The Employment and Staffing Committee met to discuss recruitment, equality and diversity, and the implementation of the four-day week. The committee provided feedback on the draft productivity policy for the four-day week, which the council agreed to implement at its meeting on 17 July 2025. The committee also reviewed recruitment, retention and absence data, and a report on equality, diversity and inclusion in recruitment.

Four-Day Week Productivity Policy

The committee discussed the implementation of the four-day week and provided feedback on the draft productivity policy. The council had previously agreed that the policy would be an opt-in policy for all South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) colleagues, that it could be removed with three months' notice, and that colleagues would not be permitted to work a second job in their contracted hours on their scheduled rest day.

Key points of the policy include:

• Scheduled Rest Day: This replaces the term non-working day and refers to the time colleagues are still contracted to work for the council but can use for resting.
• Emergency Cover: Colleagues may be contacted and required to work on their scheduled rest days in case of emergency.
• Election Duties: Election duties for SCDC are excluded from the definition of secondary employment. Other secondary roles must be registered with the People Team.
• New Starters: New colleagues will work their full contracted hours for the first six weeks to support their induction and may opt into the policy after completing all compulsory corporate training.
• Apprentices: Apprentices and their line manager must carefully plan off-the-job learning hours, but these may be undertaken during scheduled rest days.

Following committee agreement, colleagues will be given notice to opt in or out of the Productivity Policy. The People Team will monitor colleagues who opt out or are removed from the policy, and this data will be included in the quarterly monitoring statistics report presented to the Employment and Staffing Committee.

The council conducted an engagement period with all colleagues between 29 July and 12 August 2025, receiving over sixty responses, as well as holding drop-in sessions at Cambourne and Waterbeach. Both the GMB¹ and Unison² trade unions were given the opportunity to comment and provide feedback on the proposal.

People Recruitment, Retention and Absence Data

The committee received and noted the People Recruitment, Retention and Absence Data report for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 (Q1). The report monitors absence levels, supports the People team's approach to wellbeing, and reviews recruitment and staff turnover.

Key points from the report include:

• An increase in the number of applications to vacancies in Q1.
• The average number of applications per externally advertised role stands at 18.1, a significant increase compared to previous quarters.
• For Q1, there were 41 roles externally advertised, and 39 successful offers made.
• The main reasons for voluntary leavers in Q1 were relocation, salary improvement, and career break.
• Of 31 new starters, 21 completed the induction survey, with 20 rating their induction as 'good' or 'excellent'.
• 18 of the 21 respondents said the four-day week trial had influenced their decision to apply for a role at the council, and 19 said it had a positive impact on their wellbeing.
• Q1 saw a decrease in sickness absence levels within the Shared Waste service compared to Q4 2024/25.
• There was an increase from 1.54 sick days per full-time equivalent (FTE)³ in Q4 to 1.64 sick days per FTE for the council (excluding Shared Waste) from Q4 to Q1.

The People Team is hosting a two-week wellness fortnight in early September, concentrating on topics such as money management, calm resilience, menopause awareness, wellbeing walks, and free NHS health checks.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Recruitment

The committee received and noted a report outlining council recruitment trends and diversity data from September 2023 to June 2025, following the implementation of the iTrent recruitment module. The report highlights the council's commitment to fair and inclusive hiring practices through blind recruitment⁴ and alignment with national standards.

Key points from the report include:

• The council operates a blind recruitment process, removing personal details from applications to reduce unconscious bias.
• Ethnicity data is classified to align with the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification.
• Most applicants and appointed candidates fall within the 31–50 age range.
• Under 21 and Over 60 groups are underrepresented, indicating areas for targeted outreach.
• Seasonal peaks in applications occur in December–January and May–June, linked to career changes and graduate recruitment.
• White ethnicity is the most represented group, reflecting local demographics.
• Female applicants consistently outnumber male applicants, supported by flexible working arrangements.
• Declared disability rates are below national averages.

The council is working with organisations like the Papworth Trust to improve engagement with disabled groups.

The report made several recommendations, including:

• Standardising all job descriptions to ensure they are clear, user-friendly, and accessible.
• Reviewing the recruitment strategy and considering providing candidates with interview questions in advance to support neurodiverse candidates.
• Expanding internship, graduate, and apprenticeship programmes to improve the representation of Under 21s.
• Promoting part-time, casual, and fixed-term roles to attract older candidates.
• Continuing to explore specialist advertising platforms for diverse communities.
• Developing campaigns to encourage women into traditionally male-dominated roles.
• Increasing advertising with disability-focused organisations.
• Enhancing manager training on disability awareness and support.
• Promoting and expanding the reasonable adjustment disability passport scheme.