Agenda item
Workforce Report
To receive
the annual workforce report, from Alison McBride, Corporate Manager People.
Minutes:
Alison
McBride, Corporate Manager - People, presented the Workforce Report to the
Committee, the highlights of which included:
·
A
snapshot of the Council’s headcount which showed the number of FTE’s decreasing
year on year
·
Gender
breakdown - there had been a limited change since the previous report (37% male/63%
female)
·
Gender
pay gap – Rushmoor’s pay gap was 12%, it was noted
that the Local Government Association (LGA) average was 6.1%
·
Part
time Staff – the majority of part time staff were employed at Grade 5 or below
·
Ethnicity
profile – 22.6% of staff chose not to report their ethnicity, of those that
did, 75.2% identified as white and 2.2% as Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME)
·
Profile
Age – of which 31% were over 55 and 18% aged under 34
·
Apprenticeship
programme – Rushmoor
currently reported above average numbers and were spending 57% of the allocated
apprenticeship levy
Ms McBride
advised that a People Strategy was being developed in-line with the Council’s
strategic objectives and it was hoped that a draft would be available in August
for Members to comment on.
In response
to a query regarding the data relating to women in higher positions and the
gender pay gap within the Council, consideration would be given to how women
could be encouraged to apply for higher paid positions and what could be
implemented to make these roles more appealing, including flexibility and
working arrangements. It was noted that the Leadership Development Programme was assisting to address this with 13 of the 14
enrolled in the second cohort being female.
Long term
absence was raised as a concern by Members, as the data showed an increase in
lost working days on the previous year. It was noted that, since the Employee
Assistance Programme had been introduced in 2018,
it’s utilisation had steadily increased. In addition,
there had been a marked increase since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic
in March, 2020. Being a relatively small local authority, 1-2 cases of
long-term absence made a significant difference to the figures and it was
advised that the 22% of staff absence attributed to anxiety, stress and
depression figure was slightly outdated. During the Pandemic, emphasis on
wellbeing was greater across the Council. Managers were carrying out regular
check-ins with staff and data was showing a difference in dealing with change
and crisis, which could cause anxiety, stress and depression.
A request
was made for more detailed data on the ethnicity profile. It was noted that the
2.2% of Council staff who identified as BAME equaled to six people across the
authority. The number of employees who identified as BAME who had been or were
part of the Leadership Programme was also requested
and this information would be provided. The comparator used in the report had
been the 2011 census findings, a more recent comparator would be sought and if
identified, shared in the presentation for the special meeting of the Policy
and Project Advisory Board to discuss the Notice of Motion on Black Lives
Matter on 25th August, 2020.
In response
to a query regarding attracting more young people into the Council, it was
noted that a number of initiatives were in place. An officer group had been
formed to liaise with schools to showcase career opportunities within local
government and assist with CV writing and interview skills in both schools and
colleges. Working relationships were in place with the local colleges for the
apprenticeship schemes.
The
Chairman thanked Ms McBride for her report.
Supporting documents: