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AGENDA ITEMNO,

ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL

PERSONNEL SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT

1999 - 2000

INVESTOR IN PEOPLE

198

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INTRODUCTION

1999/2000 was a year of sigmficant change for the Council and the environment in which it operates. Personnel Services was not exempt from this change and responded to the challenge with a review of a range of activities to respond to the developing Best Value framework which was being put in place by the government. Personnel Services sought to develop a sharper focus on customer service to the Council and departments by providing quality personnel advice and services, enhanced development opportunities for employees and increased awareness of the role which health and safety plays in creating a safe worlung environment. These are aI1 key and critical factors in creating a highly motivated workforce which is a key element in tne delivery of quality services with an emphasis on contiiuous improvement. The staff of Personnel Services have responded positively to this dynamic environment and continue to work to deliver the Council’s objectives at a strategic Ievel and to assist departments in the achievement of operational goals across the organisation. We rely on the commitment, enthusiasm and professiomhsm of Personnel Services s t s to maintain and surpass the high standards which we continue to set within Personnel Services.

In 1999/2000 the CounciI again faced a real reduction in the resources available to deliver services within Argyll and Bute. Even though the Council tries to protect front line services as far as possible the reality is that with year on year reduction the range, quality and standard of front line services provided to the people of Argyll and Bute has declined. This has resulted in a level of dissatisfaction among councillors, employees and the public.

A number of new policies hqye been put in phce to help the Council achieve its strategic objectives. These include ,,the implementation of the Performance Development Review programme which is a key element w i t h the Council’s Best Value Action Plan and the Action PIan associated with the Accounts Cornmission Module which looked at how the Council manages its people.

New policies on Working Time, Parental Leave and revised Discipline Procedures were developed during the year.

During the year, the issue of Single Status has continued to progress with ongoing discussions regarding the various conditions which ulll be affected by the change, even although the implementation date for the change in working hours will be implemented on a phased basis in the period up to la. April 2002.

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A substantial amount of work has been done on job evaluation using the Peodesy system including the identification af posts for evaluation and the completion of a comprehensive benchmarlung exercise to act as the base line in the job evaluation process. The job evaluation for outstanding regradmg requests was carried out during May/June 1999 and this exercise is now concluded.

The Service continues to move fonvard on the development of Best Value and the preparation of improvement plans. The Health and Sdety Service was the first area of Personnel Services to be reviewed and this was completed in December 1999. The Training and Management Services section wili be reviewed during 2000/2001.

2 0 0 All the stafTin Personnel Services undertook a iihtantial amount of work in preparation for an application for Investors in People status and accreditation was achieved in February 2000. The achievement of Investors in People demonstrates cleariy the commitment which the Council has to externally venfy quality standards and to the training and development of its people. Personnel Services acted as a pilot for the Council and other areas of the organisation are being encouraged to seek recognition over the next few years.

The Personnel Services Unit remains in Lochgdphead with Personnel and Trainins & Management Services staff located within the former hostel unit at Whitegates and the Health & Safety staff in the Clydesdale Bank Buildings at Poltalloch Street. One Training & Management Services Assistant is based in Dunoon to provide services in the Bute/ Cowal and Helensburgh areas.

This annual report is structured to reflect the diversity of the services provided by the unit and contains a breakdown of the activities and achievements of each of the sections during the year as well as mformation on mrne Council wide issues.

Danny LongwilI Head of Personnel Services

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SECTION 1

PERSONNEL SERVICES

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

The Personnel Services division is managed by the Personnel Services Manager, Elspeth McNiven, who is supported by a team of three Personnel Officers and two Personnel Assistants.

The team provides personnel advice to all the Council’s departments on a range of issues and policies from recruitment and discipline to retiral and superannuation.

The Personnel Services division is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of all the Council’s PersonneI policies and procedures at corporate level, with implementation at operational level devolved to individual departments. The division does, however, provide an operational personnel function to the Corporate & Legal Services, Finance, Chief Executive’s Unit and Information Technology departments because of their smaller scale. The remaining Services have their own staffwho carry out operational personnel functions.

1.2 STAFFINGLEVEL

At 31st March 2000, .the Council’s total workforce (full time equivalent) was composed of 1,706 Chief Officers and Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical (white collar) posts, 1,039 teaching posts and 1,171 manual and craR posts. A total of 3916.

1.3 RECRUITMENT AND TURNOVER

The Council continues to use Riley Advertising for the processing of aU recruitment following a tendering exercise. During 1999/00, the Council advertised over 600 posts extemdy at a total cost, excluding VAT, of f238,340.

During 1999-2000, the Council appointed 615 new employees to fill posts whch became vacant during the year. This represents a turnover of 12.2% for 1999-2000 compared to 10.9% in the previous year. This increase in turnover is not restricted to any one department and does not appear to indicate a dficulty in the retention of staff in any parricuIar service. The figure, although slightly higher, reflects the increasing use of temporary st&.

To ensure the effective monitoring of why people are leaving posts, a policy for issuing exit questionnaires to employees who have left their post was introduced in 1998/99. This procedure provides lnformation on the reasons why people are moving posts and allows us to monitor if there are any areas in terms of career progression or st&g difficulties which have to be addressed. The scheme was reviewed &er being in operation for one year and a report submitted to the Management Team in July 2000.

.After discussion it was agreed to continue with the existing policy as it provides a channel of communication with former employees where issues and views can be expressed openly and fiankly.

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The Council participated in a Recruirmenr and Selection Benchmarking exercise in conjunction with North Ayrshire, West Lothian and Renfiewshire Councils to assess the cost effectiveness of the Council’s process for m n g vacancies. This exercise looked at the recruitment process including staff costs, advertising costs and other administrative costs associated with recruitment. The Council came out as the most cost effective in every area except adrmn costs where on a per unit basis Argyll and Bute was more expensive due to the lower number of applications per post compared to the other Councils in the study. A short life workgroup was established to consider the results and look at possible improvements to recruitment procedures in light of the results of the benchmarking exercise. The areas considered included procedures for notifying unsuccessful job applicants and obtaining references.

During the year, a new recruitment initiative in conjunction with the IT Department and the Council’s advisers, Rileys, was undertaken. The initiative adopted a more service specific focus in relation to the recruitment of IT staff. The more attractive style of advert coupled with the use of more specialist publications and a pilot exercise using a dedicated website also generated interest fiom other agencies. As a result of this exercise, the Council attracted a higher number and quality of applicants than had been attracted in the past and the successful recruitment of the targeted staff meant that the investment in time, money and resources represented value for money. It is unlikely that the same outcome would have been aclueved using the normal process. The development of an internet recruitment model is currently being undertaken and it is anticipated that during the next financial year all externally advertised vacancies wiU also be included on the Council’s internet site.

