The Human Resources Committee of Tower Hamlets Council met on Monday 1 September 2025 to discuss a range of HR matters, including an update on the Corporate Directors' work, senior recruitment, employee relations casework, and savings from early retirement and voluntary redundancy schemes. Key decisions included the approval to extend interim arrangements for senior roles and the noting of progress in various HR functions.

Corporate Directors Update

David Joyce, Corporate Director of Housing and Regeneration, provided an overview of his directorate's work, highlighting the significant population growth in Tower Hamlets and the resulting pressures on housing. He detailed the council's role as a landlord, the insourcing of Tower Hamlets Homes, and the challenges faced, such as a lack of affordable homes and increasing homelessness. The directorate's priorities for 2025/26 include improving housing management, ensuring regulatory compliance, increasing housing supply, and transforming homelessness services. The committee heard about the directorate's structure, with various divisions responsible for neighbourhoods, housing property and assets, planning and building control, regeneration and housing supply, housing options and homelessness, and housing strategy, policy, and regulatory assurance.

Councillor Abdi Mohamed raised concerns about the impact of new legislation, such as Awaab's Law, on the repairs service and the need for staff training and a culture change. David Joyce confirmed that extensive training was underway and that the council was preparing for the new legislation. He also discussed the Your Voice, Our Action improvement plan, which addresses issues identified by the regulator, and the ongoing recruitment of key personnel.

Councillor Amina Ali inquired about the role of contractors in the repairs service and what further measures could be implemented to alleviate problems. David Joyce acknowledged that repairs were a significant source of complaints and that the council was working to strengthen contract management and increase expectations of contractors. He also mentioned that as contracts expire, all options for delivery models would be considered.

Councillor Abdal Ullah emphasised the importance of a motivated workforce and ensuring that repairs are carried out to a satisfactory standard, stating, if the repair is done to a level of satisfactory, people feel that this council cares. He also raised concerns about the potential for leaseholders to become the majority and how to better manage existing stock with the available staff. David Joyce responded by highlighting the council's commitment to building new homes and the importance of a motivated workforce, particularly in the post-Tower Hamlets Homes landscape. He also stressed the need for tough conversations with staff who are not aligned with a resident-focused culture.

Update on Senior Recruitment

Pauline Shakespeare, Interim Head of Corporate Human Resources, presented an update on senior management recruitment. Since the last meeting, permanent appointments had been made for the Director of Housing and Regeneration, Director of Housing Property and Asset Management, Director of Homelessness and Housing Options, and Strategic Director of Change and Improvement. Several other posts are currently undergoing recruitment, with interim arrangements in place for some. The committee's approval was sought to extend the engagement of Mark Norman as Interim Director of Governance until 31 December 2025.

Councillor Abdi Mohamed requested more information on the cost and duration of interim arrangements, to which Pauline Shakespeare agreed that further details would be provided in the future.

The committee resolved to note the current position on senior management vacancies, approve the extension of interim arrangements beyond the six-month period, and note the interim arrangements that had ended.

Employee Relations Casework and Policy Quarterly Review

Pauline Shakespeare presented the employee relations dashboard for Q1 (1 April – 30 June 2025). The report indicated that 100 cases had been opened and closed, with 61 remaining open at the end of the quarter. Grievances constituted the largest proportion of cases. The Communities Directorate had the highest number of cases, with 46. The report also highlighted forthcoming legislative changes, including unfair dismissal rights from day one of employment, reforms to trade union recognition, a duty to prevent sexual harassment, and restrictions on fire and rehire practices.

Councillor Amina Ali commented that much of the information had already been covered in discussions with David Joyce, and the Chair welcomed this feedback.

Update on Savings from ER/VR

Chris Leslie, Corporate Head of Financial Management, provided an update on the Early Retirement (ER) and Voluntary Redundancy (VR) scheme. The council introduced a one-off scheme in 2022-23, which resulted in annual savings of £2.8 million at a cost of £3.2 million, with a payback period of approximately 1.15 years. The scheme has since become a rolling programme, generating further ongoing savings of £0.9 million at a cost of £0.6 million. Overall, the scheme has generated total ongoing savings of £3.7 million with one-off costs of £3.8 million, resulting in a payback period of about one year.

Councillor Abdi Mohamed noted that the council was on target with its original savings goal of £5 million, acknowledging that other savings had been achieved through vacant posts. He expressed optimism that the ongoing scheme would surpass this target.

Any Other Business

Under Any Other Business, the committee was informed that the People Survey report was being papered and would require a closed session for discussion if the committee wished to delve into its details.

The meeting concluded with the Chair thanking members for their contributions.