This meeting of the Employment Committee was scheduled to receive reports on a range of topics, including market supplement payments to staff, agency worker spend, and a workforce report giving an overview of the state of staffing at the council.

Market Supplement Payments

Two reports about market supplement payments were scheduled to be discussed.

Building Control

A report on market supplement payments for Building Control staff was scheduled to be considered.

This report included the recommendation that the committee note the approval of a market supplement payment of £7,149 per annum (pro rata) for Building Control Officer, Principal Building Control Officer and Building Control Manager posts with effect from 1 January 2025 for a period of two years.

The report describes the challenges faced by the service in recent years, particularly as a result of competition from private companies, and more recently as a result of new legislation in the form of the Building Safety Act 2022:

Over the past decade Private companies have become adept at ‘cherry picking’ work – and have recruited large numbers of staff from Councils. This in turn has made recruitment difficult for Local Authorities – who have been generally poor at responding to market conditions – and who have failed to train sufficient new younger staff. (December 2024 Employment Committee Report_Market Supplement - Building Control 002)

It goes on to describe the impact of The Building Safety Act 2022 in detail. As a result of this act, Building Control departments are now subject to new performance standards that will be monitored by the new Building Safety Regulator, the Health & Safety Executive. Building Control Officers are also required to undergo a fresh process of registration in order to continue to practice, a requirement that is leading to many older officers choosing to retire.

Regulatory Services

A verbal report from the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services was scheduled for discussion.

The minutes of the previous meeting record that this report concerned the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff in the context of a difficult financial climate. It goes on to say that pay is a major factor when it comes to recruiting and retaining staff in Trading Standards, because historically Trading Standards is a specialised area of any authority with few officers in the market. (EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES 2.9.24)

Agency Spend

A report on agency spend at the council was scheduled to be discussed.

Agency Spend - Q2

This report was scheduled to provide details of the amount spent by the council on agency workers and consultants in Quarter 2 of the 2024/2025 financial year. It breaks down spend by Directorate and role type, and provides an overview of why agency workers and consultants are required.

The report shows that total agency spend in Q2 2024/25 was £1,744,971.31, a slight decrease on Q1. The majority of this spend was in Children's Services (£1,237,126.99), Adult Services (£268,996.37) and Legal and Governance (£204,988.14). 69% of the spend in Children's Services was on agency social workers.

The report describes the recruitment and retention challenges faced by the council, particularly in children's and adult's social work, and in legal services. It goes on to describe the work being done to address these challenges.

The recruitment and retention of solicitors within the public sector is recognised nationally. The main reason for this is the competitiveness of their reward package as compared with the private sector. (Agency Spend - Q2)

Workforce Report

This report gives an overview of the state of staffing at the council, with a focus on the council's People Strategy.

Workforce Update

This report provides an update on a range of workforce related topics.

Turnover

The report states that staff turnover has reduced from 15.42% in October 2022 to 10.33% in September 2024.

Sickness Absence

The report shows that sickness absence has reduced from a peak of 4.97% in October 2023 to 4.49% at the end of September 2024. This equates to an average of 13.28 days per full time equivalent employee.

Recruitment

At the end of September 2024 there were 169 roles being recruited to, a significant reduction from the figure of 218 six months prior.

Apprenticeships

15 apprentices were enrolled in Q2, with six of these apprenticeships being at degree level.

Learning and Development

The report describes the learning and development opportunities available to staff, including the EPIC Manager Programme, Deaf Awareness training, and e-learning.

Health and Safety

The report describes the work of the Health and Safety team, including their work supporting schools and their work on the safe delivery of elections.