In addition, the department also piloted an assessment centre based recruitment process for the post of Communications Manager. This exercise involved the use of a variety of recruitment techniques coupled with an interview with elected members and the customer department was happy with the process which was undertaken.

However, recruitment difficulties remain in certain areas particularly in those locations which are geographically remote. The Education service experiences difficulties in recruiting teaching staff for secondary schools particularly in Kintyre, Mull and Islay. In addition, the recruitment of teaching staff for Gaelic Medium Units remains problemaric due mainly to the very competitive market for teaching staff with these skills.

The recruitment of financial staff continues to be problematic with a combination of market forces and location causing dficulties in the recruitment of qualihd accountants to work in Lochgilphead. 4 temporary accountants were appointed during the year on an agency basis.

Despite the success in recruiting IT professionals, the continuing strength of the market for skills in this discipline has led to recent appointments being concentrated in Helensburgh and the potential exists that the principal location of the IT Service may move to Helensburgh in the longer term.

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In relation to Social Workers, the Council experiences some difliculty in the recruitment of Social Workers and Senior Social Workers. However, this is a recruitment dif5culty which faces all local authorities as the number of newly quali6ed social workers declines. The retention of social worker and senior social workers remains problematic with turnover in the region of 15-20% across the Council although this disguises high turnover in areas such as Bute and Cowal which stood at 25% for 1999/2000. In response to this challenge, the department is endeavouring to “grow their own” social workers and over the last 3 years the number of stafF undertakmg the professional diploma in social work has increased by 75%. In addition, the pool of staff eligible to study for the qualification has been extended to encourage greater take up from the rest of the department.

There continue to bg’difficulties in relation to the recruitment of Environmental Health Officers due largely to the restricted supply of professionals within this discipiine. The Council experienced some dBiculties in the recruitment of Development Officers in the mid Argyll area with 1 advert attracting only 11 applicants of whom ody 3 turned up for the interview. The Council does only require 1 applicant to fill any particular post, however the small number of applicants limits the choices available to the Council and potentially reduces the cdibre of candidates who are recruited.

As an observation it is disappointing that more use is not made of the Council’s Student Sponsorship Scheme. Since its introduction in June 1999 there has been no uptake under th~s scheme.

1.4 SICKNESS ABSENCEMANAGING ATTENDANCE

The iManaging Absence Policy which was introduced in 1997/98 was reviewed to assess its performance and identrfjl any areas for improvement. In line with the more positive emphasis articulated by the Accounts Cornmission the policy is being revised under the new phlosophy of “managing attendance”. A workgroup was established in October 1999 to review the policy and it included representatives from Central Personnel, Housing & Social Work Transportation & Property and the Council’s Occupational Health Service. The revised policy is currently being finalised and was submitted to the Management Team for comment in July 2000. In the meantime, the existing policy continues to operate with quarterly reports submitted to directors and half yearly reports submitted to members on the levels of absence across the Council.

The Accounts Commission have introduced a statutory performance indicator for sickness absence and this requires to be reported for the first time in 1994/2000. The figures for the Council are detailed as follows.

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The percentage of working days lost through sickness absence for staff, manual & craft and teachers the previous years and the current year is as follows:

1997-98 1998199 1999100 Whtte Collar 4.00% 4.20% 4.24%

Manual & Craft 5.25% 5.60% 5.88%

Teachers 1 , 2.76% 2.97% 3.31%

National (Public Sectqr) 5.50% 3. BOY0 4.3?0

I 2 Source: Personnel Today

Based on part year figures as full year figures were not available.

The I999/2000 figures for white collar employees represent almost a standstill position compared to the leve1,seported for 1998-99 although the rate of increase for other groups remains relatively constant. Directors continue to monitor the factors which have led to this increase. The flu outbreak was one major factor in absence figures last year together with a relatively high incidence of Iong term sickness absence.

Salaries and wages costs remain the single greatest item of expenditure within the Council’s budget comRfising some 42% of the Council’s overall budget. The increase in sickness absence ,inevitably reduces the Council’s effectiveness and its ability to deliver services. An increase in the level of absence by employees inevitably puts pressure on the rest of the workforce to continue to provide services in the absence of colleagues. Departments may need to focus their demands for training in managing absence on front line supervisors who have to deal with the day to day consequences of absence and the impact which absence has on their ability to deliver services. A new course focussing on this area is currently being developed.

In recogmtion of the fact that stress is an increasing part of modem life and the increase in employment tribunal cases which cite stress as a cause for people leaving their jobs a Stress Management Policy has been introduced to not only increase awareness amongst supervisors and managers but to help staff identlfy the symptoms. During 1999/2000 a total of 6385 working days were lost due to stress related illness.

In light of the new Statutory Performance Lndicator on sickness absence and the fact that staff costs represent a single largest area of expenditure, Personnel Services is acting as the lead in an external benchmarlung group involving 6 other local authorities, North Ayrshire, East Ayrshre, East Dumbarton, West Dumbarton, Renfkwshire and West Lothian. The group is lookmg at best practice in relation to attendance management to identify options which would enhance the existing policies and procedures. In addition, consideration is being given to the development of an internal absence management group with a remit to identlfy best practice methods currently being used within various departments and to seek to spread best practice across the Council.

. The representatives on this group woua inmde Personnel Services, Housing & Social Work, Transportation & Property and Development & Environment Services. This group Vnll have an initial meeting early in 2000/2001.

1.5 PAY AND COMIITIONS OF SERVICE

1.5.1 Pnv Award

The pay awarcs for Chief Officers, APT&C s t a manual and craft workers and teachers were as follows:

1998t1999 ’

Chief Officers 3 .o% MT&C 3 .o% Manual and Craft 3.0%

Teachers 0 3.0%

1999/2000

Chief Officers 3.0%

APT&C 3.3%

Manual 3 .3%

Craft 3 .O%

Teachers 3.6%

1.5.2 Superannuation

The Council participates in two superannuation schemes, one for teaching staff and a second s&eme for all other employees. Both schemes offer an annual pension based‘on an employee’s pay and service providing a tax ffee lump sum and. an index linked pension. Both schemes are national schemes and were estabhhed under statute with benefit levels set by legislation subject to Inland Revenue limits.

The benefits of both schemes are secure with the teaching scheme backed by the Scottish %ice Pensions Agency, and the Pension Fund for other employees backed by assets held within a fund guaranteed by law but separated from the Council’s finances. The government have introduced changes to the superannuation regulations to allow greater discretion for Local Authority Pension Fund to award additional enhancements in appropriate circumstances. The Council did not exercise any of their new discretions during 1999/2000.

