The Trafford Council Employment Committee met on 8 September 2025 to discuss agency and consultant spending, the extension of a market forces supplement for the legal team, a market supplement payment for the Emergency Duty Team, and the possibility of visa sponsorship for overseas workers. The committee noted the report on agency and consultant spending, and supported the recommendations in the reports on the market forces supplement and visa sponsorship.

Agency and Consultant Spend

The committee reviewed the Agency and Consultant Spend for Q1 Period report from the Director of Human Resources, which provided details on the council's spending on agency workers and consultants between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2025.

The report indicated that total agency spend for Q1 was £1,827,677.07, a decrease from £1,912,369.95 in Q4 2024/2025. The majority of agency spend continued to be in Children's Services, Legal and Governance, and Adults and Wellbeing, due to ongoing challenges with recruiting and retaining social workers and lawyers.

The report also detailed that consultant spend for Q1 was £65,615.20, with consultants engaged in Children's Services, Adults and Wellbeing, and Legal and Governance.

The committee was recommended to note the content of the report, and there was no debate on the topic.

Market Forces Supplement for Legal Team

The committee considered a report regarding the extension of the Market Forces Supplement (MFS) for the legal team. The report noted that the legal team has faced difficulties in recruiting and retaining lawyers for several years, and that a MFS had been introduced in September 2023 for a period of two years.

The report recommended that the payment of the MFS be continued for a further two-year period. The proposed MFS rates were:

• Band 8 Lawyer: £1,750
• Band 9 Lawyer: £1,790
• Band 10 Lawyer: £2,080
• Band 11 Senior Lawyer: £3,220
• Band 12 Principal Lawyer: £3,230

The report stated that the continuation of the MFS was already accounted for within the budget.

The committee was asked to note the decision to continue to pay a market supplement to all Lawyer Posts (graded from band 8 to 12 inclusive) as detailed in the report for a period of 2 years.

Market Supplement Payment for Emergency Duty Team

The committee considered a report from the Director of Human Resources regarding a market supplement payment for staff working within the Emergency Duty Team (EDT). The EDT provides an essential out-of-hours service for Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, and Mental Health, fulfilling the statutory responsibilities of the local authority.

The report recommended the continuation of the payment of a market supplement of £3,366 per annum for a further two years, with an annual review. The report noted that Adult Social Care (ASC) nationally and within Trafford, are currently experiencing challenges with regards to recruiting and retaining qualified social workers/ Approved Mental Health Practitioners and especially to work outside of core hours.

The report also included comparison work completed across Greater Manchester, which found that only Trafford Council pays a market supplement to their EDT Social Workers.

The committee was recommended to note the continuation of the payment.

Visa Sponsorship for Overseas Workers

The committee reviewed a report on Visa Sponsorship for Overseas Workers, which considered whether this would help address recruitment challenges. The report provided an overview of the sponsor licence system, overseas recruitment, and the White Paper (May 2025) on Restoring Control Over the Immigration System.

The report outlined the costs and risks of being a sponsor licence holder, including the cost of the licence itself (£1579), the cost of each certificate of sponsorship (£525), and the immigration skills charge per worker per year (£1000 until permanent residency is granted). The report also noted that as a licence holder, the council would be open to Home Office scrutiny and subject to 'no prior notice' inspections.

The report also identified challenges with overseas recruitment, including the costs associated with engaging a specialist overseas recruitment agency, limitations on professional practice due to overseas qualifications not aligning to UK qualifications, and the need to achieve the English language requirement to obtain the visa.

The report concluded that, considering the challenges identified, it was not recommended that the council apply to become a sponsor licence holder at this time. Instead, the report recommended revisiting the visa sponsorship scheme in one to two years' time to assess the impact of the increase in the qualifying period for permanent residency in the UK.

The committee was recommended to note the content of the report and support the conclusion.

Other Business

The minutes from the meeting held on 23 June 2025 were approved as a correct record.