The Living Wage and National Living Wage · The Government’s ‘National Living wage’ 2.5 The National Living Wage (Formally the Minimum Wage) will increase to £7.20 in April

Purpose To advise the Authority of the increase in the Living Wage Foundation’s ‘Living Wage’ in November 2015 and the Government’s ‘National Living Wage’ and the effect these have on both employee salaries and the agreed National Joint Council job evaluation process. To inform the Authority that West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has received the Living Wage accreditation

Recommendations That the Authority note the contents of the report.

Summary The Authority has recently been accredited as the first Fire Service Living Wage employer outside London. The Living Wage hourly rate now exceeds the rate of our lowest paid employees, which will require an additional supplementary payment to comply with the Living Wage Foundation’s accreditation. With the Government‘s commitment to a National Living Wage’ of £9.00 per hour by 2020 the Authority will need to increase the level of pay for the lowest paid employees. Consideration will need to be given to these impacts on the National Joint Council’s job evaluation scheme

OFFICIAL

The Living Wage and National Living Wage Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 5 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer

Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972

Exemption Category: None

Contact Officer: Christine Cooper, Corporate HR Manager E: [email protected] T; 01274 655741

Background papers open to inspection: None

Annexes: Living Wage Foundation Guidance document

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mailto:[email protected]

1 Introduction 1.1 The Living Wage Foundation works with employers to help them implement the Living Wage

(currently paid at £8.25 per hour) and develop a pathway to gain accreditation as a UK Living Wage Employer.

1.2 In 2015 WFRA committed to gaining accreditation and having met the criteria to pay all our employees the Living Wage, with a plan in place to work towards all contractors being paid the Living Wage, WYFRA gained Living Wage accreditation in November 2015.

1.3 The Government has also recently committed to increase the ‘National Living Wage’ (formally the Minimum Wage) for the next four years to a level of £9.00 per hour by April 2020.

2 Information The Living Wage Foundation

2.1 Having recently gained accreditation as a Living Wage employer WYFRA is demonstrating that it is a socially responsible employer, aiming to be an employer of choice and leading the way in the Fire Service as the first Fire and Rescue Service outside London to become a Living Wage employer.

2.2 The Living Wage is a voluntary hourly rate set independently and updated annually every November. The current UK Living Wage is £8.25 an hour (from November 1st 2015). The lowest paid employees of the Authority are currently paid £7.88 per hour. The Authority has six months from the date of the implementation of the new Living Wage (November 1st) to introduce the increase and pay all its employees the new annual Living Wage and to comply. In line with Green book pay rises on April 1st each year, the Authority will increase those salaries below the Living Wage. This will comply with the Living Wage Foundation’s requirement to implement the new hourly annual Living Wage within six months of November 1st.

2.3 The Living Wage will continue to increase annually on November 1st, however the level of these increases is not known at present. Annual pay rises for the last three years have been at 1%. If the annual Living Wage increase exceeds the annual pay rise then the Authority will have to ensure that employees’ salaries do not fall below the level of the Living Wage.

2.4 There are currently three employees (and a current vacancy) who are paid below the Living Wage (£7.88 per hour). These salaries will need to be increased by paying an additional discretionary payment on April 1st 2016 to comply with the requirements of the Living Wage Foundation and to ensure the Authority remains accredited.

The Government’s ‘National Living wage’

2.5 The National Living Wage (Formally the Minimum Wage) will increase to £7.20 in April 2016. The Government has committed to increase the National Living Wage for the next four years to a level of £9.00 per hour by April 2020. The lowest paid employees of the Authority are currently paid £7.88 per hour. There is currently no impact on this Authority. However, if public sector pay rises continue to increase at 1% per year for the next four years, WYFRA’s employees who are currently paid less than £8.64 per hour (£9.00 minus 1% each year) will see their salaries drop below the level of the National Living Wage at some point over the next four years.

2.6 WYFRA will monitor the increase in the National Living Wage and ensure that employees’ salaries do not drop below the National Living Wage in the future.

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Living Wage £ Increase Percentage Difference

Living Wage £7.88 to £8.25 from April 1st 2016

4.69% pay rise (before April 2016) 3.69% pay rise (following the notional 1% annual pay increase in April 2016)

National Living Wage £8.64 to £9.00 from April 2020

4.17% pay rise

Job Evaluation

2.7 WYFRA has an agreed National Joint Council job evaluation process which evaluates Green book posts within the grades 1 to 14. All employees currently on grade 2 and 3 will need to be paid at the top of grade 3 to comply with the National Living Wage of £9.00 per hour by April; 2020. WYFRA along with all Local Authorities will have to consider the impact this has on the job evaluation scheme and work with the Trade Unions involved to agree a way forward.

3 Financial Implications

3.1 The cost of increasing the four salaries that are currently below the level of the ‘Living Wage’ would be £3000 (£750 each) in the financial year 2016/17.

3.2 The cost will vary year on year as employees progress through the spinal column points within grade 2, or when new employees are recruited and start at the bottom of grade 2.

3.3 The cost may also vary due to the future annual increases in the Living Wage Foundations ‘Living Wage’.

4 Equality and Diversity Implications

4.1 The Living Wage accreditation is a positive pledge which aims to promote equality for our workforce. Socio-economic inequalities are often associated with particular protected characteristics – as demonstrated in EHRC’s “Is Britain Fairer Report” 2014. We have a responsibility under the public sector equality duty to remove or minimise disadvantage suffered by individuals who share a protected characteristic and to encourage people with certain protected characteristics to participate in public life. The commitment by the Authority of additional discretionary payment to all staff whose salary will fall below that of the Living Wage is an affirmative way of having due regard to both the core values of the organisation and the aims of the public sector equality duty.

5 Health and Safety Implications 5.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report.

6 Organisational Dependencies

6.1 None

7 Service Plan Links

7.1 Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money in managing resources.

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8 Conclusions 8.1 The Authority will pay an additional discretionary payment to all staff whose salary will fall

below that of the Living Wage in line with guidance from the Living Wage Foundation.

8.2 The Authority continues to monitor employee’s remuneration to ensure compliance with both the Government’s Living Wage and the Living Wage Foundation’s pay requirements.

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A Citizens MovementIn 2001 the charity London Citizens brought parents together to share stories on the pressures on family life. It emerged that too many parents were working two jobs just to make ends meet and so had no time to spend with their children. They worked hard but couldn’t earn enough to afford a decent standard of living. From these discussions the Living Wage campaign was born.There are now over 2,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK including KPMG, Nationwide, Burberry, National Grid, Oliver Bonas and both Houses of Parliament.

What is the Living Wage?Employers choose to pay the Living Wage voluntarily. It is an hourly rate of pay set independently and updated annually.It is calculated according to the cost of living in the UK. The calculation takes into account things like accommodation, travel, healthy food and little extras like birthday presents.The Living Wage enjoys support across different Political Parties.

The current UK Living Wage is £8.25 an hour.

The current London Living Wage is £9.40 an hour.

The Living Wage is reviewed each year by independent academics. The rate increases are announced in November during Living Wage Week.The Living Wage Foundation awards the Living Wage Employer Mark to employers that commit to pay the Living Wage or above. There are now thousands of employers that are proudly displaying the Living Wage Employer Mark.

Employers that have put the Living Wage in place report a range of business benefits including lower staff turnover, higher team morale and higher productivity.

Across the UK, one in five working people earns less than the Living Wage; there is still an awful lot to do.

Everything you need to know about the Living Wage

Welcome!We’ve put together this guide to the Living Wage. It includes facts about how the Living Wage is calculated, how employers opt to pay it and how you can support the Living Wage movement.

We have also included some information about the Government’s new ‘national living wage’ which is a change to the legal minimum wage. There is even a chart that highlights some of the differences between the Living Wage and the Government’s minimum rate!

is part of Citizens UK. Charity No. 1107264

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http://www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-week

In July 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government will introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’.This new government rate is a minimum wage premium rate for staff aged 25 and older.

It will be introduced from April 2016 and the rate will be £7.20 per hour.

The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living.

We’ve included some other differences in a table below..

What about the Government’s national living wage?

is part of Citizens UK. Charity No. 1107264

The National Minimum Wage (including the ‘national living wage’) The Living Wage

The legal minimum an employer can pay per hour. Employers break the law if they fail to pay this rate

A voluntary rate that employers commit to pay in order to go above and beyond. The Living Wage Employer Mark is a sign of best practice

The ‘national living wage’ rate will be £7.20 an hour

The current UK Living Wage is £8.25 an hour.The current London Living Wage is £9.40 an hour

This will increase each year, with the aim of reaching 60% of the median wage across the country by 2020 (this would mean around £9 an hour but the Low Pay Commission will consider what the market can bear)

This will increase in line with the cost of living with increases announced in Living Wage Week every year

Different rates apply depending on the age of the employee. The ‘national living wage’ is for staff aged 25 and older only

The Living Wage is the same for all employees over the age of 18

Set by the Low Pay Commission Set by the Living Wage Foundation

Based on an estimation of what the market can bear

Based on the cost of living

The rates are the same right across the UK There is a separate rate for London to reflect the higher cost of living in the Capital

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Purpose To inform members of a proposed change to the establishment within the Operations Support Team

Recommendations That approval be given to the increase in the establishment by 1 x Watch Manager (a) subject to the approval of Finance & Resources Committee to a revised charging mechanism for the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 2015 (COMAH)

Summary WYFRS is statutory bound by duty to prepare, review, test and exercise COMAH External Emergency Plans. The regulations also permit us to recover costs in relation to our statutory duties. The regulations changed in June 2015 which led to WYFRS reviewing its processes, charging mechanism and departmental structure. The review has found that to fully comply with the new legislation and meet the expectations of the Health and Safety Executive who police the regulations WYFRS need to increase the establishment of the team who undertake this work. This increase in establishment would be offset by raising the charges made to the COMAH site operators.

OFFICIAL

Changes to Operational Support establishment Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 6 Submitted By: Deputy Chief Fire Officer / Director of Service Delivery



Contact Officer: Ian Dunkley, Area Manager (Operations) E: [email protected] T: 01274 655783


Annexes: COMAH Charging review 2016

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Introduction 1.1 New COMAH regulations (2015) which are based on the European Seveso iii guidance came into

effect in June 2015. The regulations are enforced by the ‘Competent Authority’ which is now a joint responsibility of the Health & Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. As a result of European pressure the Competent Authority are seeking to improve the quality of planning work which takes place in the UK.

1.2 The introduction of these revised regulations prompted a review of the way WYFRS delivers its statutory duty with relation to COMAH, this review was wide ranging and included consultation with the Competent Authority to ensure WYFRS complies fully with not only the legislation but also the expectations of the COMAH site operators.

1.3 The consultation with the Competent Authority resulted in the following conclusion being reached. ‘Although we were complying with the legislation in respect of the time limits for planning, review and exercising the external plans, it became apparent that we should be providing a more consistent and higher level of service to the site operators’.

2 Information

2.1 The new regulations brought several changes to the way that COMAH is administered, this along with the view above from the Competent Authority led to a decision being made to fundamentally review the way we provide the COMAH function.

2.2 West Yorkshire currently has 12 COMAH Top Tier sites for which WYFRS are deemed the Local Authority under the regulations.

2.3 Within this review, we have compared what WYFRA actually recovers with what may be recovered as per Regulation 29 detailed in the L111 third edition ‘Guide to the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015’.

2.4 This review has concluded that as an Authority we are considerably under charging for the services that we deliver. A comparison was made between WYFRA and three other Metropolitan Authorities and it was identified that WYFRA was by far the lowest charging authority.

2.5 The COMAH department within WYFRS has the responsibility of creating, developing and maintaining the Upper Tier COMAH External (off site) plans. The plans have to be exercised every three years as part of the regulations, this equates to the Authority producing an exercise on a quarterly basis, to satisfy our twelve sites.

2.6 For approximately the last five years the COMAH department has been staffed by one COMAH planning officer (grade 6) with a Station Manager over-seeing the department. This review has identified that this staffing model is no longer suitable and that the Authority is unable to provide the level of service that the new regulations require or WYFRS would want to deliver.

2.7 Throughout the duration of the review Ops Support have seconded a WM(a) from the Operational Risk team to the COMAH team on a trial basis whilst the requirements of the legislation were understood and feedback was received from the HSE/EA on the new plans and exercising regime.

2.8 It has now been determined that this post is essential in order for the COMAH team to meet the requirements of the legislation and meet the level of service the HSE/EA require. The post also provides the operational experience required to run the four meaningful multi-agency exercises that the department currently provides on an annual basis. Therefore the department costs have increased considerably.

2.9 The attached report outlines at section 5 the options to deliver the service outlined above and increase the charges to the site operators to cover the increased internal costs.

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2.10 The proposed charging methodology has been consulted on internally with the Finance department, who have appointed a COMAH lead officer to accurately cost out all the elements of the COMAH work undertaken.


3.1 There is a report to the next meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee recommending a change in the pricing structure for the preparation of on site plans following a recent change in legislation.

3.2 The revised prices should increase income from the current level of £22,000 per annum to around £90,000 once fully implemented. In order to generate this income it is necessary to increase the establishment as explained above.

3.2 Under the COMAH regulations the Authority is entitled to recover the cost of preparing the plans and consequently the full cost of this post will be recovered through the charges.