The operation of the Strathclyde Pension Fund has altered dramatically since 1998/99 with in particular a tightening up on the procedures used for medical retlral of empIoyees. In the past, medical retirals were sanctioned by 2 doctors, confuming that an employee was unfit for their present post. However the new regulations require that employees must be u d t for work and this requires to be certltled by an independent registered Occupational Health Practitioner. The Council can no longer rely upon a medical certscate fkom an employee’s own GP as a basis for medical retiral.

208 Employees who are retired on me grounds of ill health do not attract the “strain on the hnd” charge details of which are provided below:

The more rigorous regime in relation to ill health retiral came as a result of studies carried out on the level of ill health retirals within local authorities. The new regime requires a greater emphasis on examination by Occupational Health Professionals to establish an incapacity to continue to work for any employee. During 1999/2000 there were 74 referrals to the Occupational Health service

for a variety of reasons including 9 iI1 health retiral assessments.

On 1”. April 1999 a new charge for “strain on the fbnd” was introduced for all employees who are members of the Strathclyde Pension Fund and retire before their n o d retirement age of 60. The effect of the “strain on the fund” charge is that in the event an employee retires before the age of 60 the pension hnd will charge the employer for the loss of contributions due to the emphyec’s retiral and the cast of the pension paid to the employee up to the normal retirement age of 60. The empioyer is advised of the actual cost pnor to malung a decision to allow the employee to retire early. The “strain on the hnd” cost to the Council for 1999/2000 was f21,468. The introduction of this charge severely hampers the Council’s ability to manage any downsizing in the f h r e becmse this new charge makes it expensive to allow employees to retire early.

1.5.3 Conditions of Service

a. Teachers

The Council continues to operate within the National Conditions of Service for Teaching StafF subject to local variations where appropriate.

The conditions of service for teaching staff were the subject of negotiation at national level as part of the “millennium review” which considered the issue of management structures, teachers’ salaries and conditions of service, with a number of options being discussed. These negotiations did not result in agreement and as a result a Committee (The McCrone Committee) was established by the Scottish Executive to examine issues surrounding the national education service.

T h s Committee has now reported and the recommendations are currently with the Scottish Executive for consideration.

b. White Collar

Part of the 1997198 pay negotiations for APT&C and manual employees was the introduction of single status bargaining for both goups of employees to seek to standardise and harmonise conditions of service for these groups of employees.

209 The principal outcome of the Iiegotiations by the National Council was the introduction of a 37 hour week for manual workers, which represents a reduction of TWO hours fiom the current 39. Thls change was scheduled to come into effect from 1st April 1999, however after national negotiations the implementation date was delayed until I? April 2002.

The introduction of single status is on a phased basis with the revised national set of conditions of service introduced fiom 1'. Jury 1999 subject to local negotiation for a number of elements contained within the conditions. However, some of these issues continue to be discussed due to differences of interpretation between the employers and the trade unions.

As part of the Single Status Agreement the National Job Evaluation system was supposed to be provided to authorities by Apnl 1999. However, for various reasons the package was not avdable at the scheduled time and authorities were still awaiting delivery of the software and associated documentation at 3 1'. March 2000. This delay compresses the timescale within which the exercise has to be completed and raises serious questions about the ability of all the Councils in Scotland to comply with the implementation timescale of la. April 2002.

C. ,Manual and Craft Emolovees

The manual employees are governed by the new single status agreement which has been agreed with unions representing both APT&C and manual unions. Manual employees will see a reduction in the worlung week fiom 39 to 38 hours fiom 1st April 2000 with the exception of those employees who are governed by contractual conditions which will run beyond 1999. The next phase including a reduction to 37 hours is scheduled to take place on 1'. April 2002.

The continued operation of manual worker bonus schemes withm a single status environment remains an outstanding issue. COSLA have re-established a working group to look at the issue of bonus to try and determine a solution which is workable for all local authorities and does not conflict with equal pay legislation.

Craft employees are all within the Transportation and Property Services department and they are not covered by the single status agreement involving manual and APT&C unions. However, their representafives did act as observers during the discussions but no agreement was concluded with craft employees so their working week will remain at 39 hours.

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WELFARE

The Department provides a welfare service for all of the Council’s employees to provide help and guidance in situations which they may find dBcult to cope with. During 1999/2000 there was a total of 47 referrals for help from the Welfare service which represents an increase of over 20% on Z998/99. The Welfare Service makes use of a wide network of contacts with professionals in a range of disciplines both inside and outside the Council to provide the best quality of advice and support to employees. During the year there were 6 deaths in service and appropriate support was given to the relatives of the deceased to ensure that any issues of concern were addressed.

ADDICTION

The Council’s Addiction Policy and supporting procedures have now been in place for over a year. During 1999/00 there was 1 referral in relation to an addiction problem. This represents a substantial drop fiom 7 referrals in the previous year. There is also the facility w i t h the Policy for employees to seek help on a totally confidential basis without formally advising the Cound.

CARLEASING .

The Council has been operating a car leasing scheme since April 1996 to assist Council employees who are required to have access to a vehicle to carry out their duties. The operation of the scheme ensures the employees have access to a vehicle to carry out their duties and guarantees that the vehicle wdl be serviced and maintained on a regular basis to ensure that it is available at all times. During 1999/2000 the Council had 140 vehicles in the car Ieasing scheme, which has proved popular with employees.

The Council’s contribution to the scheme is equivalent to that which the employee would have received in mileage therefore the Council makes no additional contribution beyond that which the employee would have received in terms of their normal entitlement. The operation of the scheme reduces the demand for car loans fi-om employees and as a result eases pressures on the Council’s capital allocation from which any car loans have always been made.

The Council presently has a contract which runs tiom October 1998 for a three year period with EVR Limited, BCC Limited and h o l d Clark Limited for the provision of leased cars.

STATISTICAL RETURNS

The Council continues to be faced with increasing demand for lnformation on staffing levels fiom a variety of sources. During the year, there has been particular emphasis on the accumuration of information on stafhs numbers and changes in staffing levels, with requests from COSLA and Central Government for detds.

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A computerised system is avadable, with most Departments having their mformation held on the computerised system which is updated on a regular basis. During the year, Personnel Services completed a number of returns including:

Statutory Performance Indicators €OT Sickness Absence

Quarterly Joint Stafling Watch for COSLA

Annual Business Enquiry Part I and Annual Register Enquiry for the Depamnent of Employment

Chief Officials Salary Survey for COSLA

Craft Number and Earnings Survey for COSLA

Personnel Senices Questionnaire for the Scottish Benchmarking Group for SODOPS and the Scottish Locd Authority Staf€ing Survey for CIPFA.

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CIPFA Rating Review Estimates

This is not an exhaustive list but gives a flavour of the increasing demand for information which the Council faces.

