenses form on which employees could claim reimbursement for training costs.   Requests to access central funding for learning activities were currently made through submission of a ‘Business case for learning and development funding’, which sat outside of the Finance or HR manuals.

Due to the Finance Manual review, the Training Expenses form had been brought into the HR Manual in its existing format, pending review of the Learning and Development policy and the form itself.

The Learning and Development policy had now been reviewed and rewritten, to bring it into the new policy style that provided a set of guiding principles for how the council, as an employer, were committed to the development of the workforce and the creation of a learning culture. It also set out employee and manager responsibilities for creating and engaging with learning and development opportunities.

A new Business Case and Learning Agreement had been developed to replace the current training expenses and business case forms, incorporating them into one document, which would become Appendix 1 to the Learning and Development policy. 

Resolved –That the Learning and Development Policy and appendix be approved.

5           SAFER RECRUITMENT POLICY – The Director: Outcomes submitted a report seeking approval of a new Safer Recruitment Policy.

Keeping people safe and well was a priority for the council. This included protecting the most vulnerable members of the community from harm from people working in a position of trust.

Safer recruitment was a set of practices to help make sure employees, workers and volunteers were suitable to work with vulnerable groups, namely children and young people and adults at risk. It was a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keep vulnerable individuals safe from harm.

While safer recruitment practices were largely rooted in statutory requirements for people working in schools and academies, as best practice they had also been generally adopted and followed for any roles requiring an Enhanced DBS check, in addition to normal recruitment and selection processes.

These practices were well-established in the council but this draft policy now brought those practices and requirements together in one policy document, with tools to support its operation.

The report gave details of the new policy and appendices.

Resolved – That the new Safer Recruitment Policy be approved.

6            STRESS AND WELLBEING POLICY – The Director: Outcomes submitted a report seeking approval for a new Stress and Wellbeing Policy.

All employers had a legal duty, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it.

Currently, the procedure for managing stress at work was part of the Health and Safety Management System established during the shared service arrangement with North East Lincolnshire Council and was derived from their policy and systems.

Where a risk assessment was deemed appropriate, the generic risk assessment procedure in the Health and Safety Manual was currently adapted to suit.

To build on the council’s current wellbeing offer to keep employees safe, well and supported, whilst ensuring statutory obligations were met under health and safety legislation, a new Stress and Wellbeing policy had now been developed.

The policy focused on employee, manager and organisational responsibility to:

• Encourage and promote good health and wellbeing;
• raise awareness of, and act on, reduced wellbeing;
• facilitate and participate in open conversations, and risk assessments, to determine individual need and identify potential adjustments;
• seek, or signpost to, appropriate support and act on advice.

To support the new policy, a risk assessment template had also been developed. By using the template, an employee experiencing reduced wellbeing could reflect on various elements of their role, divided into the HSE management standard areas, and then work with their manager to develop an action plan to address any areas identified as ‘medium’ or ‘high’ risk.

It was proposed that the policy and risk assessment template were reviewed in 12 months’ time to assess whether their introduction has had a positive impact on employee wellbeing and attendance.

Resolved – That the Stress and Wellbeing Policy be approved.