4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 None as a direct result of this report.

5 Health and Safety Implications

5.1 The proposed increase in the establishment with regard to COMAH will ensure that a full understanding of these sites (from an Operational perspective) is gained and that the three yearly exercises delivered as part of the legislation has real organisational benefit.


7.1 Deliver a professional and resilient emergency response service

7.2 Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money

7 Conclusions

7.1 The regulations covering COMAH have fundamentally changed as has the monitoring of these by the Competent Authority. A review of the service WYFRS provide against the new regulations and the charging regime currently in place has resulted in the need to charge the operators more rigidly and for the COMAH team to be expanded to meet the needs of the regulations.

7.2 Option one of this report (the preferred option) would see annual charges rise to between £84,800 and £100,800 depending on the scale of exercises undertaken during that year. However this is offset by the increase in the establishment of the team by 1 x WM(a). The full cost of this revised COMAH department is £102,303 per year, therefore it can be seen that between 82% and 98% of the department running costs would be recovered from the site operators.

7.3 The current department structure is unable to cope with the demands of the new regulations and the new level of service demanded by the HSE/EA or that which WYFRS would want to deliver. Further development in the quality and depth of the exercises at the highest risk sites in the county will have major benefits to operational knowledge.

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COMAH Charging Review 2016

Official Ownership: Ops Resilience Date Issued: 12th January 2016 Version: [Version] Status: Final

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OFFICIAL

Issue Date:12th January 2016 File ID: V1.0

Page 1 of 9 Official

Document Properties

Item Details

Document Title COMAH Charging ReviewCOMAH Charging Review 2015

Author Administrator

Creation Date 10th November 2015

Last Updated 12th January 2016

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Contents 1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 3

2 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3

3 Current Position ................................................................................................................... 3

4 Future Improved Service ..................................................................................................... 5

5 Charging Options ................................................................................................................. 5

6 Rationale for Option One ..................................................................................................... 6

7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 7

8 Recommendation ................................................................................................................. 8

9 Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 8

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1 Background

WYFRS is statutory bound by the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations (COMAH) to prepare, review, test and exercise COMAH External Emergency Plans. The regulations also permit us to recover costs in relation to our statutory duties.

New COMAH regulations (2015) which are based on the European Seveso iii guidance came into effect in June 2015. The regulations are enforced by the ‘Competent Authority’ which is now a joint responsibility of the Health & Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. As a result of European pressure the Competent Authority are seeking to improve the quality of planning work which takes place in the UK.

WYFRS consulted locally with the HSE and although we were complying with the legislation in respect of the time limits for planning, review and exercising the external plans, it became apparent that we should be providing a more consistent and higher level of service to the site operators.

The new regulations brought several changes to the way that COMAH is administered, this along with the view above from the HSE led to a decision being made to fundamentally review the way we provide the COMAH function.

West Yorkshire currently has 12 COMAH Top Tier sites for which WYFRS are deemed the local authority under the regulations.

Within this review, we have compared what WYFRA actually recovers with what may be recovered as per Regulation 29 detailed in the L111 third edition ‘Guide to the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015’.

2 Summary

This review has concluded that as a service we are considerably under charging for the services that we deliver. A comparison was made between WYFRS and three other Metropolitan Authorities and it was identified that WYFRS was by far the lowest charging authority. (See Appendix I, II, III, IX)

Other issues identified include the need for further staffing resource within the COMAH department, this will enable us to provide a higher level of service comparable to other MET authorities. This additional cost would be shared equally by the 12 Top Tier sites that use this service in relation to the COMAH regulations, thus making the post self-funding.

The Authority is not permitted to make a profit on any of the COMAH services it provides. Finance department were involved throughout the review a finance officer has been given the role of COMAH single point of contact. A charging matrix was developed to record what resources were used to maintain, improve and prepare each off site plan on an annual basis and also the costs relating to the three yearly exercise of each plan. (See Appendix VIII)

3 Current Position

The COMAH department within WYFRS has the responsibility of creating, developing and maintaining the Upper Tier COMAH External (off site) plans. The plans have to be exercised every three years as part of the regulations, this equates to the Authority producing an exercise on a quarterly basis, to satisfy our twelve upper tier sites.

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The upper tier sites within the COMAH group form a large proportion of our highest operational risks; therefore, meaningful operational exercises at these sites has massive benefits for WYFRS. The HSE work closely with both WYFRS and the operators to ensure regulation compliance.

WYFRS reviewed its COMAH charging methodology in 2014 with these revised changes coming into effect at the start of the 2015 – 2016 financial year. Even though these changes have gone some way to address the disparity between what the authority spends on COMAH and the totals it receives on an annual basis, there is still a sizable gap in relation to these two figures, this has been further increased due to the additional level of scrutiny and workload as a result of the new 2015 regulations..

Current charges

Under the previous charging mechanism WYFRS charged:-

(a) If any amendments are made to the plan

(b) For management, preparation and attendance at exercises

Under the legislation, the Authority can charge for costs incurred for the work that it does under Regulations 13 and 14 in COMAH 2015 (See Appendix VII). The authority is not allowed to make an overall profit on its charges.

Rates

With effect from the start of the 2015 financial year WYFRS charges are as follows:

• £250 if no amendments to the plan are made (plan check only) • exercise £1000 if amendments are made to the plan • Minimum of £5000 for an exercise

Staffing

For approximately the last five years the COMAH department has been staffed by one COMAH planning officer (grade 6) with a Station Manager over-seeing the department. This review has identified that this staffing model is no longer suitable and that the Authority is unable to provide the level of service that the new regulations require or WYFRS would want to deliver.

Throughout the duration of the review Ops Support have seconded a WM(a) from the Operational Risk team to the COMAH team on a trial basis whilst the requirements of the legislation were understood and feedback was received from the HSE on the new plans and exercising regime.

It has now been determined that this post is essential in order for the COMAH team to meet the requirements of the legislation and meet the level of service the HSE require. The post also provides the operational experience required to run the four meaningful multi-agency exercises that the department currently provides on an annual basis. Therefore the department costs have increased considerably.

NB. A trial was instigated in 2012 where the COMAH planning officer worked within the Operational learning team, who, it was envisaged would provide this operational knowledge. This trial was ceased by mutual agreement by Ops Support and Training department.

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Current Charges

During the last three financial years 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 the costs recovered by WYFRS have averaged £22,000 per annum.

It is envisaged that we will charge approximately £37,250 to £53,250 for the 2015/16 financial year for services to COMAH.

N.B. Invoice costs for plan amendments and outstanding exercises are still to be calculated.

Collection of Charges

Charges are made at the end of the financial year for amendments. Exercises are charged through Finance after the exercise process has concluded and signed off by the COMAH Lead. Any charges are seen as a civil debt between the WYFRS and the Operator.

4 Future Improved Service

Plans are being prepared to reflect a strict exercising programme which will ensure all statutory requirements are completed and will also provide better training and exercising opportunities for both WYFRS and our co–responder partners. We are already working on further improvements to the plans we produce and this work will be on-going over the coming years.

WYFRS has never charged for the work that it undertakes in the review and maintenance of the plans that it produces. Under the new regulations new sections are to be produced on the environmental effects to the local area and population, also all external plans have to dovetail with the internal plan. The COMAH department has recently released the first edition of our new plan and this was completed with no charge to sites. These plans will now have further editions created after each exercise. This work will be on-going throughout the financial year, and it is acceptable to expect that the authority should look at recovering these costs from the users of this service.

These developments have been warmly welcomed by the HSE.

5 Charging Options Option One (preferred)

Within the new regulations it states that charges can only cover costs that have been reasonably incurred. It also states that as a designated Local Authority we have the power to charge for work carried out under the COMAH regulations with respect to regulations 13 and 14 on the production, testing and review of external plans for upper tier sites. The regulations give us clear authority to recover the amount that we are spending on COMAH as long as the figures are reasonable and no profit is made. (See Appendix VII)

Revised Charging Model

The authority would charge a £4400 maintenance fee each year using a universal maintenance fee created by the COMAH costing tool (see Appendix VIII) for any amendments, advice and plan maintenance which it undertakes as part of the preparation section within the legislation. This will be

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based over a financial year. The charges will run on a three year cycle. One year within the cycle will be the exercise year where each site will be charged for their exercise plus the maintenance fee.

The exercise costs would be worked out by the exercise charging matrix that would be specific to that site and style of exercise.

Option Two

Increase charges based on producing an individual charging matrix for work undertaken throughout each financial year.

Each site would be charged for the hours worked based on the charging matrix. Each site would have their own individual costing matrix (See appendix VIII) throughout the year the COMAH department would add their hours worked on each plan to this matrix. At the end of the financial year, each Upper tier site would be charged for the plan improvement/maintenance element of their external plan.

The site would only be charged for actual hours worked based on WYFRS’ staff hourly rate and on costs for that year.

Option Three

Carry on with current charges.

6 Rationale for Option One

Costs will be recovered in line with ‘Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015’.

Option one illustrates a pricing structure for the preparation, review, revision, testing & exercising of COMAH off Site Plans.

The exercise and maintenance costing matrix (See Appendix V, VIII) has been developed in collaboration with the finance department and will form the basis of evidence needed to support any future cost increases, it will also provide an audit trail for the new charging model.

All COMAH Site Operators within the new charging model will pay their set fee each year, and will be invoiced in April for the previous year. Two years in the cycle will be at £4,400 with the third year at £4,400 plus an exercise fee. The total amount invoiced to each of the 12 sites over a three year period would amount to £13,200 (3 x £4,400) plus one exercise; which would be worked out as per exercise costing matrix. It is envisaged that an exercise would cost the site between £8,000 and £12,000 based on the size and complexity of the site and the objectives of the exercise to effectively test the plan.

This charging option would deliver the following estimated revenue each financial year:

12 x maintenance fee @ £4400 £52,800

4 x exercises @ c£10000 £40,000

Total income £92,800

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Option one is preferred over option two as the system is easier to administrate by the authority which is in line with the advice in the regulation guidance notes.

The pricing structure has been developed in collaboration with the Finance department ensuring that all quoted costs are current at the time of writing (up to date November 2015). The methodology has sort to establish the amount of staff and resources which can reasonably be expected to be utilised over any given year and is based upon the future COMAH staffing model, combined with research into the amount of time, resourcing and cost, which is charged by other similar organisations. (See Appendix IX)

Only actual costs incurred can be charged to the Site Operator.

The guiding principal for this cost recovery methodology is that it is fair, transparent and accountable to the communities of West Yorkshire.

If this charging policy is applied an income of £84,800 to £100,800 per annum is forecast. (This includes charges for exercises) The COMAH departmental cost to the organisation (including the additional WM(a) has been worked out at £102,303 per annum plus additional exercise costs for facilitators, this includes office space and consumables. (See Appendix IV).

The annual charge has been calculated to take account of a 2.0% inflationary uplift each year, therefore will remain constant until the end of year three.

This methodology will be reviewed on a yearly basis to ensure compliance to the COMAH regulations.

7 Conclusion The regulations covering COMAH have fundamentally changed as has the monitoring of these by the Competent Authority. A review of the service WYFRS provide against the new regulations and the charging regime currently in place has resulted in the need to charge the operators more rigidly and for the COMAH team to be expanded to meet the needs of the regulations.

WYFRS have historically charged the operators an average of £22,000 per annum; a review of charges in 2014 has seen this rise in 2015/16 to approx. £50,000.

The current department structure is unable to cope with the demands of the new regulations and the new level of service demanded by the HSE or that which WYFRS would want to deliver. Further development in the quality and depth of the exercises at the highest risk sites in the county will have major benefits to operational knowledge.

The COMAH departmental staffing cost to the organisation (including the additional WM(a)) has been worked out at £91,116 per annum plus additional exercise costs for facilitators (See Appendix IV).

This is calculated as follows:

GM(b) £63,165 10% £6,317 SM(b) £54,375 25% £13,594 WM(a) £44,350 100% £44,350 Grade 6 £26,855 100% £26,855

The inclusion of a WM(a) into the COMAH team is self-funding if the revised charging regime is adopted.

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8 Recommendation

This review has two recommendations, as follows:

1. Option one to be implemented in financial year 2016 – 2017.

2. To increase the establishment of the COMAH team by 1 x WM(a). The main duties of this member of staff would be to improve and develop WYFRS’s working practices relating to COMAH sites and organise risk relevant COMAH exercises.

9 Appendices

Appendix I. South Yorkshire Matrix of Charges

Appendix II. MFRS Charges

Appendix III. Tyne and Wear FS Charging

Appendix IV. Copy of Total COMAH cost 2014 – 2015

Appendix V. Copy of COMAH Charging Matrix

Appendix VI. Copy of HSE LIII Guidance (Control of Major Hazards Regulation Guidance)

Appendix VII. Regulation 29 LIII Guidance

Appendix VIII. Copy of Maintenance Costing Matrix

Appendix IX. COMAH METS Charging Doc

(These documents can be found in the COMAH site – Finance – COMAH New Charging)

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Human Resources Activity Report Human Resources Committee

Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 7 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer

Purpose To provide Members with HR activity information up to the end of January 2016.