PARENTAL LEAVE

A workgroup was established involving Personnel Services and departmental representatives to formulate a procedure for the Council in response to the new regulations governing parental leave which came into effect on 15*. December 1999. The parental leave protocol and t h e off to deal with domestic emergencies protocol are in the h a l stages of preparation and will be considered by the Management Team in July 2000. The final draft will be submitted to the Policy and Resources Committee thereafter. Once these have been approved, guidance notes will be developed for managers to assist them in dealing with requests for leave under either of these protocols. Under the parental leave protocol employees are entitled to up to 13 weeks unpaid leave per child subject to constraints in connection with date of birth, adoption age of child, appropriate notification and qualifyrng service. The time off to deal with domestic emergencies protocol is intended to ded with very similar issues to those addressed by the Council’s absence with permission procedures and therefore the Council has mechanisms in place to address most of the issues identdied in this protocol.

Planvannual99-00

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WORKTNG TTMX REGULAhONS

The European Directive on working time was introduced into UK legislation via the Workmg Time Regulations 1998 and in order to implement these regulations a workmg group was set up with representatives fiom Personnel Services, Housing & Social Work, Transportation & Property and Development & Environment Services. The group sought to identify working practices which could be affected by these new regulations. An information seminar was run to advise managers about the core provisions of the regulations and to ask them to identlfjr potential workmg practices or patterns which would require to be modified to comply with the regulations. A generic policy document was developed by the work group which outlined the main elements of the regulations arid how they would apply in general terms across the Council’s worldorce. The document was sent to the appropriate trade unions for commek and where practicable, their comments are being taken on board. In view of the diverse nature of the working patterns within the Council, individual departments are modifying the generic document in consultation with trade unions in order to tailor the policy to meet particular operational needs. The departments which have been most affected are Transportation & Property and Development & Environment Services. Both of these departqpnts are currently in discussion with trade unions regarding the detailed operational issues which affect service delivery.

EOUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Council has had an Equal Opportunities Policy since 1996. The level of attendance at Equal Opportunities training is not as high as anticipated and it is hoped that in the fbture thFe will be a greater take up &orn Departments across the Council on this particular issue. It is of concern that the level of knowledge of the issues surrounding Equal Opportunities is not high across the Council and efforts are being made to increase awareness and stimulate interest in the training courses available.

Personnel Services continue to play a role at COSLA as members of the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Workgroup. Personnel Services are leading a group w i t h the Council which is gulling together a proposal to implement procedures which would allow the Council to display the Tositive About Disability” (Double Tick) symbol, on recruitment advertisements and Council letterheads. The display of this symbol would clearIy demonstrate the Council’s commitment to open and fair treatment for ail members of society. It would also confirm the Council’s commitment to the spirit as well as the letter of the Disability Discriminarion Act 1995 which imposes particuiar statutoq requirements on the Council, in relation to the recruitment of disabled members of the community and how it provides support and assistance to members of staff‘ who become disabled during their employment with the Cound. This group regularly reported to the Management Team during 1999/2000 and an assessment is anticipated in Januq/February 2001.

To heighten awareness leaflets have been distributed to all employees giving an outhe of the general policy together with a separate lede t covering the issue of harassment and bullying.

1.13 EMPLOYEERELATIONS - 1.13.1 Emolovee Consultation

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The Council established a consultation framework with elected members and trade union representatives which involves a six monthly meeting between elected members, senior management and trade union representatives to discuss major issues of common interest to both parties. In addition to the formal meetings at elected member level a system was put in place to create a complementary system of six monthly meetings between management and empioyee representatives at departmental level. This appears to be hnctioning well and is encouraging open dialogue at departmental level between various levels of management and trade unions. This allows departmental issues to be resolved without the need to raise these issues at formal Employee Joint Consultative Committee with elected members which is not the appropriate forum for q y h matters.

The meetings of the Employee Joint Consultative Committee (EJCC) were held in September 1999 and January 2000, with a special meeting held in February

. 2000 to discuss the budgetary implications for the Council following the announcement of the grant settlement.

The EJCCs have been well attended by trade union representatives and the issues discussed af the meeting have included Best Value, introduction of new computer systems, consultation by management on particular issues and Single Status.

The introduction of Best Value and the implementation of Single Status were identified as 2 key issues af€ecting the Council. 2 sub groups of the EJCC were estabfished to consider the implications of Best Value for all of the Councils services and the impact of Single Status on both manual and white collar staff. These groups will continue to meet on an ongoing basis in order to consider the detailed implications for the Council both at corporate and departmental level.

1.13.2 Discidine

The Council operates a single Disciphe Policy and Procedure for all empioyees, except teachers who transferred fkom Strathclyde Regional Council at la April 1996 and have not signed a new contract, which was introduced following consultation with all the appropriate representatives.

The Council's Disciplinary Procedure involves a number of stages including a right of appeal to members for ernpfoyees who receive a final written warning or are dismissed. During 1999/2000 the Appeals Committee met on five occasions, upholding 3 appeals and rejecting 5 appeals fiom employees.

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- - . The Council’s Code of Disciph-@ Procedures were reviewed during 1999/2000 and draft amendments were presented to departmental representatives and union representatives during the summer of 1999. The revised procedures were dso forwarded to ACAS and the Equal Opportunities Commission for comments to ensure the revised procedures were in keeping with Best Practice guidelines and to ask for any comments or recommendations which they felt could improve the procedures. Personnel Services met with a number of trade unions and on 14*. January 2000 a number of amendments proposed by both trade unions and management were agreed. UNISON raised the issue of duration of warnings and the application of sanctions both of which were discussed but not agreed. The Corporate Management Team considered the final draft on 14*. February 2000 and approved the revised procedures. The final document was considered at the Policy and Resources Committee on 9*. March 2000 which approved the procedures and referred the two outstanding issues to a separate meeting involving the Convener of Policy and Resources, the Head of Personnel Services and UNISON representatives for further discussion. This meeting took pIace on 31“‘. May 2000 and it was agreed that the procedures would not be hrther amended but that corporate guidance would be issued to managers.

1.13.3 Grievance and DisDutes

The Council operates a single Grievance and Disputes Procedures for all employees which recognises the importance of the management hierarchy and requires employees with a grievance to pursue this with the appropriate level of management. The Grievance Procedure does ultimately allow individuals to pursue their grievance to the Appeals Committee and the Committee act as the ultimate internal arbiter on issues such as conditions of service, job grading etc. During 1999/00 the Appeals Committee met on one occasion to hear a grievance from an employee. The appeal was not upheld by the cormnittee.

PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMXNT REVEW WDR)

One of the key areas identified by the Best Value Regime was the need to create a linkage between our people and the achievement of the Council’s corporate objectives.

