The Staffing Policy Committee of Wiltshire Council met on 26 November 2025 to discuss workforce analytics, management development, employee experience, and recruitment practices. Councillors were scheduled to review a bi-annual workforce report, receive updates on the LEAD management development initiative, consider corporate actions arising from the 2025 Employee Experience Survey, and discuss improvements to exit interview and SEND recruitment processes. The committee was also expected to approve some minor policy changes.

Biannual Workforce Report

The committee was scheduled to receive a bi-annual workforce report containing data up to and including September 2025. The report included metrics about the council's workforce demographics, salary costs, recruitment, development, sickness absence, turnover, and employee relations.

According to the report, headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) figures have risen quarter-on-quarter over the last three years. The services that experienced the most significant FTE change in the past six months were:

• Adult Social Care
• Education and Skills
• Highways and Transport
• Finance and Procurement

The report stated that Wiltshire Council has a predominantly female workforce (74.1%), and that the proportional split of headcount across age bands within the Wiltshire Council workforce has remained largely consistent in the last 12 months, with the exception of a small proportional rise in the 55-64 age band.

The report noted that permanent salary costs totalled £167.9 million between October 2024 and September 2025, a 10.0% rise on the previous year. Total agency costs have fallen by 43.18% in the last year, with Adult Social Care and Planning, Economy and Regeneration experiencing the greatest reduction.

The report also stated that recruitment numbers remain lower than in previous years due to strict recruitment control measures. Recruitment and retention activities continue to be shaped by persistent national challenges, including cost-of-living pressures, a competitive labour market, and widespread skills shortages across key sectors.

There are currently 267 staff undertaking apprenticeships from Level 2 – Level 7. The council has paid £565,293 into the apprenticeship levy¹ in the last 6 months, and has spent £636,744 on apprenticeships, as well as transferring £32,732 to support apprenticeships in SMEs² within Wiltshire.

The report stated that over the last 12 months there has been a 9.5% rise in sickness days lost per FTE across the workforce compared to the previous year, rising from 8.99 to 9.85 days lost per FTE. Mental health and stress-related absences remain the primary contributor to sickness absence, accounting for 32.3% of all days lost in the last 12 months.

Voluntary turnover continuously fell across each of the four quarters that followed 2024-Q2, but the latest quarterly turnover figure (2.52%) shows a sudden rise in turnover. The latest annual voluntary turnover rate is 9.51%.

Employee Experience Survey Corporate Actions

The committee was scheduled to receive the proposed corporate actions arising from the 2025 Employee Experience Survey. The survey achieved a response rate of 68.9%, with over 3,500 staff participating. The proposed corporate actions are grounded in quantitative and qualitative survey data, Natural Language Processing (NLP) analysis of free text comments, statistical modelling of engagement drivers, and alignment with the Our Wiltshire Plan 2025–2035.

The proposed corporate actions were grouped into three strategic pillars:

• Wellbeing & Inclusion: Create a culture where everyone feels safe, respected, and supported to stay well and do their best work.
• Management & Leadership Capability: Equip every manager with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to lead effectively and support high performance, via the LEAD programme of work.
• Employee Engagement: Connect people to the council's mission, invest in their growth, and empower them to shape their future.

Management Development Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Autumn 2025 launch of LEAD, Wiltshire Council's new Management Development initiative. LEAD stands for Leadership, Excellence, Accountability, and Development, and is designed to equip both emerging and experienced managers with the skills, confidence, and mindset needed to lead effectively.

LEAD encompasses the following offer:

• Manager Framework: Six key principles designed to equip managers with tools for consistent and effective management.
• Mandatory Training for Current Managers: All managers will attend a mandatory, structured development session to ensure they have the essential skills and knowledge aligned with council policies.
• Self-assessment and 360 Tools: Managers will complete a self-assessment process and will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own development by having access to a 360 feedback process.
• Manager Hub: A dedicated intranet space providing access to policies, training, and guidance.
• Wiltshire Leader Programme: An internal modular learning pathway for aspiring managers, tailored to individual learning needs.
• Ongoing support and guidance: Bi-monthly communications from HR&OD will provide practical guidance on specific topics, promote drop-in sessions, and signpost resources.

Exit Interviews Project Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress to date regarding the exit interview data review project. All employees are requested to complete an exit questionnaire on leaving employment with Wiltshire Council. The exit questionnaire enables the council to identify areas where things are working well and any areas that need improvement.

The HR Strategy team is revising the form to create two versions to more accurately reflect leaver data. Questions are being reviewed to maximise the effectiveness of the data gathered, and to ensure all data input is useful to analyse. The questionnaire form will also be updated to include more detailed questions regarding the pay and benefits of roles that the leaver is moving to, thus supporting future role and salary benchmarking against the market.

An additional template is being created to assist HR when conducting face-to-face exit interviews. It is proposed that a dashboard will be created by the Council's Data & Insight team which will enable live up to date analysis of the data from both the leaver and internal mover surveys.

SEND Recruitment Project Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on ongoing work to improve recruitment practices for individuals with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The aim is to promote inclusive practices, reduce barriers, and ensure alignment with equalities legislation.

Initial scoping work has begun to identify areas within the council's recruitment practices that may unintentionally disadvantage candidates with SEND. Work has begun in exploring alternative approaches that could offer a more equitable experience for SEND candidates. For example, roles in leisure, libraries, facilities management and customer service may be better suited to practical or working interviews, which provide a more realistic and inclusive evaluation of a candidate's capabilities.

As part of this work, the council is currently working on a pilot project involving individuals with SEND who are supported by the WEST team³. Insights from the pilot will inform future policy development and help shape a more inclusive recruitment framework.

Statutory and Minor Policy Changes Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a report detailing the new policies or changes to policies that had been made as a result of required statutory legislation or minor changes to current procedure and process.

The main policy changes were noted as being:

• Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: Following the introduction of the new statutory right for parents of babies receiving neonatal care to take time off and receive statutory neonatal care pay, eligible employees were entitled to up to 12 weeks paid leave.
• Ill Health Retirement (IHR) Policy: Changes had been made to strengthen the existing IHR process with clearer documentation, accountability, and transparency in IHR decisions.

Recruitment and Retention Incentive Payments Policy

The committee was scheduled to receive a report which detailed the new Recruitment and Retention Incentive Payments Policy where payments were linked to external funding.

It was explained that the policy formalised the use of externally funded incentive payments to support the recruitment and retention of hard-to-fill roles. However, it was noted that the policy only applied where external funding explicitly allowed such payments, as stipulated in the funding criteria, and where there was data to demonstrate that the role was in a skill shortage area.

Annual Leave and Bank Holiday Entitlement Policy Updates

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the amendments to the Annual Leave and Banked Holiday Entitlement Policy, specifically relating to banked leave.

The key changes were detailed as:

• An increase of banked leave from 5 to 10 days (pro-rata), with a maximum cap of 10 days that can be held at any time, subject to an employee already taking their allotted statutory leave.
• The introduction of a time limit of 3 years in which the banked leave must be used, with any banked leave not used within this period lost and unable to be rolled forwards.
• An increase of the maximum amount of leave that can be taken at any one time (combining annual leave, carry over, PAL⁴ (Purchase of Annual Leave), and unpaid leave) from 40 days to 60 days (pro-rata) to support work-life balance, flexibility, recruitment, and retention.