Recommendations 1. That Members approve the transfer of three Watch Manager posts fromStrategic Development in to Service Support. (This was originally shown as two, but there was intended to be a third as a result of one of the Station Manager posts being re-graded to a Watch Manager).

2. That Members approve the amendment to the establishment.

3. That Members note the content of the report.

Summary This report informs Members of the Authority’s key areas relating to Human Resources for 2015/16.



Contact Officer: Jim Butters, Area Manager Service Support T: 01274 655704 E: [email protected]


Annexes: None

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1. NUMBER OF PEOPLE EMPLOYED AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015

Wholetime

People Posts Brigade Manager 4 4 Area Manager 6 4 Group Manager 13 13 Station Manager 47 50 Watch Manager 176 174 plus one Watch Manager on Career or Maternity Break

Crew Manager 182 182 plus one Crew Manager on Career or Maternity Break

Firefighter 642 651 plus six Firefighters on Career or Maternity Breaks

TOTAL 1,070 1,078

Retained

People Posts Watch Manager 11 10 Crew Manager 21 20 plus one Crew Manager on Career Break

Firefighter 110 90 plus four Firefighters on Career or Maternity Breaks

TOTAL 142 120

Control

People Posts Watch Manager 9 6 Crew Manager 10 12 Firefighter 28 24 plus two Firefighters on Career or Maternity Breaks

TOTAL 47 42

Green Book People Posts

Brigade Manager

3 2

EO3 1 1 EO2 2 2 Gd14 8 8 Gd12 2 2 Gd11 6 6 Gd10 26 27 plus one Grade 10 on Maternity Break

Gd9 11 10 Gd8 31 37 Gd7 40 42 Gd6 25 22 Gd5 32 33 plus three Grade 5’s on Career or Maternity Breaks

Gd4 13 13 Gd3 61 60 Gd2 10 8 plus one Grade 2 on Career or Maternity Break

Apprentice 1 1 TOTAL 272 274

Total People Posts

All Staff 1,531 1,514

28

2. DIVERSITY PROFILE OF WORKFORCE AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015

2.1 GENDER

2.1.1 Wholetime

Male Female % Female Total Brigade Manager 4 4 Area Manager 6 6 Group Manager 13 13 Station Manager 46 1 2.13% 47 Watch Manager 170 6 3.41% 176 Crew Manager 174 8 4.40% 182 Firefighter 612 30 4.67% 642 TOTAL 1,025 45 4.21% 1,070

2.1.2 Retained

Male Female % Female Total Watch Manager 11 11 Crew Manager 21 21 Firefighter 104 6 5.45% 110 TOTAL 136 6 4.23% 142

2.1.3 Control

Male Female % Female Total Watch Manager 3 6 66.67% 9 Crew Manager 3 7 70.00% 10 Firefighter 8 20 71.43% 28 TOTAL 14 33 70.21% 47

2.1.4 Green Book Staff

Male Female % Female Total TOTAL 132 140 51.47% 272

29

2.2 ETHNICITY 2.2.1 Wholetime

White British or Irish

Any Other White

Mixed Asian or Asian British

Black or Black British

Chinese BME % Total

Brigade Manager 4 4 Area Manager 6 6 Group Manager 13 13 Station Manager 46 1 2.13% 47 Watch Manager 170 2 2 1 1 3.41% 176 Crew Manager 175 4 3 3.85% 182 Firefighter 609 4 14 11 3 1 5.14% 642 TOTAL 1,023 6 20 15 5 1 4.39% 1,070

2.2.2 Retained


BME BME %

Total

Watch Manager 11 0 0 11 Crew Manager 21 0 0 21 Firefighter 110 0 0 110 TOTAL 142 0 0 142

2.2.3 Control


Mixed BME % Total

Watch Manager 9 9 Crew Manager 10 10 Firefighter 27 1 3.57% 28 TOTAL 46 1 2.13% 47

2.2.4 Support Staff


Any Other White

Mixed Asian or Asian British

Other Ethnic Background

BME % Total

TOTAL 254 4 2 11 1 6.62% 272

Further information • According to the 2011 Census, 21.6% of West Yorkshire citizens are members of the BME

Community.

30

2.3 AGE 2.3.1 Wholetime

17-24 25-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Total Brigade Manager 4 4 Area Manager 3 3 6 Group Manager 3 10 13 Station Manager 2 10 34 1 47 Watch Manager 18 68 86 4 176 Crew Manager 45 71 66 182 Firefighter 197 235 207 3 642 TOTAL 262 390 410 8 1,070

2.3.2 Retained

17-24 25-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Total Watch Manager 2 2 5 2 11 Crew Manager 6 6 8 1 21 Firefighter 9 37 23 34 7 110 TOTAL 9 45 31 47 10 142

2.3.3 Control

17-24 25-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Total Watch Manager 1 2 5 1 9 Crew Manager 5 4 1 10 Firefighter 2 11 4 9 2 28 TOTAL 2 12 11 18 4 47

2.3.4 Support Staff

17-24 25-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+ Total TOTAL 8 47 60 89 64 4 272

31

2.4 DISABILITY 2.4.1 Wholetime

Disabled Not Disabled Total TOTAL 9

(0.08%) 1,061 1,070

2.4.2 Retained


(1.4%) 140 142

2.4.3 Control


(2.12%) 46 47

2.4.4 Support Staff


(8.82%) 248 272

32

3. SICKNESS ABSENCE – WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE 1 APRIL 2014 – 31 DECEMBER 2015

Green indicates achieving or exceeding target Amber indicates satisfactory performance (within 10% of target) Red indicates not achieving target

1,531 employees as at 31 December 2015

Days per Quarter

Q1 14/15 Q2 14/15 Q3 14/15 Q4 14/15 Q1 15/16 Q2 15/16 Q3 15/16

Ops Response 1.62 1.94 2.06 1.71 1.75 1.69 1.55 Ops Support 0.71 0.14 0.21 1.00 0.13 1.02 2.87 Prev & Prot 6.17 4.42 5.35 1.97 2.65 1.85 4.32

Legal & Governance 2.21 1.20 0.96 1.29 2.00 1.73 1.92 Service Support 1.12 1.98 1.49 2.01 1.72 1.31 1.55

Finance 0.78 5.33 6.37 3.31 0.00 0.00 3.24 FSHQ 0.04 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.06 Total 1.66 1.95 2.02 1.68 1.68 1.56 1.64

Target 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.65 1.65 1.65

0

1

2

3

4

5

Q1 14/15 Q2 14/15 Q3 14/15 Q4 14/15 Q1 15/16 Q2 15/16 Q3 15/16

33

http://wydtdev.westyorksfire.gov.uk/servers/wydtpmi1/pmidashboard/Default.aspx?z=400&i=5040






SICKNESS ABSENCE – WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE 1 APRIL 2014 – 31 DECEMBER 2015

Green indicates achieving or exceeding target Amber indicates satisfactory performance (within 10% of target) Red indicates not achieving target

1,531 employees as at 31 December 2015

Days per Year

2014/15 2015/16

to 31 Dec Ops

Response

7.33 4.99

Ops Support

2.06 4.02

Prev & Prot 17.91 8.83 L & G 5.66 5.65

Service Support

6.59 4.58

Finance 15.79 3.24 FSHQ 0.10 0.16 Total 7.31 4.88

Target 6 4.95 It is pleasing to note that the organisation as a whole is performing better than the target set with all departments below or just above the target, except Prevention and Protection, which continues to be influenced by a small number of individuals with recurring long term health issues.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2014/15 2015/16 to31 Dec

2015/16Forecast

34

http://wydtpmi1.westyorksfire.gov.uk/live/Default.aspx?z=400&i=5040










SICKNESS ABSENCE – DAYS LOST 1 APRIL 2014 – 31 DECEMBER 2015

BROKEN DOWN INTO LONG-TERM, SHORT-TERM AND NON-CERTIFIED SICKNESS

Days per Year

Certified long term sickness continues to make up the majority of sickness absence. However, compared to the same time last year, short term non-certified absence, as a percentage of total absence, has increased slightly from 21.1% to 23.7%

SICKNESS ABSENCE – MAJOR CAUSES 1 JANUARY - 31 DECEMBER 2015

Total Musculo Skeletal

Mental Health Respiratory Gastro

Intestinal Dermatological

Dec 2015 923.50 264.50 307.00 86.00 88.00 33.00 Nov 2015 868.50 270.00 246.00 84.00 79.00 41.00 Oct 2015 996.50 332.00 274.00 112.50 85.00 33.00 Sep 2015 913.00 333.00 267.00 60.00 85.50 8.00 Aug 2015 848.00 370.00 220.00 29.50 56.00 0.00 Jul 2015 916.00 411.00 289.00 26.50 88.50 0.00 Jun 2015 932.50 380.00 310.00 57.50 72.00 0.00 May 2015 956.00 320.00 306.00 76.50 133.50 30.00 Apr 2015 992.00 301.50 269.50 101.00 101.00 55.00 Mar 2015 1,020.00 322.50 252.00 152.50 94.50 57.00 Feb 2015 887.00 306.00 274.00 89.00 81.00 32.00 Jan 2015 1,057.50 332.50 294.00 235.00 68.50 0.00

11,310.50 3,943.00 3,308.50 1,110.00 1,032.50 289.00

Mental Health continues to be a major contributor to absence. OHSU is continuing to promote Mental Health awareness for all staff with specific ongoing training for managers.

4. SICKNESS ABSENCE – BENCHMARKINGWORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE 1 APRIL – 31 DECEMBER 2015

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

2014/15 2015/16 to date

Cert. LTCert. STNon-cert.

35

Twenty-five UK fire services currently share sickness and absence data amongst themselves. Unfortunately, because the reporting requirements differ between services, it is not possible to benchmark against all of our own information. The results to the end of the third quarter of 2015/16 are tabulated below.

Five of the seven metropolitan FRS’s have shared their latest data and these are highlighted in the tables.

The score (5.25 for West Yorkshire FRS) indicates the average number of days lost to sickness per member of staff over the first three quarters of the 2015/16 financial year. This differs from the figure in Section 3 because Retained Duty System staff are not included.

FRS Score RankAnon 2.48 1Anon 4.22 2Metropolitan FRS - Anon 4.45 3Anon 4.67 4Metropolitan FRS - Anon 4.77 5West Yorkshire FRS 5.25 6Metropolitan FRS - Anon 5.47 7Anon 5.51 8Anon 5.54 9Durham FRS 5.64 10Cleveland Fire Brigade 5.66 11Anon 5.85 12Anon 5.88 13Anon 6.06 14Royal Berkshire FRS 6.39 15Anon 6.45 16Anon 6.65 17Anon 6.69 18Essex FRS 6.84 19Anon 6.91 20London Fire Brigade 7.42 21Anon 7.48 22Gloucestershire FRS 8.17 23Northern Ireland FRS 8.94 24

Wholetime, Control and Green Book Staff

36

5. ESTABLISHMENT AND STRENGTH AS AT 31 JANUARY 2016

Staff Group

Establishment Employees

No. of Posts following

HR Committee 4 Dec 2015

Amendments to Establishment

Proposed Number of Posts

(New Establishment)

Enrolments 1 Nov 2015

to 31 Jan 2016

Leavers and Retirees

1 Nov 2015 to 31 Jan 2016

Number of People Employed

Whole Time 1078 - 4 1074 12 1070

Retained 120 120 2 3 142 (96 posts)

Control (formerly Mobilising and Communication Centre)

42 42 47

Green and Blue Book (Non-Operational) Personnel

274 1 275 2 2 272

Total 1514 - 3 1511 4 17 1531

Further Information - Establishment At the meeting on 10 July 2015, the HR Committee approved an Organisational Restructure covering:

The disbanding of the Strategic Development directorate, with the deletion of five posts – one Principal Officer, one Group Manager and three Station Managers. The remaining posts are to be transferred into Service Support as follows: one Group Manager, two Station Managers, three Watch Managers (the table at 3.1 in the 10 July paper incorrectly showed two Watch Managers), one Grade 10 Programme Framework Manager and one Grade 5 Project Framework Administrator (now re-evaluated to a Grade 6 position).

The creation of a new Employment Services directorate under the new Chief Employment Services Manager position, with the following posts to be transferred from Service Support: one Station Manager, two Grade 14, one Grade 11, one Grade 10, three Grade 9, one Grade 8, two Grade 7, two Grade 4 and three Grade 3.