In order to link individual contributions to the Council’s overall objectives a Performance Development Review (PDR) programme has been developed which allows supervisors and the people they manage to discuss the Council’s overall objectives, departmental and individual objectives for the coming year. The objective of the programme is to ensure that employees are hlly aware of what is expected of them by the Council and also to ensure that they possess the necessary skills, talents and resources to achieve these objectives.

The need for a mechanism to assess how employees are performing and how their activities are contributing to the achievement of the Council’s overall objectives are highlighted as essential elements in the management of people in both the Accounts Commission Module 2 documentation and Best Value submission which the Council made to the Scottish Executive.

- 2i5 The PDR programme was reviewed during 1999/2000 with a survey of people who were involved in the process and the response fiom employees has been very positive. Both reviewers and reviewees have invested time in the process to try and achieve a positive and rneaningfbl outcome for both parties. The process appears to meet the needs of employees and the interviews have generally been conducted in a constructive and beneficial manner. 71% of the staff surveyed felt that the PDR process was helpful in their approach to their work, and 63% indicated that they found it helpful in the way their work was managed. In relation to the actual PDR interview process 93% of the employees surveyed found the interview to be a very constructive exercise with 92% able to say everything they wanted in their discussion with their manager and 91% indicating that they felt the discussion was frank and open on both sides. At 20*. October 1999, the relative performance at departmental basis for the PDR programme was as follows:

Position as at 28*. October 1999

Chief Executive’s finit: Corporate & Legal Development & Environment Education Finance Housing & Social Work Information T echo lagy Transportation & Property

100% 100% 90% 34%

100% 63 Yo 0% 68%

Average across the Council 40%

In light of the varying levels of performance, departments need to ensure that the PDR process is built into the annual management cycle across all sections to ensure that the PDR process becomes an inbuilt part of the culture of the organisation. This will ensure that the Council gives employees the opportunity to contribute to the continuous improvement of the Council’s services and allow managers to talk to st& about performance.

The PDR Workgroup has looked at revisions to the scheme to allow it to be rolled out to include manual and craft employees. In view of the composition of this group of employees, consideration was given to alternative methods of delivering the programme, while retaining the benefits to employees and the Council.

Two pilot schemes will be undertaken in Development & Environment Services and Transportation & Property to assess the impact of the alternative method of delivering the programme for manual workers. The pilot schemes will look at various options for delivering the scheme for a more dispersed workforce which in many instances is required to work outdoors. These options will include. postal questionnaires, telephone questionnaires both backed up with follow up meetings and also, where appropriate face to face meetings. The difticulties of time, geography, location, working patterns etc. will be assessed as part of this exercise and appropriate revisions will be developed on an ongoing basis to refine the programme. These pdots are scheduled to take place during sumrner/autumn 2000 and the programme w d be reviewed by the PDR workgroup at the conclusion of the pilot exercise.

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1.15 EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION SCHEME

The Council’s greatest asset is its people and they are in the best position to enhance and improve the quality of service which the Council provides and to bring forward innovative ideas for improving service quality or reducing service costs. To encourage employees to release this creativity, an Employee Suggestion Scheme was introduced in January 1998. A total of 11 suggestions were received fiom employees during 1999. Of the 11 suggestions which have been made, 2 monetary awards have been made, with one €25 awards, and one €150 being made to employees. Of the remaining 9 suggestions, 2 showed no cost saving, 6 were considered not original and 1 suggestion is still under consideration due to its complexity.

SECTION 2

..

0

TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT

SERVICES

I’

218

219 2.1 INTRODUCTION

In this, the fourth year of Argyll and Bute Council Training and Management Services has provided a wide range of services to the individual departments of the Council. The section is made up of the Training and Management Services h/lanager, Colin McCall, two Training and Management Services Officers, and three Training and Management Services Assistants.

2.2 TRAINING

2.2.1 Induction Training

In the course‘’of the 1999/2000 financial year, 98 new employees have benefited.from the course presented at Kilmory. One of the major areas within this course, is promoting understanding among new staff members, of committee and service areas of responsibility as outlined in the Accounts Commission auditing tool “Managing People”. This is designed to ensure staff are fully conversant with the Council’s aims and objectives as regards Best Value and to allow new employees to contribute to the perfomance of the department. ‘,

2.2.2 Trainers’ Training

As of February 2000 all staff hold either Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development certificate in training practice or HNC in Training and Development.

0

2.2.3 Customer Cdre Training

39 delegates at 5 training events have benefited fiom this course and elements of it are now included in the induction programme for all new employees. A further series of courses is being organised for 2000/2001.

2.2.4 Personnel Policv Training

To meet training needs associated with the revisions to Council Personnel Policies, training courses on Disability Awareness, Performance Development Review (PDR), Assertiveness, Bullying and Harassment policies have been designed and delivered. Currently work is proceeding on a review of training for Induction. Details of courses delivered and the uptake from departments are outlined in Appendix 1 and la.

3.2.5 Management Training

Based on identified needs from the PDB process and developed in conjunction with departments, management courses have been further enhanced and run on the following topics: The Role of the Manager; Management Styles; Motivation; Reviewing Performance; Objective Setting and CounseIling and Discipline.

A m u d total for Leadership and Management : 68 delegate days

2.2.6 Management Game -

The Council entered a team for the first time in the local government chronicle Management Game made up of Lym Smillie, Lynda Syed, Rosemary Turner, Adnan Shaw, Gordon Nash, Ian Nisbett coached by Colin McCaH as part of the Council’s employee development activities. The team made a good showing on the day, leading at the half way stage, but dropped to fourth overall, a good effort and undoubtedly challenging and developmental for the participants.

2.2.7. Stress Manaszment Policv Training

In line with the introduction of this new Council policy APT & C delegates received training at 30 events covering all employees identified as having supemisory responsibilities. (some 258 staff).

2.3 LOCAL YOUNG PEOPLE

2.3.1

2.3.2

Work on Work ExDerience Placement

T h e section has worked with the Education Service to ensure that where practicable, all‘fequests for Work Experience placements this year, fiom local youngsters, can be met, The Council’s commitment has been further underlined by the 2 requests whxh were placed locally directly within Council departments.

New DeaI

The government’s recent initiative to improve employment opportunities for unemployed young people (18-24) has now been expanded to include long term unemployed fkom all age groups. This was supported by providing information on New Deal and liaising with the Careers Service. The Section worked in support of the Council policy on the employment of New Deal clients (i.e. young unemployed [18 to 24 year olds].expanding to older age P U P S ) .

2.4 POST GRADUATE PROGRAMME

In-house designed and developed materials have been fomaIly recognised by Strathclyde University Scottish Local A4uthorities Management Centre as achieving the nationaIly agreed benchmark for university level courses. This means that employees can obtain U.C.A.T. credits towards degree or post-graduate qualifications by attending in-house training courses. The first employee to do so is working towards a iMSc in Local Authority Manasemem at present.

