The General Purposes Committee of Haringey Council was scheduled to consider reports on the council's workforce and a series of HR policies. The meeting's agenda included updates on HR policies, including changes to the Annual Leave and Time Off Policy, Probation Policy, Recruitment Policy, and Sabbatical Policy.

HR Policies

The committee was scheduled to review and consider proposed changes to several Human Resources (HR) policies. These revisions were intended to align the policies with best practices from ACAS¹, comply with legal and statutory requirements, and address the council's specific local needs. The report indicated that these policies had been developed in collaboration with trade unions and staff networks to ensure they were fit for purpose and legally compliant.

The proposed changes to the Annual Leave and Time Off Policy included updates to how annual leave entitlement is calculated and applied, and the introduction of new sections on record keeping and the refusal of annual leave requests. These changes were partly driven by new statutory requirements introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, which mandates employers to keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for a minimum of six years.

The Probation Policy was to be updated to reflect changes in the Employment Rights Act, specifically regarding when employment rights become effective. The policy proposed a revised probation period of four months, with the option for a six-week extension, in line with recommendations from London councils.

Revisions to the Recruitment Policy aimed to improve clarity, consistency, and ease of understanding, with key processes updated to reflect current practices, including the recruitment approval process.

The Sabbatical Policy was to be updated to allow employees to apply for a sabbatical after three years of service, a reduction from the previous five-year requirement. The cap on the number of sabbaticals an employee could take during their employment was to be removed, though each request would remain subject to case-by-case approval. Eligibility for sabbaticals would be restricted to employees on permanent contracts.

The report also outlined a forward plan for submitting other policies for approval throughout the municipal year, including policies on Flexible Retirement, Flexible Working, Relocation, Trans Equality, Disclosure Barring Service, Purchasing Additional Annual Leave, Essential Car User Allowance Criteria, and Travel and Expense.

People Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the People Report March 2026, which provides an overview of the council's workforce data. The report was intended to offer officers and members relevant workforce information in an accessible format to support strategic decision-making.

Key headlines from the report indicated that the council's established workforce had remained broadly stable, with a slight increase in headcount. Agency worker usage had also remained stable, with the council continuing to monitor and seek to reduce reliance on agency staff where feasible, while acknowledging their necessity for addressing short-term capacity gaps. The report also noted a decrease in sickness absence rates per person across the workforce and highlighted that a significant proportion of new employees were under 40 years old, with a similar proportion of leavers from this age group, suggesting a stable trend. The report also detailed a decrease in the number of apprenticeships in progress, with the majority of apprentices being existing employees undertaking qualification courses.