37

6. CHANGES IN ESTABLISHMENT AND STRENGTH IN PAST FIVE YEARS

Total Establishment and Strength

1200

1300

1400

1500

1600

1700

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

12 Nov2010

28 Jan2011

1 Jul2011

11 Nov2011

27 Jan2012

6 Jul2012

2 Nov2012

18 Jan2013

12 Apr2013

5 July2013

1 Nov2013

17 Jan2014

4 April2014

5 Sep2014

14 Nov2014

23 Jan2015

27 Mar2015

10 Jul2015

25 Sep2015

4 Dec2015

26 Feb2016

TOTAL ESTABLISHMENT

TOTAL STRENGTH

38

Summary Figures – Establishment and Strength

TOTAL ESTABLISHMENT

TOTAL STRENGTH

WHOLETIME ESTABLISHMENT

WHOLETIME STRENGTH

RETAINED ESTABLISHMENT

RETAINED POSITIONS COVERED

CONTROL ESTABLISHMENT

CONTROL STRENGTH

GREEN BOOK ESTABLISHMENT

GREEN BOOK STRENGTH

12 Nov 2010 2087 2045 1448 1449 165 134 53 54 421 408

28 Jan 2011 2083 2022 1447 1437 165 132 53 54 418 399

1 Jul 2011 1968 1928 1383 1396 161 130 52 55 372 347

11 Nov 2011 1954 1913 1381 1388 161 128 51 51 361 346

27 Jan 2012 1943 1901 1370 1377 161 128 51 51 361 345

6 Jul 2012 1907 1856 1343 1341 156 125 51 50 357 340

2 Nov 2012 1893 1811 1330 1310 156 123 51 53 356 325

18 Jan 2013 1763 1749 1288 1295 156 120 51 50 268 284

12 Apr 2013 1719 1701 1244 1272 156 121 51 50 268 258

5 July 2013 1699 1681 1236 1256 144 117 51 49 268 259

1 Nov 2013 1689 1658 1226 1235 144 114 51 49 268 260

17 Jan 2014 1685 1647 1222 1220 144 118 51 46 268 263

4 April 2014 1657 1629 1202 1204 144 118 43 47 268 260

5 Sep 2014 1641 1608 1186 1193 144 112 43 44 268 259

14 Nov 2014 1624 1600 1166 1182 144 110 43 45 271 263

23 Jan 2015 1611 1579 1165 1164 132 103 42 42 272 270

27 Mar 2015 1587 1563 1153 1156 120 96 42 41 272 270

10 Jul 2015 1585 1536 1150 1124 120 101 42 45 273 266

25 Sep 2015 1561 1514 1126 1102 120 100 42 47 273 265

4 Dec 2015 1514 1496 1078 1079 120 99 42 47 274 271

26 Feb 2016 1511 1485 1074 1070 120 96 42 47 275 272

Reduction 2010-2015 576 560 374 379 45 38 11 7 146 136

39

7. NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF POSTS AS AT 31 JANUARY 2016

GradePrevious

EstabApproval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab Grade

Previous Estab

Approval Sought

New Estab

ACO 1 1 ACO 1 1 ACO 0 0 DCFO 1 -1 0 ACO 0 0 Chief 1 1 Prin Off 4 -1 3AM 3 3 AM 1 1 AM 0 0 AM 0 0 AM 0 0 AM 0 0 AM 4 4GM 8 8 GM 3 1 4 GM 0 0 GM 2 -2 0 GM 0 0 GM 0 0 GM 13 -1 12SM 39 39 SM 6 1 7 SM 0 1 1 SM 5 -5 0 SM 0 0 SM 0 0 SM 50 -3 47WM 133 133 WM 39 3 42 WM 0 0 WM 2 -2 0 WM 0 0 WM 0 0 WM 174 1 175CM 155 155 CM 27 27 CM 0 0 CM 0 0 CM 0 0 CM 0 0 CM 182 182FF 619 619 FF 32 32 FF 0 0 FF 0 0 FF 0 0 FF 0 0 FF 651 651WT 958 0 958 WT 109 5 114 WT 0 1 1 WT 10 -10 0 WT 0 0 0 WT 1 0 1 WT 1078 -4 1074

Prin Off 0 0 Prin Off 0 0 Prin Off 0 1 1 Prin Off 0 0 Prin Off 1 1 Prin Off 1 1 Prin Off 2 1 3EO 0 0 EO 2 2 EO 0 0 EO 0 0 EO 0 0 EO 1 1 EO 3 3G14 2 2 G14 5 -2 3 G14 0 2 2 G14 0 0 G14 1 1 G14 0 0 G14 8 8G13 0 0 G13 0 0 G13 0 0 G13 0 0 G13 0 0 G13 0 0 G13 0 0G12 0 0 G12 2 2 G12 0 0 G12 0 0 G12 0 0 G12 0 0 G12 2 2G11 3 3 G11 3 -1 2 G11 0 1 1 G11 0 0 G11 0 0 G11 0 0 G11 6 6G10 13 13 G10 8 8 G10 0 1 1 G10 1 -1 0 G10 4 4 G10 1 1 G10 27 27G9 0 0 G9 8 -3 5 G9 0 3 3 G9 0 0 G9 0 0 G9 2 2 G9 10 10G8 24 24 G8 9 -1 8 G8 0 1 1 G8 0 0 G8 3 3 G8 1 1 G8 37 37G7 8 8 G7 31 -2 29 G7 0 2 2 G7 0 0 G7 2 2 G7 1 1 G7 42 42G6 2 2 G6 16 1 17 G6 0 0 G6 0 0 G6 1 1 G6 3 3 G6 22 1 23G5 20 20 G5 9 9 G5 0 0 G5 1 -1 0 G5 3 3 G5 0 0 G5 33 -1 32G4 0 0 G4 9 -2 7 G4 0 2 2 G4 0 0 G4 0 0 G4 4 4 G4 13 13G3 41 41 G3 16 -3 13 G3 0 3 3 G3 0 0 G3 3 3 G3 0 0 G3 60 60G2 1 1 G2 3 3 G2 0 0 G2 0 0 G2 4 4 G2 0 0 G2 8 8G1 0 0 G1 0 0 G1 0 0 G1 0 0 G1 0 0 G1 0 0 G1 0 0

APP 0 0 APP 1 1 APP 0 0 APP 0 0 APP 0 0 APP 0 0 APP 1 1Green 114 0 114 Green 122 -13 109 Green 0 16 16 Green 2 -2 0 Green 22 0 22 Green 14 0 14 Green 274 1 275WM® 10 10 WM® 10 10CM® 20 20 CM® 20 20FF® 90 90 FF® 90 90

Retained 120 0 120 Retained 120 0 120GM(Con) 0 0 GM(Con) 0 0SM(Con) 0 0 SM(Con) 0 0WM(Con) 6 6 WM(Con) 6 6CM(Con) 12 12 CM(Con) 12 12FF(Con) 24 24 FF(Con) 24 24MACC 42 0 42 MACC 42 0 42Total 1234 0 1234 Total 231 -8 223 Total 0 17 17 Total 12 -12 0 Total 22 0 22 Total 15 0 15 Total 1514 -3 1511

TOTALSSERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE SUPPORT STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT LEGAL & GOVERNANCE FSHQEMPLOYMENT SERVICES

40

8. RETIREMENT PROFILE OF WORKFORCE (up to March 2022)

9. HEALTH AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE

Lost time up to 3 days

Financial Year Month Firefighter Crew Manager

Watch Manager

Station Manager

Group Manager

Area Manager

Chief and ACO Total

2007-08 FEB 2008 1 1Result 1 1

2013-14 JAN 2014 2 2Result 2 2

2015-16 APR 2015 1 1AUG 2015 1 1FEB 2016 1 1 2MAR 2016 1 4 5Result 3 5 1 9

2016-17 APR 2016 3 3 6MAY 2016 1 1 2JUN 2016 1 1JUL 2016 1 2 1 4SEP 2016 6 1 2 1 1 11OCT 2016 3 3 6NOV 2016 1 1DEC 2016 1 1JAN 2017 7 2 1 2 12FEB 2017 1 1 1 3MAR 2017 1 1 2Result 23 6 13 4 1 1 1 49

2017-18 APR 2017 1 1 2MAY 2017 1 1JUN 2017 1 1 3 1 6JUL 2017 1 1AUG 2017 1 1SEP 2017 5 1 3 1 1 11OCT 2017 1 1NOV 2017 1 1 2DEC 2017 2 2 1 5JAN 2018 3 1 1 1 6FEB 2018 2 1 3MAR 2018 5 2 3 10Result 19 9 15 5 1 49

2018-19 APR 2018 1 1 2JUN 2018 4 3 4 3 14JUL 2018 2 1 1 4SEP 2018 7 2 5 4 2 1 21OCT 2018 2 2NOV 2018 1 1 2DEC 2018 1 1JAN 2019 4 1 1 1 1 8FEB 2019 1 1 2MAR 2019 1 1 2Result 23 10 11 8 5 1 58

2019-20 APR 2019 4 3 1 4 12MAY 2019 1 1 2JUN 2019 4 1 2 1 8JUL 2019 4 1 5AUG 2019 2 1 3SEP 2019 7 1 3 3 14OCT 2019 1 1NOV 2019 1 1DEC 2019 3 1 2 1 7JAN 2020 5 1 1 7FEB 2020 3 3MAR 2020 3 2 3 8Result 37 11 14 8 1 71

2020-21 APR 2020 2 1 3MAY 2020 1 1 2JUL 2020 1 2 1 4AUG 2020 2 2OCT 2020 1 1NOV 2020 1 1Result 8 2 3 13

2021-22 APR 2021 1 1MAY 2021 1 1AUG 2021 2 2OCT 2021 1 1JAN 2022 1 1FEB 2022 1 1Result 3 1 1 1 1 7

41

Actual performance Q1-Q3 Target 2015/16 16 4

Lost time over 3 days

Actual performance Q1-Q3 Target 2015/16 17 26

Riddor Major injury/disease

Actual performance Q1-Q3 Target 2015/16 1 No target set

10. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACTIVITY

Diversity and inclusion activity since the last meeting has included:

Rainbow Laces Campaign –

A social media campaign featuring various staff members wearing rainbow coloured shoe-laces launched in January. The purpose was to start the year with a clear Diversity and Inclusion message of “Acceptance without Exception” (Stonewall’s strapline). The campaign was so successful that we have expanded it to allow staff to buy the laces and wear them at work during February in line with LGBT History Month. This was endorsed from the very top. So far over 30pairs of laces have been sold.

Cash for Kids

Over December WYFRS supported Cash for Kids “Mission Christmas” appeal. Fire stations collected gifts for disadvantaged children, and some of our staff donated gifts themselves. Cash for Kids is the official charity of Radio Aire which supports almost 88 thousand of the disadvantaged local children in Leeds & West Yorkshire.

Carers Survey

A “Carers Survey” was issued to all staff in December to find out more about our staff’s domestic and caring responsibilities, it was well received and over 200 staff completed it. An overview of the results will be available in the next Burning Issues.

LGBT History Month –

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month is February and we have recognised and celebrated the month across the Service. As well as the Rainbow Laces campaign a poster (“table talker”) was distributed to all stations and main offices (HQ, SDC). The table talker shows a timeline of events from 1666 to the present day, designed to raise awareness of the challenges and milestones faced by the LGBT community. These are displayed in relevant and prominent places, for example the mess room tables on station and Oakroyd Hall reception.

Equality Analysis Guidance

New “Equality Analysis” guidance has been written, to be published and shared in March/April (following approval from Board). It is a tool that, once the potential impacts are identified, enables employers to take action to reduce the risk to vulnerable communities, and provide a safe, competent, diverse workforce.

42

International Women’s Day

We will mark International Women’s Day (8th March) through our PR channels. A CPD session for all managers on Menopause will be delivered at the end of February. All female staff will be sent a guidance leaflet on the Menopause, which includes a list of contacts (such as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and our new Women’s Champion) and an invitation to a coffee morning at the end of March (date and location TBC). In our communities, each District Prevention team is organising a community activity themed around International Women’s Day, more information to follow at the next Committee meeting.

11. RESULTS OF FIREFIGHTER AEROBIC TESTS

Included at financial year end.

43

Purpose To present the requested final report of the Task and Finish Group detailing the implications of an ageing workforce.

Recommendations That Members note the report and agree the suggested recommendations.

Summary The first meeting of the Task and Finish Group was held on 30 October 2015. At that meeting, terms of reference for the review were determined. This report presents the findings in respect of each of the terms of reference.

OFFICIAL

Task and Finish Group - final recommendations - implications of an ageing workforce Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 8 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer



Contact Officer: Ian Brandwood, Chief Employment Services Officer E: [email protected] T: 01274 655709


Annexes: Task and Finish Group final report on the implications of an ageing workforce

44

1 Introduction 1.1 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA) commissioned a report to consider the

implications of an ageing workforce for the Authority. In order to undertake this work, a Task and Finish Group was established by the Executive Committee at a meeting held on 17 July 2015. Appointments to that Task and Finish Group were made by the Human Resources Committee on 25 September 2015.

1.2 The first meeting of the Task and Finish Group was held on 30 October 2015. At that meeting,

terms of reference for the review were determined. Those terms of reference were:

i. To gather and examine current and emerging quantitative evidence to assess and determine the physical, psychological and emotional impact on the whole workforce of working longer and changes to state pension age.

ii. To analyse any impact and/or risks this may then have on the delivery of services in terms of

the public and employees

iii. To explain current pension requirements and flexibilities and discretions within the schemes.

iv. To identify any categories of worker or services for whom an increase in Normal Pension Age would be a particular challenge in respect of safe and effective service delivery or in respect of their health and wellbeing

v. To assess the impact of an aging work force on our ability to engage with or reflect our

community. (As an example in 2020 we will have no whole time firefighters under the age of 30 and the average age will be 46.7) Consider whether RDS Recruitment may influence this.

vi. To highlight any equal pay/equality issues arising from the revised Pension Schemes and

consider whether working longer impacts adversely on women..

vii. To understand the impact on fitness of extended working, explaining current fitness standards and how they relate to required operational duties.

viii. To identify any increased susceptibility to illness as age increases

ix. To explore the potential for re-deployment of operational staff into non-operational roles. Is there potential to differentiate operational roles in the future? Would this impact on pay?

x. To examine the potential impact of an older workforce on ill-health retirement, Pension

Scheme costs and sustainability (e.g. increased costs to the Authority.) 1.3 The Task and Finish Group met subsequently on 24 November 2015 and 15 January 2016. The

report at Annex 1 presents the findings in respect of each of the terms of reference.