222 The first in house Certificate in Local Authority Management modules are undenvay with 13 students registered with Strathclyde University, the modules being delivered and assessed by a mix of external consultants and in house staff with the aim of delivering a course of study on site leading to the Post Graduate Certificate in Local Authority Management. Th~s will allow access to the Post Graduate Diploma and MSc degree awarded by Strathclyde University,

2.5 BESTVALUE

2.5.1 Oualitv Issues

The section maintains an information resource in terms of quality awards and standards for all departments. The Council has maintained its links with COSLA's Quality Group throughout the year, as a source of information on quality initiatives in other Councils. The understanding of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQMJ Business Excellence Model was promoted by a presentation to elected members and Chief Official in October 1998.

The Corporate Management Team took the initial step in promoting business excellence by undertalung a self assessment using the EFQM module under the facilitation of Quality Scotland.

The recent merger between COSLA's Quality Group and the Quality Scotland Foundation is likely to provide further access to resources on quality issues and various members of staff have already had training within the spring/summer programme of Quality Scotland in the EFQM Excellence Model.

The Council submitted projects to the COSLA Quality Awards for the first time. The section provided support and guidance to the 3 departments, Housing and Social Work, Education and Development and Environment Services which submitted projects:- Development and Building Control Business Unit

Housing and Social Work

Education Pre School Education Helphe

2 of the 3 projects were long leeted for awards.

P h n h g Design Award

- Rural Housing Allocations - D e h n g the Way Forward

2.5.2 Investors in PeoDle flip)

The section has worked with all Personnel Services staff for a successful formal assessment by IiP Scotland. The final assessment date of February 2000 saw a positive outcome with Personnel Services achieving the standard.

2.5.3 Benchmarking 222

The section has worked with benchmarking materials prepared by the Society of Directors of Personnel Services; A.P.A.C. Human Resource Forum and on more detailed benchmarking work as part of a group involving North Ayrshire, Renfkwshire, West Dunbartonshe, East Dmbartonshre, West Lothian Councils. The initial project looked at the cost and system for recruitment. This work will make a contribution towards demonstrating Best Value as outlined in Module 2 Action Plan (5).

3.0 MANAGEMENT SERVICES

3.1 Performance Manapement Scheme

The section formed a project team with the I.T. department and D.E.S. department. A functional specification for the new scheme (which has replaced the previous incentive bonus sclieme) was produced and I.T. Software supplier appointed. The specification is designed to accommodate the contractual arrangements negotiated under the competitive tenderinoest Value exercise and the Single Status conditions of employment. System operational as of April 2000.

3.1.1 WASTE MANAGEMENT Refuse Collection

Helensburalz - Pripared and introduced new work schedules resulting in manpower savings. The implementation was completed successhlly with ody some minor alterations required in one of the routes.

Lorn - Studied all three routes then revised schedules complying with single status, by achieving reduction in hours at no extra cost, and eliminating all overtime. Again, the introduction went very smoothly with only minor alterations required in routing order.

Bute - Studywork was undertaken on Route 1 of the Bute Refuse Collection Service and new winter Standard Hours set.

Cowul - Check Studies of 2 days of Refuse Collection Route 1 were undertaken at the request of DES after complaints raised by the crew. Some minor changes were made to these days.

3.1.2 Street SweeDing

Helmsburd - Introduced manual and mechanical work schedules.

Bure - A review of the Bute Street Sweeping service was undertaken and new schedules were prepared which will result in manpower savings. Introduction of h s has been held until October 2000.

3.2

223 - .

3.1.3 Grounds Maintenance . Amendments and-alterations were made to existing grass cutting schedules. These were followed in Lom, May, Bute, Cowal and Helensburgh. Other work included,

Lom - Assisted local supervision in measuring Dnunmore School grounds to determine cutting standard minutes.

Bute - Bute Grounds Maintenance required the rescheduling of the Grass Maintenance Routes for the 3 Teams involved This work also took into consideration the introduction of annualised hours, which is a concept new to Argyll & Bute. Studywork was undertaken on the new machinery to give more comprehensive times for their use.

Helensburgh - Helensburgh Grounds Maintenance also required the re- scheduling of their Grass Maintenance Routes for the 2 Teams in use.

Cowai - Grass Studywork was undertaken on the new Machinery to give more accurate times for the use of same. This came about in Cowal partly due to concerns raised by the workforce in meeting the Standard Times set.

PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT

3.2.1 Performance Manaeement Svstem

Assisted in successful installation of new system by inputting raw data, system testing, designing user manual and training operators.

Quarterly Performance Data

Management control information continues to be produced on a quarterly basis to ensure management are receiving relevant, up-to-date data with which to manage their operation.

2 2 4

2 2 5

SECTION 3

0

HEALTH AND SAFETY

2 2 6 .

3.1 INTRODUCTION

At the end of the fourth year of Argyll and Bute Council, the Redth and Safety section managed by Logie Collins continue to provide assistance and a wide range of services to the individual departments of the Council. During 1998 - 99, the.Jlealth & Safety staff canied out a Service Level Review on the quality of service provided to the Senices throughout the Council. The report has been finalised and presented to the Chef Executive. *

Th~s report reviews Argyll and Bute Council’s approach to Health and Safety within the past year.

3.2 CORPORATE HEALTH & SAFETY PLAN

The first of the,,Chief Executive’s Corporate Health & Safety Plans with clearly identified actions was issued to the Service Directors during 1998 - 99. To buiId on the achievements of the first plan and updated plan was issued in March 2000.

The main, issues identified in the plans to be addressed were: - 0

3.3 POLICY 1-

The range of policies, whch were, developed to support the Corporate Health and Safety Policy has been provided for use w i h n each of the Services.

During the Audits undertaken by Health and Safety staff, there were several occasions noted where employees were unaware of the PEWGEN policy documents. Directors were advised to ensure that all of these policies are available in each of the locations under their control.

In addition to the policy documents, a revision of the Departmental Health & Safety Policies is being undertaken by Service Directors.

3.4 PLANNING

Each Service Director was responsible for preparing a Service Health & Safety PIan with the objectives linked to the corporate objectives.

Since the issue of the first Corporate Plan in July 1998, Directors have been reminded of the need to address a range of issues hghlighted in the first plan. Several of the issues have not yet been addressed and these have been built into the revised Corporate Health & Safety Plan.

228

3.5 RISK ASSESSMENTS

Under the heading of Rzsk Assessments each Service Directors was required to produce a Risk Assessment Action Plan, detailing timescales. The initial response from the Service's indicated the levels of Risk Assessments that were in place and programmes along with time-scales of completion. During the Audit programme there were several locations where risk assessments were not available. These concerns were noted in the Audit Reports, which were copied to the appropriate Directors and the Officers concerned.