2 Information 2.1 There are benefits of employing an older workforce. With age comes more experience and skills

which can have a positive effect on the service we deliver. There are also a number of risks such as increased risk of illness, sickness absence, work accidents and reduced fitness levels. However, in general early interventions can mitigate the effect of these risks.

45

2.2 The dominant finding from NHS research is that older people (in good health, with up to date skill sets) perform as well as their younger counterparts. Physical strength does diminish with age, but (in the absence of an underlying health condition) there is as much variability within younger and older employee cohorts as there is between them. There is evidence that older employees benefit from longer recovery periods following physical exertion (peak exertion and working long hours).

2.3 Although there is an association between capacity to work and age, it is not simple and the

variation between individuals is large and can be affected by lifestyle factors, non-work sources of stress, and the availability of occupational health support. But the conclusion of the evidence is that people are likely to be capable of continuing to work in their existing roles until they reach the new retirement age, but in practice may not be motivated, or otherwise able, to do so. For staff to remain productively employed there needs to be a good fit between the demands of their job, their working environment, their personal circumstances and their capability.


3.1 None arising directly from this report


4.1 Equality and diversity implications are detailed in the attached report.


5.1 Health and safety implications are detailed in the attached report.

6 Service Plan Links 6.1 The proposals align to the Service Plan Priorities:

• Deliver a professional and resilient emergency response service

• Provide a safe skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community

7 Conclusions

7.1 The general conclusion from this piece of work is that at this moment in time, an ageing workforce doesn’t present any significant impacts on our ability to deliver our services, but may well do so over the next 5 – 10 years, as the numbers of staff aged over 50 increases.

46

Task and Finish Group

Report on the Implications of an ageing workforce

January 2016

47

Contents Page 1.0 Introduction

2.0 Executive Summary and Recommendations

3.0 The physical, psychological and emotional impact on the whole workforce of working longer and changes to state pension age.

4.0 The impact and/or risks on the delivery of services in terms of the public and employees

5.0 Current pension requirements and flexibilities and discretions within the schemes.

6.0 Categories of worker or services for whom an increase in Normal Pension Age would be a particular challenge in respect of safe and effective service delivery or in respect of their health and wellbeing

7.0 The impact of an aging work force on our ability to engage with or reflect our community.

8.0 Equal pay/equality issues arising from the revised Pension Schemes and consider whether working longer impacts adversely on women

9.0 The impact on fitness of extended working .

10.0 Susceptibility to illness as age increases

11.0 The potential for re-deployment of operational staff into non-operational roles

12.0 The potential impact of an older workforce on ill-health retirement, Pension Scheme costs and sustainability (e.g. increased costs to the Authority.

13.0 Acknowledgements

48

1

1.0 Introduction

1.1 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA) commissioned a report to

consider the implications of an ageing workforce for the Authority. In order to undertake this work, a Task and Finish Group was established by the Executive Committee at a meeting held on July 17th, 2015. Appointments to that Task and Finish Group were made by the Human Resources Committee on September 25th, 2015.

1.2 The first meeting of the Task and Finish Group was held on October 30th, 2015. At

that meeting, terms of reference for the review were determined. Those terms of reference were:

i. To gather and examine current and emerging quantitative evidence to assess

and determine the physical, psychological and emotional impact on the whole workforce of working longer and changes to state pension age.

ii. To analyse any impact and/or risks this may then have on the delivery of services

in terms of the public and employees

iii. To explain current pension requirements and flexibilities and discretions within the schemes.

iv. To identify any categories of worker or services for whom an increase in Normal

Pension Age would be a particular challenge in respect of safe and effective service delivery or in respect of their health and wellbeing

v. To assess the impact of an aging work force on our ability to engage with or

reflect our community. (As an example in 2020 we will have no whole time firefighters under the age of 30 and the average age will be 46.7) Consider whether RDS Recruitment may influence this.

vi. To highlight any equal pay/equality issues arising from the revised Pension

Schemes and consider whether working longer impacts adversely on women..

vii. To understand the impact on fitness of extended working, explaining current fitness standards and how they relate to required operational duties.

viii. To identify any increased susceptibility to illness as age increases

ix. To explore the potential for re-deployment of operational staff into non-operational roles. Is there potential to differentiate operational roles in the future? Would this impact on pay?

x. To examine the potential impact of an older workforce on ill-health retirement,

Pension Scheme costs and sustainability (e.g. increased costs to the Authority.)

49

2

1.3 This report presents the findings in respect of each of the terms of reference. 2.0 Executive Summary and Recommendations 2.1 There are benefits of employing an older workforce. With age comes more

experience and skills which can have a positive effect on the service we deliver. A substantial proportion of our colleagues are involved in community work above and beyond the basic ‘firefighter’ role including the recent “Cherish Older People This Winter” campaign. Our older colleagues are arguably best placed to serve some of our most vulnerable communities. However, research has shown there are also a number of risks associated with an aging workforce including increased risk of illness, sickness absence, work accidents and reduced fitness levels. In general however it is found that early interventions can mitigate the effect of these risks.

2.2 The dominant finding from NHS research is that older people (in good health, with up

to date skill sets) perform as well as their younger counterparts. Physical strength does diminish with age, but (in the absence of an underlying health condition) there is as much variability within younger and older employee cohorts as there is between them. There are some Reasonable Adjustments which must be considered which will support our staff perform at work. For example, there is evidence that older employees benefit from longer recovery periods following physical exertion (peak exertion and working long hours). Moreover, gender differences in the depreciation of muscle strength requires further exploration and consideration. An “equality lens” must be applied continually as we move through this journey. The first step of this is education and awareness campaigns which are crucial to avoid any equality issues.

2.3 Whilst strength is important, good aerobic fitness is vital to ensure staff can safely

meet the demands of firefighting. The dominant findings of the Williams report is that aerobic fitness declines with age and it is therefore vital that firefighters enter the service with as high a level as possible and that they maintain this level of fitness and manage their weight, through healthy lifestyle choices, throughout their career. Failure to do so could see large numbers unable to reach the current national fitness standards as they get older.

2.4 Although there is an association between capacity to work and age, it is not simple

and the variation between individuals is large and can be affected by lifestyle factors, non-work sources of stress, and the availability of occupational health support. But the conclusion of the evidence is that people are likely to be capable of continuing to work in their existing roles until they reach the new retirement age, but in practice may not be motivated, or otherwise able, to do so. For staff to remain productively employed there needs to be a good fit between the demands of their job, their working environment, their personal circumstances and their capability.

2.5 The general conclusion from this piece of work is that at this moment in time, an

ageing workforce doesn’t present any significant impacts on our ability to deliver our services, but may well do so over the next 5 – 10 years, as the numbers of 50 year + group increases.

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2.6 The Authority should:

1. Continue to encourage & support firefighters to maintain high standards of aerobic fitness & strength. This will counter the natural decline experienced through ageing.

2. Consider increasing the aerobic fitness recruitment standards when we next

recruit operational firefighters, again to take account of the natural decline experienced through ageing.

3. Continue to promote healthy lifestyle choices, diet & nutrition through the

Occupational Health & Safety Unit. 4. Consider whether it is necessary to tailor the support we provide to firefighters

dependent on age & sex, accepting that female firefighters and older firefighters may need more support to meet the fitness standards.

5. Explore the option of an awareness campaign to increase education about the Menopause and its potential impact on our female colleagues.

6. Consider whether there is a need to explore options for redeploying firefighters

who are unable to meet the fitness standards into non-operational roles. 7. Continue to invest in, and promote healthy & safe workplaces; in particularly with

regard to manual handing risks which contributes significantly to the causes of absence amongst older workers.

8. The Authority should review its position in relation to whether a firefighter even when working in a non-operational Grey book role must be capable at any time of reverting to an operational firefighting role,

9. Whilst research has found that older workers can feel demotivated, an effective employee engagement strategy will benefit staff of all age groups. The Authority should develop and deliver a coordinated approach to engaging all age groups of its workforce.

3.0 The physical, psychological and emotional impact on the whole workforce of

working longer and changes to state pension age. 3.1 According to the most recent fitness results within the Authority (September 2015)

99% of operational staff (firefighter – Watch Manager in operational roles) met the current required fitness standard with a further 0.9% getting between 35 – 41 ml∙kg-1∙min-1, remaining operational whilst improvements are made. Only 0.1% were removed from operational duties. This level of fitness does not present a risk to the Authority of not being unable to deliver its service.

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3.2 Research has shown that with age, comes a reduction in both aerobic fitness and strength, both of which are important in maintaining a safe and effective firefighter. Should the fitness levels of firefighters be the same as the general population (worst case scenario), it is estimated that 85% of 55 year firefighters and 92% of 60 year firefighters would not be able to meet the required fitness standard. However, in the best case scenario, where firefighters maintain their physical activity levels and body mass index as they age, 15% would be unfit for duty at 55 years, increasing to 23% at 60 years.

3.3 The groups of staff most at risk are firefighter, crew & watch managers as the fitness

standards are role related and the most stringent for this group. Station Manager and above perform a supervisory role on the incident ground and therefore require a reduced level of aerobic fitness. Current fitness data suggests this would not cause a significant concern for senior officers. There are no fitness standards for support staff.

3.4 Older employees are prone to feel that their skills and experience are under-valued,

and feel socially marginalised in this respect. There is potential for this to have negative impacts on motivation and commitment to work, as well as disposition to remain in work.

3.5 While there is evidence of generational differences in attitudes and orientations to

work, the balance of evidence suggests that these are outweighed by the degree of commonality and similarity between the generations. There is some evidence that people's priorities and what they value about work and work-life balance preferences change as they get older. There are findings that multi-generational teams that are composed of a mix of older and younger people have greater strengths than single age teams, but that they need more careful management. The migration of older employees to mentoring roles has been shown to have positive benefits for both older and younger workers.

3.6 Older workers bring a range of benefits to the workforce and employers tend to

underestimate the cost, financial and otherwise, of failing to retain experienced staff. 4.0 The impact and/or risks on the delivery of services in terms of the public and

employees 4.1 There is evidence that shift work (particularly some types of rotation) is detrimental to

health across all age groups. The evidence is mixed, but some sources suggest that working longer than 8 hours can be detrimental to older workers‟ health, while others (especially multivariate and meta-analysis studies) find no association with age and no evidence that it is worse for the over 60s than it is for people in their 50s.

4.2 The Williams report however concluded that most studies showed an increasing

intolerance of shift work with age and that the intolerance was progressive but that there is no substantial change identified between ages 50-54 and 55-59. The impact can be reduced by managing duties during night shifts and by selection of optimum shift patterns. A move towards shorter night shifts would assist.

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5.0 Current pension requirements and flexibilities and discretions within the

schemes 5.1 Lord Hutton of Furness was invited by the then Coalition Government to chair a

fundamental review of public service pension provision and in March 2011 set out the Commission’s recommendations on future pension arrangements. It concluded that its recommendations would be sustainable and affordable in the long term, fair to both the public service workforce and to the taxpayer and consistent with the fiscal challenges ahead, whilst also protecting accrued rights. The Hutton review was the basis for the 2013 Public Sector pension Act which provided the blue print for public sector pension reform and the introduction of the 2015 Firefighters Pension scheme.

5.2 West Yorkshire Fire Service manages five occupational pension schemes. These

are:

• 1992 Firefighters Pension scheme (FPS) • 2006 New Firefighters pension scheme (NFPS) • 2015 Firefighters pension scheme (2015 Scheme) • RDS Modified pension scheme(Modified Scheme) • Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

5.3 The 1992 Firefighters pension scheme - WYFRS current membership: 467 5.4 The 1992 Firefighters pension scheme has a normal pension age of 55, with the

option to retire at 50 with a minimum of 25 years’ service. The scheme has a maximum level of accrual, once an individual has achieved 30 years’ service, they have accrued their maximum pension and additional contributions after 30 years’ service, will not increase the pension they receive in retirement. If an individual who has achieved 30 years’ service, stops paying contributions but remains in employment, they will become a deferred member of the scheme and would not receive their pension until their deferred pension age of 60. These has led to the vast majority of firefighters retiring at 30 years’ service, as remaining in employment and retaining their pension rights, would result in them having to contribute £400 a month (Firefighter rate) into their pension, for no additional benefit in retirement.

5.5 The 1992 firefighter’s pension scheme provides a significant barrier to its members

working beyond 30 years’ service. There is no provision within the scheme to allow members to work beyond 30 years and not pay pension contributions. Most members of the 1992 firefighter’s pension scheme within WYFRS will have retired or been compulsorily transferred into the 2015 firefighters pension scheme by 1st April 2022.

5.6 2006 New Firefighters pension scheme - WYFRS current membership: 23 5.7 In 2006, the government introduced a new firefighter’s pension scheme with a normal

pension age of 60. There are very few remaining members of this scheme within WYFRS. The scheme still has a maximum level of accrual, but rather than this being

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achieved after 30 years’ service it takes 40 years to achieve maximum accrual. The scheme does support employees working longer due to the 40 years accrual and a normal pension age of 60. There will be no members of the 2006 new firefighter’s pension scheme within WYFRS by 1st April 2022.

5.8 Both the 1992 scheme and 2006 scheme are final salary schemes. 5.9 2015 Firefighters pension scheme - WYFRS current membership: 612 5.10 The introduction of the 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme on the 1st April, 2015 was

very unpopular with firefighters and resulted in strikes across the country. The introduction of the 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme resulted in large numbers of members of both the 1992 and 2006 schemes being compulsorily transferred into the 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme. There were protections available for firefighters who were within 10 years of retirement who stayed in their original scheme, and a further 4 years of protection for members who were within 14 years of retirement.

5.11 The 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme is not as generous in its provisions as the

schemes it replaces and operates on a Career Averaged Revalued Earnings (CARE) basis. There is no maximum accrual level, so the barriers that existed within the 1992 and 2006 scheme to working longer have been removed for members of the 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme. The normal pension age within the 2015 firefighter’s pension scheme is 60.

5.12 RDS Modified pension scheme - WYFRS current membership: 40 5.13 The RDS modified pension scheme was introduced in 2015 for retained firefighters

who had served between 2000 and 2006. The RDS modified scheme was introduced following a court case which determined that retained firefighters had been discriminated against by not having access to a pension until 2006, following the prior introduction of the “Less Favourable Treatment of Part Time Workers Regulations” in 2000. The provisions of the RDS modified scheme reflect those of the 1992 pension scheme. There are only 40 members of the RDS modified scheme within WYFRS. However because retained firefighters do not accrue pension as quickly as whole time firefighters due to them being employed on a part time basis the 30 year accrual limit is not reached by members.

5.14 Local Government Pension Scheme - WYFRS current membership: 294 5.15 The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is offered to all non-uniformed

members of staff. The scheme has a normal pension age which is the same as the state pension age. The scheme has seen significant changes over recent years, and is now operated on a CARE basis. The LGPS supports employees to work longer and to an older age.

5.16 The historic barriers to working longer and to an older age that existed within the

pension schemes have been removed by the introduction of the 2015 firefighters’ pension scheme and the changes to the LGPS, which both now operate on a CARE

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basis and have no maximum accrual level. The vast majority of members of the old schemes will have retired by 1st April 2022. The current Normal Pension Age for firefighters is 60; this has been the case for 10 years.

6.0 Categories of worker or services for whom an increase in Normal Pension Age

would be a particular challenge in respect of safe and effective service delivery or in respect of their health and wellbeing

6.1 Currently there are 203 operational staff age 50+. In 10 years’ time there will be 524.

Whilst not strictly accurate due to a number of staff being members of the 1992 pension scheme or having tapered protection under the 2006 scheme, the figures make the point, as the table below also shows:

Operational Staff (All)

Age Group Whole-time RDS Total <40 398 73 471 40-44 219 13 232 45-49 291 30 321 50-54 159 19 178 55-59 11 12 23 60-64 1 1 2 65-69 0 0 0 TOTAL 1,079 148 1,227

Support Staff Age Group Total <40 80 40-44 29 45-49 46 50-54 45 55-59 47 60-64 25 65-69 5 TOTAL 277

There is an even split between male / female mix for support staff.

6.2 Research has also concluded that women generally have lower levels of fitness than males in every age category and will therefore find it more difficult to maintain their fitness levels than their male colleagues. Again, current fitness data suggests this is not a problem as all 54 female operational staff meet the current fitness standard. However, as can be seen from the table below, there are currently no female operational staff in the 50+ age group and this may present a challenge over the next 5-10 years.

Operational Staff (female)

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Age Group Whole-time RDS Total <40 29 5 34 40-44 9 0 9 45-49 10 1 11 50> 0 0 0 TOTAL 48 6 54

7.0 The impact of an aging work force on our ability to engage with or reflect our

community. 7.1 According to the Audit Commission “effective local public services target effort where

improvement is most needed to tackle inequalities within and between communities”. WYFRS strives continually to engage with and support its local communities. A range of evidence shows that multi-generational teams comprising a mix of age ranges have greater strengths than single age teams. Arguably due to their experience, our older workers may be best placed to be able to connect with and serve some of our most vulnerable ‘at-risk’ groups.

7.2 However, more exploration is required to help us understand how the known impact

of shift working, particularly night shifts, combined with staff preferences about working patterns will combine with an ageing workforce to potentially impact on service delivery. There also may need to be further consideration of organisational structure and role design. For our workforce to remain productive there needs to be a good fit between the demands of their role, their working environment, their personal circumstances and their capability.

8.0 Equal pay/equality issues arising from the revised Pension Schemes and

consider whether working longer impacts adversely on women 8.1 Morally and legally we have a duty to ensure women and men receive equal pay for

equal work. To comply with the Equality Act 2010, WYFRS’s pay systems and employment terms should be designed and implemented devoid of any gender discrimination or bias. An equal pay audit will be conducted in 2016. In terms of the Pension Scheme, the pension scheme structure is considered to offer the fairest outcomes overall for colleagues as a collective group. An Equality Assessment review by the LGA concluded that “the introduction of a career average pension scheme does not itself create differential impacts on different groups” (2012, pg4).

8.2 On the other hand, research by QinetiQ on working longer found that women have a

longer life expectancy but higher “unhealthy life expectancy”. The QinetiQ study focussed on various occupations including the fire service, the police and the military and concluded that there was a marked decrease in muscle strength reported by women in comparison to men between the ages of 50 and 60 years old. This is a consideration which needs further exploration.

8.3 Research into the complex relationships between age, women’s health (in particular

the menopause) and performance at work is a burgeoning but underdeveloped area,

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particularly within the Fire Service nationally. There is certainly potential for equality issues if gender differences are not recognised at all stages of firefighters’ careers, particularly when it comes to the Menopause. As with many equality issues this stems from a lack of education and awareness. In this light an important and pressing area of work for the Authority is a campaign to raise awareness of the Menopause and its potential impact on our female colleagues.

9.0 The impact on fitness of extended working 9.1 The studies undertaken by the NHS have looked at general ageing workforce issues.

These will certainly be applicable to all FRS employees, especially support staff, however they fail to consider the specific fitness demands associated with the role of a Firefighter. The report “Normal Pension Age for Firefighters - A review for the Firefighters’ Pension Committee” was produced by Dr Anthony Williams in December 2012, and looked at exactly that. Whilst the primary purpose of the report was in relation to the Governments proposal to increase the NPA for Firefighters to age 60, it considered the implications of age on relevant factors such aerobic fitness, cardiorespiratory fitness, strength and general health. The 162 page report considers these issues in some detail and makes the following conclusions:

9.2 Roles 9.3 Dr Williams classes the various roles into two groups “on the pump” and “off the

pump”. The first group includes Firefighters, Crew Managers and Watch Managers, with all other more senior roles falling into the second group. Dr Williams concludes that “off the pump” roles do not have to achieve the same level of fitness although some may be required to train in breathing apparatus.

9.4 Physical Fitness 9.5 Dr Williams makes the point for the need to have a universally accepted fitness

standard. At the time of publishing the report (2012) the Firefit study had not reported. It has now concluded the aerobic standard for a Firefighter should be 42.3 mL∙kg-1∙min-1. Taking the above point into account, because the roles are different, FDS officers do not need to have the same level of aerobic fitness and so have recommended a standard of 36.8 mL∙kg-1∙min-1.

9.6 However, physical fitness is known to decline with age. Studies show that without

regular physical activity this decline is substantial and progressive from age 20. A model developed from a number of major academic studies shows that for the general male population, around 60% of men meet the standard of 42 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 at age 25, but this drops to 35% at age 35, 15% at age 45 and less than 1% at age 60. Within these studies, it is shown that the small subgroup (<25 %) that could maintain weight and physical activity levels would maintain a mean fitness of above 42 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 to age 70, assuming they start with a VO2 max above 49 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 at 25 years. The drop in fitness seen in the general population is mostly due to unhealthy lifestyle choices, weight gain and lack of physical activity.

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9.7 A number of recent studies have suggested that firefighters are no fitter than the general population. They are as overweight as the general population, but have fewer individuals in the higher category of obesity than the general population. However, modelling of research papers combined with limited data from a small number of FRSs shows that UK firefighters are physically fitter than the general population, with an estimated mean VO2max of ~ 50 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 being maintained until 35 years of age. The models estimate the number of firefighters who will be unable to meet the minimum aerobic fitness standard as they age. In the worst case scenario, where firefighters follow the normal population changes in physical activity levels and body mass index with ageing, 85% would be unfit for duty at 55 years, increasing to 92% at 60 years. In the best case scenario, where firefighters maintain their physical activity levels and body mass index as they age, 15% would be unfit for duty at 55 years, increasing to 23% at 60 years. Those who fall below the standard at ages 55 and 60 years are likely to have been close to 42 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 when joining their FRS.

9.8 Fitness in women is significantly lower than for men at all ages. However the decline

in fitness follows a similar rate when activity levels and body mass index changes are similar. The same model can therefore be used for both sexes for the decline in aerobic fitness. There will however be fewer women with a substantially higher starting fitness than the minimum standard required, so more women are likely to drop below the required aerobic fitness standard as they age.

9.9 Firefighters in management roles of Station Manager and above have less

requirement for a high level of operational fitness, and no significant problems with fitness are expected in relation to age in this group, assuming a recommended minimum VO2max standard of 25 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 is required in the role.

9.10 Strength 9.11 A decline in strength is predicted for both men and women due to age-related

changes in muscle function and a reduction in lean muscle mass; the decline is exacerbated by the failure to maintain physical activity. For a firefighting population of around 4,500 in age range 55-59 who do not maintain physical fitness, assuming 3% are women, around 15 women and 450 men would be predicted to fail to meet a strength test based on the ladder lift. Implementing a national fitness policy that includes strength training would minimise the failure rate, and numbers failing to meet a standard in this age range should then be insignificant.

9.12 Heat Tolerance 9.13 There is no identified decrease in heat tolerance specific to age, but

thermoregulatory and sweating responses are closely related to VO2max and physical activity levels. If firefighters fail to maintain fitness, then they can expect impaired heat tolerance with ageing. No major issues would be expected in relation to age for heat exposure provided firefighters maintain physical fitness and avoid unhealthy lifestyles.

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10.0 Susceptibility to illness as age increases 10.1 Ill health retirement (IHR) data from 38 Fire Services for the years 2007-12 show an

actual rate of 1.6 IHR per thousand firefighters with a steady rise towards retirement age. Around half of retirements were for musculoskeletal disorders and a quarter were for mental health problems. Only thirteen were for heart problems and nine for respiratory problems, significantly lower than expected for the same numbers and ages in the general population. Assuming that the rates continue to rise to age 60 at the rate predicted both for current firefighters and for the rise seen in the general population at this age, and assuming that numbers in age range 55-59 increase substantially to similar levels for younger age ranges (around 5,000 in each five year age range), an increase of 30 to 40 IHRs are predicted for age range 55-59 compared to age range 50-54.

10.2 A general increase in chronic disease is expected, with IHR representing a small

proportion of those who have diagnosed disease. The figure of 30-40 IHR is assumed to be underpinned by around 90-120 who have significant disease likely to affect fitness and capability but not to the extent that IHR results. The increase of 90-120 would represent around 2.5% of the total number in age range 55-59, and overall this is not expected to affect capability and effectiveness significantly.

10.3 The mortality and morbidity data suggest that although firefighters have similar

numbers of overweight to the general population, the lack of significant numbers with high levels of obesity results in substantially less mortality and chronic disease compared to the general population. Firefighters are therefore as overweight, but less obese and healthier, than the general population.

10.4 There is no evidence to suggest that age has a detrimental effect on staff mental

ability with potential for capability and performance issues for both operational and support staff, up to the current SPA. Older workers are at greater risk of illness and injuries. This has the potential to lead to increases in sickness absence levels. Older employees will also need longer to recover from such injuries.

10.5 Whilst older employees are more likely to have a greater number of days sickness

absence than younger colleagues, they will have less episodes of absence. Currently WYFRS sickness levels are on track to meet target. Musculoskeletal injuries make up a significant proportion of injuries in older workers and the adoption of risk assessment and measures to reduce risk in the workplace will be increasingly important.

10.6 According to NHS research, older workers exhibit higher rates (annual days lost) of

sickness absence than younger workers. But, headline figures disguise differences in patterns of absence. Older employees tend to exhibit fewer spells of absence, but of longer duration. A significant proportion of musculoskeletal problems become manifest or more acute in later life. They can be the product of repeated exposure, or aggravation of earlier injuries, age related degenerative effects and lack of physical fitness, as well as acute traumas potentially suffered by employees of all ages. Preventative action, principally through the design of work and related

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handling systems / technologies, needs to begin early and applies to employees of all ages. There are grounds for believing that rates of sickness presenteeism (working when sick) may be higher for older employees. It is likely that rates will vary by job-role and grade.