Comment was made in the 1998 - 99 Annual Report on Health & Safety, regarding the visit of the Health & Safety Executive in May 1996. At that time, the HSG expressed concern regarding lack of Risk Assessments and COSHN Assessments available within the Council. The methodology of Risk Assessment is identified within PER/GEN/l, which requires that copies of ALL risk assessments be sent to the Health & Safety Manager. Unfortunately this issue has.to be raised again, and should be addressed with some urgency. The requirement to carry out and record Risk Assessments has been in force since the first of January 1993, failure to provide these to a satisfactory level leaves the Council vulnerable in the event of an accident.

Throughout the past year, the request for assistance with Risks Assessments has been encouraging, additional training courses on a s k Assessment have been delivered and the departments in the main have sufficient trained staff to cany out these assessments. This only adds to the lack of defence the Council would have in the event of action by the Health & Safety Executive. Directors must be mindhl that any further action in respect of failure to have sufficient and suitable Risk Assessments in place would almost certainly result in more sever action by the HSE.

3.6 AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS

To meet the responsibilities of the Council, the programme of Health and Safety Audits has been ongoing, and is being operated on a priority basis. This programme whch commenced with Hostels, Schools and Residential homes among the priority listings is now being expanded to take account of Depots and Workshops with other Council premises. The programme of Audts has resulted in all Council premises being visited. 1999.

3.7 TRAINING

The development of the Managing and Working Safely Courses has been delayed due to the pressures of other work and investigations on the best value approach to the delivery of Health & Safety Services. However, it is now our intention to pursue this as a matter of priority.

2 2 9 - -

3.8 HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

To support the Council’s obligations under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, a programme of eye and eyesight tests are provided throughout Argyll and Bute, These tests which commenced on January 1997 are ongoing, during the most recent programme of tests, 1,144, employees were provided with eyetests. The figure of 2.6% of employees requiring spectacles specifically for Display Screen work is below the national average of 5%.

In addtion to the Eyesight tests, a programme of audmrnetric testing has been completed. Thls resulted in all employees who work in potentially noisy conditions having their hearing assessed to determine any levels of impairment. Ths programme will be repeated during the current year to establish a base line assessment level. Thereafter the testing will be carried out on a two yearly cycle.

Noise Assessments of the worlung environments whch pose a possible hazard identified from the programme of audiomentric testing, are being carried out by Health & Safety staff.

In support of the Noise at Work assessments, additional testing is to be carried out to measure the level of exposure from vibration sources. Several Councils are presently facing compensation claims following employees developing Vibratory White Finger. By canying out this programme of Health checks, the Council are demonstrating a commitment to their employees aIong with the early identification of concerns regarding the individual operations and employees.

3.9 EMPLOYEE CONSULTATION

Employee consultation was recognised w i t h the Corporate Health & Safety Plan as an issue that should be addressed by December 1998. The Service Directors have taken steps to implement the necessary actions.

3.10 FIRESAFETY

The responses from the Directors of Services show that the Fire Safety recommendations highlighted in the previous reports have been implemented. The sites concerned have been re-visited by Health and Safety staff, and programmes of Fire Risk Audits have been included within the current workplan.

3.11 AXKTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PLAYS

To demonstrate the Council’s commitment towards Health and Safety, including Risk Assessments, individual Directors were required within the cment Corporate Health & Safety Plan to prepare a Health & Safery Plan for their Services. These plans should identify the issues that have not been

236

completed from the previous plan and detail the short, medium and long-term aims of the department along with the training requirements and departmentaf intentions to implement actions, recommendations following Au&t reports, review of policy documents and inspection of premises. On completion, these plans should be copied to the Chief Executive and the Health & Safety Manger for incorporation into the Corporate Plan on Health & Safety.

Argyll and Bute Council will be audited at some point by the HSE and that while there has been no indication from the Inspectorate of the time of such an audit, the Council must be prepared for this eventuality. Each week that passes gives us a further opportunity to emure that our Health & Safety Management structures are in place and worhng effectively, equally, each week that passes weakens our defence on the lack of Risk Assessments, Training, Safe Working Practices and Procedures.

3.12 WORK EXPERIENCE

The Audit p r o g r b e of Work Experience Placement provider’s premises has been ongoing on behalf of Education. Close contact is maintained between Education and Health and Safety to ensure the safety of young people who participate in the work placement programme. The system that has been in place since the formation of this Council has been assessed in relation to the Health & Safety Executive’s document Work Experience - A Guide for Organisers. The system in place within Argyll and Bute Council complied with the guidance and no major changes were required.

3.13 TRAINING

Provision of First Aid training for the Council is on going with a programme of courses arranged throughout the year.

A wide range of Health and Safety Training Courses have been circulated to all departments.

Following the successful outcome of the earlier National Examining Body on Occupational Safety and Health Certificate Courses, the Certificate course will be offered again t . h ~ year.

Two of the additional courses on offer w i t h Personnel Services will be given a high profile within the coming year as part of the commitment to Health and Safety w i h the Chef Executive’s Corporate Health and Safety Plan. These are: -

1. The Managing Safely Course. (a modular based study package of approximately 30 hours). T h ~ s is aimed at senior staff required to manage the safety of other employees.

2. The Working Safely Course is aimed at the employees of the Council and is again modular based with a study period of approximately 6 hours. This course is an ideal introduction to Health and Safety for new employees, and also an excellent means of bringing existing employees up to date with current legislation.

3.14 PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW - HEALTH AND SAFETY STAFF TRAINING

During the year, as part of Personnel Services Performance Development Review, each member of the Health and Safety staff was interviewed to agree the Ievel of personal development required to assist with the delivery of the issues within the Work Plan. Identification of Health and Safety training requirements resulted in one member of the Health and Safety staff undertaking the Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety course. Part 1 of the Diploma has been achieved and arrangements are being made to progress to Part 2. To allow the Health and Safety staff to fulfil the requirements of the Fire Regulations,. one member of staff is undergoing Fire Safety training modules to assist with Fire Risk Assessments. A second member of staff will undertake these modules during 2000/2001.

Two members of staff are scheduled to attend fbrther training in Vibration Measurement Testing during 2000/2001. Thrs testing is being undertaken as part of an integrated programme, which includes Noise h s k Assessments and vibration measurements as part of the Council’s commitment to Health Surveillance.

3.15 HEALTH AND SAFETY STRUCTURE

With the mer,@g of departments during the restructuring of the Council, the levels of Health and Safety assistance within the Services have altered. The totd number of National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) employees who have qualified to Certificate Level over the past three years is twenty-seven.