10.7 Evidence suggests that older workers can feel marginalised and as a consequence,

less motivated. This can be reflected in the service they provide. This makes employee engagement even more important for the older worker.

11.0 The potential for re-deployment of operational staff into non-operational roles 11.1 If an employee does not meet the criteria for ill health retirement, before commencing

a capability dismissal route best practice in employment law is to offer the employee a suitable alternative role. In the case of an operational firefighter the only available redeployment roles within WYFRS currently are into Green book support roles on less favourable Green book terms and conditions of employment. In all cases of potential ill health retirement or capability dismissal WYFRS always considers redeployment options into Green book roles but not Grey book roles.

11.2 WYFRS has a number of non-operational Grey book roles e.g. Operations Policy,

Operations Equipment and district based roles where there is potential for operational firefighters to be redeployed into these non-operational Grey book roles. However, WYFRS has taken the decision for a number of years that an operational firefighter even when working in a non-operational Grey book role must be capable at any time of reverting to an operational firefighting role, therefore, the non-operational role is currently not an option for redeployment.

11.3 Historically there were a number of non-operational Grey book roles in departments

such as Prevention and Protection which were carried out by firefighters who were not able to perform the operational part of their role. These roles disappeared over time due to concerns over equal pay issues in that the Grey book employees were getting paid a firefighters salary to carry out the non-operational role whereas a Green book employee was on a significantly lower salary carrying out the exact same role.

11.4 There is certainly potential to differentiate operational roles in the future and create

non-operational Grey book roles as detailed above. However, this could not be implemented without serious consideration of the impact on equal pay claims, the firefighter role map and the potential salary implications. In order to negate the risk of equal pay claims these roles would need to be evaluated through an agreed evaluation scheme and would most likely have a detrimental impact on pay as they would not be carrying out the full duties of a firefighter’s role map. There would also need to be a separate role map for a non-operational firefighter as one of the current areas in the firefighter role map is to resolve operational incidents, support effectiveness of operational response and save and preserve endangered life.

12.0 The potential impact of an older workforce on ill-health retirement, Pension

Scheme costs and sustainability (e.g. increased costs to the Authority.

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12.1 As the WYFRS workforce begins to age and employees are supported to work

longer, the workforce will become more susceptible to injury and disease. All the pension schemes the Authority provides have provisions within in them for Ill health retirement. As a result the numbers of ill health retirements are likely to increase in line with the age profile of the organisation. This will place a financial burden on the Authority, both in terms of one of payments into the schemes, when an individual is retired on ill health grounds, and potentially an increase in employer contribution rates in the future.

12.2 With an NPA of 60, and assuming that staffing levels even out across all ages, IHR

data indicate an extra 30-40 firefighters would become permanently medically unfit in the age range 55-59 compared to age range 50-54. An extra 30-40 IHR would also indicate a larger number, estimated at 90-120 firefighters who have chronic disease affecting fitness adversely but who have not yet reached the point of IHR. The additional 90-120 would represent around 2.5% of firefighters in this age group, and while it should not have a substantial impact on the ability of Fire Services to provide sufficient fit firefighters it needs to be considered in relation to overall staffing levels.

12.3 There will be a significant number of firefighters who expected to retire at age 55 and

will have difficulty maintaining fitness beyond this age. Among those who have joined on the 2006 pension scheme there will also be some who will have difficulty maintaining fitness, and there will be a significant number who are medically unfit above age 55 but who do not meet the criteria for IHR. There is likely to be a substantially larger proportion of women firefighters who are physically and/or medically unfit over age 55.

13.0 Acknowledgements 13.1 The following members of staff are thanked for their very significant input to this

report: Christine Cooper Corporate HR Manager Emily Dew Diversity and Inclusion Officer Mark Dixon Occupational Health & Safety Manager Chris Lawton Station Manager, HR 14.0 References

ACAS. “Managing the Menopause at work” ACAS - Directions 2016. ACAS Conference 2015 Colas, K (2015) “Menopause ~ A Perfect Storm!” FireFit Steering Group FireFit Conference 2015 Employment Rights Act 1996 Equality Act 2010. Government Equalities Office. National Archives. 2010

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Select Committee on Science and Technology First Report Chapter 3: Understanding The Ageing Process. Turner, P (2014) “Health and Well-being Research Project”. FireFit Steering Group FireFit Conference 2015 Normal Pension Age for Firefighters - A review for the Firefighters’ Pension Committee. Dr Anthony Williams, December 2012 NHS Working Longer Review -Preliminary findings and recommendations report for the Health Departments May 2013. Public Service Pensions Act 2013

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Purpose To invite the Committee to consider a response to the call for evidence in relation to closed recruitment practices in the public sector

Recommendations It is recommended that the draft response to the consultation is agreed.

Summary The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has commissioned a call for evidence in relation to closed recruitment practices in the public sector. This call for evidence is to gather evidence on the prevalence of internal only recruitment in the public sector, including whether it is ever ineffectively or inappropriately used. Views are also sought on the role for Government in promoting more open recruitment.

OFFICIAL

Closed recruitment practices in the public sector Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 9 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer



Contact Officer: Ian Brandwood, Chief Employment Services Officer Tel: 01274 655709 E: [email protected]


Annexes: Annex 1 – Suggested Response

Annex 2 - Closed recruitment practices in the public sector – Call For Evidence

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1 Introduction 1.1 The attached document seeks views on closed recruitment practices in the public sector. Closed

recruitment is the practice of recruiting from internal staff without advertising externally. The consultation paper states that this practice is more common in the public sector.

2 Information

2.1 Although this consultation is a call for evidence, the tone of the consultation suggests that a view has already been formed that internal only recruitment is not desirable. It is the view of the Chief Employment Services Officer that organisations should be free to determine the most appropriate method of recruitment depending on the circumstances faced at a particular time. The suggested response to the consultation reflects those views.

2.2 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA) does not have a documented recruitment policy and decisions are usually made on a case by case basis on the most appropriate method of recruitment. In recent years, the majority of recruitment has been internal only (particularly in relation to managerial appointments within the operational establishment. This has been a particular response to the financial constraints faced by the Authority and the need to reduce the firefighter establishment in line with the agreed IRMP plans.

2.3 There is already a statutory duty under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 for Authorities to ensure that appointments to posts are based on merit.

2.4 A recruitment policy is in development to help to ensure that the Authority adopts a consistent approach to advertising and recruitment of posts.


3.1 Whilst there are no direct financial implications arising from this report, any move to impose a central directive to advertise posts externally would result in additional cost to the Authority.


4.1 Routinely advertising jobs internally impacts adversely on the diversity of the organisation. It is recognised that there is a need to change the demographic of the organisation to better reflect the communities that it serves, but this does need to be balanced with the financial implications of re-shaping the workforce, particularly when to organisation is downsizing. The proposed recruitment policy will give appropriate guidance on this matter.


5.1 None arising from this report.




7 Conclusions 7.1 The Authority should remain free to make appropriate recruitment decisions which fulfil its

statutory responsibilities and serve the best needs of the organisation. It is not felt that this is a matter which requires further legislative intervention.

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Annex 1

Closed recruitment practices in the public sector - response form The call for evidence is available at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/closed-recruitment-practices-in-the-public-sector.

The closing date for responses is 15 April 2016.

Please return completed forms by email or by letter to:

Labour Market Directorate Department for Business Innovation and Skills 1 Victoria Street London SW1A 0ET

[email protected]

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or release to other parties or to disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes. Please see the call for evidence for further information.

If you want information, including personal data, that you provide to be treated as confidential, please explain to us below why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information, we shall take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department.

I want my response to be treated as confidential ☐

Comments: Click here to enter text.

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http://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/closed-recruitment-practices-in-the-public-sector


Questions

Name: Ian Brandwood

Email address: [email protected]

When responding please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation:

I am responding as an individual ☐

I am responding on behalf of an organisation ☒

What is the name of your organisation? West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Please check the box that best describes you as a respondent:

Respondent type

☐ Business representative organisation/trade body

☐ Central government

☐ Charity or social enterprise

☐ Individual

☐ Large business (over 250 staff)

☐ Legal representative

☐ Local government

☐ Medium business (50 to 250 staff)

☐ Micro business (up to 9 staff)

☐ Small business (10 to 49 staff)

☐ Trade union or staff association

☒ Other Fire & Rescue Authority

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1) What other advantages, disadvantages and considerations do you believe apply to internal-only recruitment?

One of the main reasons that internal only recruitment is used is to assist with establishment control. We, in common with many other public sector organisations have been downsizing over a number of years and internal only recruitment helps us to reduce the size of our workforce without incurring severance costs.

2) How often is internal-only recruitment used by employers?

☐ Very frequently

☒ Frequently

☐ Infrequently

☐ Very infrequently

☐ Not sure

Please provide an estimate based on your own experience:

For the last couple of years, 75% of our recruitment is internal only.

3) Do you agree that internal-only recruitment is more common in the public sector than in the private sector?

☐ Yes, it is more common in the public sector

☐ No, it is more common in the private sector

☒ There is no difference

☐ Not sure

Please explain your answer.

I think all organisations make decisions based on prevailing conditions at the time. The greater diversity awareness (and legislation) in the public sector probably leads to more external recruitment than in the private sector.

4) Do you think public sector employers are striking the right balance between supporting the progression of their staff, and accessing the skills and expertise of other sectors?

The prevailing financial constraints probably mean the public sector look internally more frequently than is desirable.

5) If not, what more could or should be done to encourage this?

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Organisations need to be free to make their own decisions. The statutory requirement to evidence that appointments are made on merit is already sufficient.

6) Are you aware of instances where public sector employers have come under pressure or influence to retain or introduce internal-only recruitment?

No

7) If so, why does external pressure to run internal-only recruitment arise, and from who?

Please answer based on your own experience.

Not applicable.

8) Which option do you think would be most appropriate to tackle closed recruitment in the public sector?

☐ Greater transparency

☐ A cap on internal-only recruitment

☐ A ban on internal-only recruitment

☒ None: there is no problem to address

☐ Not sure

9) What are the costs and benefits of these options?

Nil

10) Are there other options to tackle closed recruitment in the public sector? Please specify in your answer.

Given that organisations should be free to make their own decisions which balance the needs of the business with value for money, no further options should be considered.

11) What other risks and opportunities should the Government take into account when considering recruitment practices in the public sector?

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The public sector should already be conducting equality impact assessments of its policies and practices and this process should ensure appropriate consideration of risks and opportunities.

Thank you for taking the time to let us have your views. We do not intend to acknowledge receipt of individual responses unless you tick the box below.

Please acknowledge this reply ☒

BIS/16/100/RF

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Purpose To set out the Authority’s revised Human Resources (HR) Strategy

Recommendations It is recommended that the Strategy be approved

Summary The Authority’s current HR Strategy expires in 2015 and it is therefore appropriate to develop an updated strategy that fully reflects the people management priorities of the organisation over the next few years. The Report sets out an updated HR Strategy for the consideration of the Human Resources Committee

OFFICIAL

Human Resources Strategy 2015 - 20 Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 10 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer





Annexes: Draft Human Resources Strategy 2015 - 20

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1 Introduction 1.1 The Authority’s current HR Strategy expired in 2015 and it is therefore appropriate to develop an

updated strategy that fully reflects the people management priorities of the organisation over the next few years. This becomes increasingly important as we seek to do more with less in response to the financial constraints imposed on the Authority.

1.2 The updated strategy also needs to take account of the emerging recommendations from the Thomas Review which include:

Rebuilding required around culture and trust. Early engagement with employee representatives over change programmes and

proposals. Improved training in 'effective change management', 'leadership & employee engagement',

and 'industrial relations'. Increased importance should be placed on employee communication.

2 Information

2.1 There is no universal prescription for an HR strategy. Its purpose should be to provide a framework for applying people management practices to achieve business outcomes. This strategy is concerned both with the delivery of effective people management and developing innovative new policies and practices. It provides a framework for prioritising what needs to change and managing those changes.

2.2 Because this is an all-encompassing HR Strategy, it does include reference to disciplines

which fall outside the remit of the newly formed “Employment Services Directorate”. This enables the Authority to capture its approach to all people management practices in one document.

2.3 Once this strategy document is agreed, then a detailed action plan will be developed which

identifies SMART targets which will be assessed and managed through the performance management framework. This will help to ensure that the Authority’s HR strategy is delivered.

2.4 The Trade Unions recognised by the Authority have been consulted on the strategy and are

generally supportive of it.


3.1 There are no direct financial implications arising out of this report. However, it does need to be recognised that in order to deliver such a comprehensive strategy in full will require some modest investment. Such investment will be identified as part of the process of developing the action plans referred to at 2.3 above.


4.1 There are no direct diversity implications arising out of this report but section 2 of the strategy highlights key actions that need to be delivered in order to fulfil our equality and diversity responsibilities.

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5 Health and Safety Implications 5.1 There are no direct health and safety implications arising out of this report but section 2 of the draft

strategy highlights key actions that need to be delivered in order to fulfil our health and safety responsibilities.


6.1 The impact of good people management is cumulative; the more practices which are applied - and the more effective the manner in which they are applied - the better the result. As a consequence the HR Strategy should seek to influence a range of other projects but notably the Command, Leadership and Management (CLM) review.