Most of the departments now have a reasonable level of in-house assistance. Some departments would benefit from an increase in trained staff and are considering how to acheve this.

For example Education are examining options to train technician staff in secondary schools to undertake these types of duties.

3.16 ADVISORY SERVICE

The Health and Safety advisory service is widely utilised by the departments, with requests for assistance and advice on a broad range of subjects such as Noise, Control of Contractors. Asbestos etc.

Updated mformahon and changes to Regulations are circulated to all relevant departments for consideration and comment.

The benefit of the OccupationaI Health and Safety service provided by Technical Indexes has allowed a very quick response time to the majority of enquires.

3.17 ACCIDENTSflNCIDENTS

To support the Council’s requirements under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, the revised policy on reporting of accidents which was issued to all departments is worhng well.

The Accident figures for the period 1st April 1999 - 31st March 2000 show Fatal, Major, ever 3 Day and Minor Accidents.

All accidentdincidents that are reported to the Health and Safety section are examined and, where necessary are followed up to establish the cause and determine any action required to reduce further accidents of that nature.

The number of lost time accidents and minor injuries as detailed in Appendix 1 show a total for the period 1st of April 1999 - 3 1st of March 2000 along with a cornparabIe account of the last three years figures of: -

1996197 1997/98 1998/99 1 9 99/2 000

FATAL = o 0 0 0

MAJOR = 3 5 4 4 DANG. UCC.

3DAYPLUS = 70 59 45 38

MINOR = 120 117 130 130

NEARMISS = 9 4 19 13 NO INJURY

TOTAL = 202 185 (-8.5%) 198 (+7.0%) 185 (-6.6Yo)

The decrease in the overall numbers of employee accidents although encouraging only takes us back to the position on 1997/98. The breakdown of accidents into type of injury and causation reveals that of lost time accidents, 17.8% are directly related to Mama1 Handling. This is a further reduction on the last two years figures and an indication that the investment in Manual Handling training is takxng effect. On a departmental basis, many of the accidents reported are still of a repetitive nature. In a similar way, the department should consider the implications of the number of non-empIoyee accidents. which are recorded. The figures for 1999/2000 show an increase to 149. This included 8 Major and 3 Dangerous Occurrences with the balance of a minor name.

3.18

3.19

3.20

3.20

courses will be available form December 2000.

233

CONTROL OF CONTRACTORS

The Applications to the Approved List of Contractors who wish to undertake contracts on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council has been ongoing throughout the year with the Health and Safety section assessing each application on the Health and Saf:ty content before any contractor is approved. To date over 600 Contractors and over 90 Consultants have been assessed.

FIRE SAFE”

The fire evacuation practices are generally working well although there have been several premises identified during the Audit programme which have not yet implemented the Council’s policy on Fire Safety.

Fire Audits are included in the Corporate Health and Safety Plan for 2000/2001 0

Concerns raised regarding the maintenance of Fire fighting equipment have been addressed by the Maintenance Services Manger who has also arranged for the updating of all Fire Safety signs within Council properties.

EXTERNAL INVOLVEMENT (I

The Council’s ‘commitment to Health and Safety has again been reflected in the participation witlun the COSLA Health and Safety Group, and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Group. In addition the NEBOSH training was made available to external organisations on a pilot basis and discussions are taking place about extending this pilot.

WORK PLAN

The Health and Safety staff have reviewed the work undertaken during the past year and have prepared the Work Plan for 2000-2001 to reflect the high volume of ongoing work along with h e new developments and projects for this year.

Development of the Managing Safely & Working Safely Courses is part of the Work Plan, the projected costs involved caused us to consider all avenues on this including internal, external delivery of the courses. The Health and Safety staff have pursued the Best Value approach to ths and have concluded that the way forward is to purchase the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Workmg Safely package which will be provided to all managerial staff within the Council. The one-day working Safely Course will be developed In- House by the Health and Safety staff and delivered to all employees. These

2 3 4

The Audiometric Testing Programme was initially schedded for completion by March 1999. Thts has been extended due to the difficulty with atrendmce and the availability of suitable premises for the testing to take place. The time schedule was further delayed following concerns raised by the Trade Unions. The testing is identified as part of the Council’s Health Surveillance programme and this will be ongoing to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements. The initial base line test programme was completed by March 2000.

An employee Health and Safety Handbook is now in its final draft and is being discussed with users. The Health and Safety Training Booklet will be a part of the current years Health and Safety Workpian.

Employee Accidents 1999 - 2000 -- ~_.

~~ - . . . ~- ~. - ~~ . ~. ~~.

Department

Qtr CO un t of CI a s s i ti c a t i o 1, -- - -..~ -.

---- ~~

- -. .- - -- - - ..__.-._

~~ - "

--'I__-- -"-

I 23 31 3

-- 48 4 P 30 Grand Total

9 --. -. - ----

-~ - --- -' - - . - -~ - -.

- 2 -, -___

-~. -__ 2 5

28 ~-.-

1

4 I -- -- -- - - ~- -- -.

13 38 - .~ ~

~- - - -' ----

L_-

--- -- .--I~ .- -- -_.-- Departrrlen t

Qlr -- -- - ~ _--̂- .. I

_ _ _ .

1- ---.- ----

-- 2 3 4

Grarid Total

----- - I I

2 --. 12 36

.--

-----.------

--------

~ __- - . ~- - - _ _

- - - . ~~

I

__-_ __-

Grand Total __

Employee Accidents 1999 - 2000

----- I - ~ Minor injury -.- - .-

Near miss

~~.

~ - . - - --

Over W a y

3

1 I

‘ 5

-. - . i n&r y

-- 2 I

3 6

---.- . .. ~ ~ - ~ -

-- ~~

. .- .. ~

--------.- 3

Grand Total

____.__ .- - -

- I___

-- - -.

----

1

1 4

-.I__. - Grand Total

-----

_-- 2 8 - 11

--

Grarid 1 Total

39

AI’PENI)IX I

Employee Accidents 4999 - 2000 . -. __ - ---- -- - -- - .

. ~~

-~ De par ~ tine r i t ~ ~ - Trarisportation & Property __

Couii t of Class i ficatioii Classlfication - . -___ ~ . -- .. -- --

Qtr Major injury Minor injury - -

-- I 2 3 4

Grand Total

~ _ _ ~ . ..-- -~ -

1 5 ----.- -- - ’ - .-

__ _-__ __ 17

- - -- 33 ~- -~ - __ - -----

Public Accidents I999 - 2000 -~ . - - . ~ - . ~ . ~~ -. - -

Departnien t ~ Housiiig ~ & Social Work ~- Classification

- _ _ - *..

Count of Category --- ~ ~ - ~~

Qtr - -_ -. -- Major injury I 1