7.1 Provide a safe skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community.

8 Conclusions 8.1 The service should manage its staff within a planned and coherent framework that reflects the

business strategy. This helps ensure that the various aspects of people management work together to develop the performance and behaviours necessary for the delivery of organisational objectives. This requires understanding the requirements and interests of a range of organisational stakeholders and building an effective framework of sustainable relationships between them.

8.2 The HR Strategy attempts to provide that framework.

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http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/about-us/what-we-do/strategic-priorities/

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE

HR STRATEGY 2015 - 2020

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The HR Strategy has been formulated to fully support the Authority’s corporate aims and values, which are outlined below: Our Aim - The future we seek to create We want to:- Provide an excellent fire and rescue service working in partnership to reduce death, injury, economic loss and contribute to community well-being. Top Performance

• become a modern, forward thinking and influential organisation in the local community and the top performing fire service nationally

Effectiveness • demonstrate effectiveness in relation to fire prevention, protection and

rescue work and inspire public confidence;

Collective Responsibility • develop a culture in which staff and the public can take pride and in

which shared values underpin policy and behaviour; Diversity • ensure diversity within the Service group fully reflects the communities

served across West Yorkshire. Our Priorities - What the organisation is here to do Deliver a proactive community safety programme We will:

• Ensure the authority’s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur

• Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being

Deliver a professional and resilient emergency response service. We will:

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• Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and

effective emergency response

• Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand

• Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences

Provide a safe skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community. We will

• Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees

• Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce

• Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change

Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money We will

• Provide buildings, vehicles, equipment and technology that is fit for purpose to maximise organisational effectiveness

• Provide effective systems of control, performance and assurance to ensure the service operates efficiently

• Demonstrate transparent and accountable decision making throughout the organisation

• Identify and implement strategic change to reflect the economic environment

The overall aim of this strategy is therefore:

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“To enable the Authority and its employees to exceed expectations in achieving corporate and service aims and objectives by recruiting, developing and retaining skilled and motivated people through effective people management and development, leading to a high performance culture”. Key to this is the development and maintenance of a comprehensive, cohesive HR strategy which is directly aligned, and inextricably linked to the organisational aims and Service Plan. We will strive to create a workforce who have the training, support and tools to do their job and that is: 1. Service and community focussed 2. Committed to our organisational values 3. Skilled and willing to learn 4. Motivated and valued 5. Representative of the communities they serve The eight core activity areas to be addressed through progressive people management practices are: 1. employee engagement and well-being 2. diversity 3. recruitment and selection 4. occupational health and safety 5. learning, training and development 6. employee and industrial relations 7. HR information systems 8. management of leavers All of these activities will be undertaken having regard to relevant Authority policies and relevant legislation. Key Principles The retention of skilled and motivated employees can only be achieved through the successful implementation of all core activity areas within this Strategy. Moreover, the Strategy is underpinned by a number of key principles:

the impact of good people management is cumulative; the more practices which are applied - and the more effective the manner in which they are applied - the better the result

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the “how” of people management (doing it right) is as important as the “what” (doing the right thing)

providing our staff with a healthy & safe workplace is essential for them to feel safe and secure and deliver to their potential

recognition of the vital importance of continuous improvement in the performance of our workforce

team and partnership working, both within the Authority and with partner organisations, are crucial

competent managers at all levels are vital to the effective management and development of our workforce.

managers will be provided with training and other support, leading to improved management performance.

the retention of skilled and motivated employees can only be achieved through the successful implementation of all core activity areas within this Strategy

effective partnership working with our trade unions will underpin all people management activities

Accountability The implementation of this Strategy will be the responsibility of: The Chief Executive through the Chief Employment Services Officer Assistant Chief Officers, Directors and all Area Managers /Executive

Officers The Strategy will, additionally, require the support and co-operation of managers and supervisors at all levels within the Authority. Core Activity Areas 1. Employee Engagement and Well-being- the creation of a modern,

empowered, flexible and resilient organisation which will deliver continuous improvement, underpinned by a core “single organisation” culture which also recognises the value of diversity where a different approach is justified. The development of a workforce who are engaged, happy, healthy and feel valued and “looked after”, leading to a more positive, motivated, committed and productive workforce. Staff engagement is seen in the ways that people behave, think and act. Influencing these things in a positive way will increase the level of engagement that staff have at work

We will achieve this by:

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1.1 reinforcing the Authority’s culture of employees being trusted, respected and empowered to exceed expectations, whilst working to a common purpose and goals; encouraging leadership, good practice and innovation at all levels within the Authority

1.2 exploring existing organisational values and their adoption by

staff and developing future desired organisational values and behaviours that describe the type of organisation we want to be?

1.3 assessing current levels of staff engagement through the

deployment of a systematic staff survey and using focus groups to validate results and develop action plans to further improve engagement levels

1.4 promoting the development of leadership and performance

management skills which will enable strategy and plans to be transformed into action and measurable service improvement

1.5 developing organisational structures and job design to support

effective and flexible service delivery and enable the Authority to take advantage of new opportunities

1.6 encouraging employees to become engaged in decision-making

within their districts and departments through consultations about service planning and delivery.

1.7 promoting a fair employment agenda and introducing policies

and practices which actively support the management of change in partnership with our workforce, trade unions and other organisations

1.8 attaining and maintaining Investors in People accreditation for

the whole Organisation 1.9 continuing to refine systems of workforce and succession

planning to ensure that the required number and calibre of employees are available in the medium to long term, particularly bearing in mind the requirement to work longer and the climate of diminishing budgets

1.10 developing a strategic workforce plan which combines workforce

change, technology, demographics and turnover

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2. Diversity - The mainstreaming of diversity into all people management and operational practices to ensure our workplace environment, and our Service delivery is inclusive. The Authority recognises the importance of diversity of thought and that this will lead to improved service delivery and employee welfare, particularly during periods of change.


2.1 collecting employee-related equalities data, monitoring trends

and sharing such information with Members, managers, trade unions and employees

2.2 maintaining and developing anti-discrimination policies and

practices; introducing programmes which promote equality of opportunity, with a particular emphasis on awareness raising and training

2.3 setting and communicating standards of behaviour, based on

treating people with respect and dignity, supporting the Authority’s core values

2.4 protecting employees from discrimination and abuse in the

course of carrying out their duties 2.5 scrutinising new and ongoing operational projects to ensure they

are fair and equitable and legally compliant (Equality Analysis). 2.6 offering varying solutions which are tailored to the needs of

individuals both internal and external to the organisation, where relevant and reasonable

2.7 guiding, coaching and empowering managers and supervisors

across the organisation in relation to supporting staff with particular reference to equality and employment law

3. Recruitment and Selection - the development and retention of a

workforce which has the commitment and skills to deliver the Authority’s services; a reduced fear of change as a result of improved communication and effective redeployment and retraining opportunities being made available


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3.1 improving recruitment advertising methods to ensure that job vacancies are open to all our communities within West Yorkshire and beyond

3.2 constantly reviewing recruitment and selection policies and

practices with a particular emphasis on clarity, fairness and equality of opportunity

3.3 improving our selection processes, including more fully reflecting

key job competencies and values

3.4 implementing effective redeployment arrangements to ensure that all employees facing redundancy or loss of employment (for other than disciplinary reasons) are offered suitable alternative employment, wherever possible, underpinned by suitable retraining opportunities

3.5 developing strategies that take account of the increasing normal

retirement age 3.6 Maximise retention of key staff by effective design and

deployment of HR practices to make WYFRA an employer of choice

4. Occupational Health and Safety - the creation of a safer and

healthier workforce; reduced accidents and sickness absence; fewer ill health retirements; fewer litigation claims and improved services, and to reduce sickness absence.


4.1 creating a healthier, safer, and more productive working

environment

4.2 encouraging the reporting & investigation of all accidents, near misses and violence, so lessons are learned and controls put in place to prevent a re-occurrence and to maintain our policy of zero tolerance to violence against staff.

4.3 employing a systematic approach to the identification,

assessment of workplace hazards and taking all reasonable action to remove or reduce risks within the context of the Authority’s legal and moral responsibilities to employees and service users

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4.4 providing a pro-active occupational health service committed to

identifying and addressing industrial injuries, stress and other causes of sickness absence, as well as promoting healthy living

4.5 providing managers with a framework to manage sickness

absence which strikes a balance between organisational need and supporting staff.

4.5 supporting managers to assist employees to return to work

through rehabilitation arrangements, and to minimise ill health retirements through various measures, including redeployment

5. Learning, Training and Development - the creation of a

performance-driven, skilled and flexible workforce with an emphasis on team and partnership working, competency and safety, coupled with a focus on the customer.


5.1 assisting the Authority to become a “Learning Organisation”,

underpinned by a philosophy of lifelong learning

5.2 systematically analysing all employees’ training needs on a regular basis, having regard both to current and future skill requirements, leading to each employee having a regularly reviewed, individual development plan; individual continuous professional development will be encouraged

5.3 developing Corporate, Departmental and District training

programmes, which balance corporate and service priorities, within available funding

5.4 prioritising command and management training and

development, particularly in relation to change management and leadership skills

5.5 providing all new employees, and those who move within the

service, with an effective induction programme which recognises individual, team, service, and area-wide dimensions of their employment with the Authority.

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5.6 anticipating and addressing new priority skills needs, for example in relation to community consultation, project management, partnership working and diversity,

5.7 identifying the costs and “added value” of all learning, training

and development activities 5.8 ensure everyone is trained and competent to do the job they do,

even if they are in a temporary position, and undertake periodical audits to give assurance

6. Employee and Industrial Relations - the creation of a more informed,

committed and confident workforce which feels valued and trusted, with fewer individual and collective grievances, a workforce comprising of employees who are aware of their role within the Authority and whose workplace activities have focus and direction to achieve organisational objectives.


6.1 pro-actively consulting employees and trade union

representatives at an early stage about proposed work-related changes

6.2 Developing and implementing an Employee Communications

Strategy in a systematic and robust manner leading to effective, timely and relevant two-way employee communications with direct briefings for employees by senior managers on major service and corporate issues

6.3 formally seeking employees’ views from time to time through

surveys and focus groups, with a commitment to being open about publishing the results and taking action in relation to the findings

6.4 providing trade union representatives with reasonable time off

and other support facilities to enable them to play a positive part in developing and maintaining effective employee relations in a spirit of partnership

6.5 supporting formal and informal trade union consultation and

negotiation arrangements at a corporate level and within Districts.

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6.6 promoting performance appraisal mechanisms which directly link individual employee performance with the achievement of service and corporate aims and objectives and also enable work performance to be assessed against clear standards

6.7 clearly stating the high standards of conduct and integrity

required of all employees, including keeping under review an employee code of conduct, underpinned by whistleblowing and anti-fraud and corruption measures; maintaining public confidence in the Authority

6.8 maintaining procedures for addressing disciplinary, grievance,

unsatisfactory work performance, redundancy, sickness, harassment and discrimination issues in a fair and equitable manner

6.9 continuing to administer the available pension schemes and

providing appropriate advice to staff 7. HR Information Systems - the collection and analysis of employee

and workforce data required by the Authority and relevant external organisations to support effective and well-informed people management practices, leading to measurable improvements in workforce performance


7.1 maintaining accurate and up-to-date manual and computerised

personnel files and other employee records, including contract of employment documentation, always having regard to issues of confidentiality

7.2 collecting and inputting data to the computerised information

system for payroll, personnel, health and safety, diversity and training purposes

7.3 analysing operational and strategic workforce data, and

collecting and analysing data for statutory and other external workforce surveys; producing regular reports for managers at all levels

8. Management of Leavers - the creation of an environment where

employees leave the Authority’s employment in a manner which is appropriate to each individual’s circumstances, and where the interests

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of the Authority are safeguarded, particularly having regard to employment legislation.


8.1 managing any cases of redundancy in a professional and

sensitive manner

8.2 managing applications for early retirement in a manner which balances the wishes of individual employees, as far as possible, with the service needs, always having regard to the potential financial impact of early retirement upon the Authority

8.3 collecting and analysing data in relation to leavers to identify

trends and to enable excessive turnover rates to be addressed at the earliest opportunity

8.4 providing all leavers with an opportunity to comment upon

relevant matters via an exit questionnaire, supported by exit interviews where considered necessary

8.5 providing access to timely and relevant pre-retirement events,

advice and other support Performance Management Framework A Performance Management Framework for the Employment Services Department will underpin the operation of this Strategy. A key feature of the Framework is a set of performance data (targets and actuals) which, will lead to a planned level of performance which equates to the Department being seen as a centre of excellence. Management Board scrutiny of the management information contained within the Framework will be a key feature of the operation of the Strategy. Links to Business Strategy

Business Strategy HR Priorities

Top Performance and Effectiveness

Implementation of robust performance management system. Commitment to staff development through training policy.

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Collective responsibility

Congruence between values of organisation and values of potential recruits tested at selection stage. Develop change agents Annual staff survey to confirm staff commitment and to influence future policies. Generate “buy-in”

Diversity Open and transparent recruitment and selection policy/ Diversity training for managers Policy impact assessments

Review This Strategy will be reviewed annually to ensure that it remains fully relevant to the Authority

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Purpose To seek approval for a number of establishment changes in support service functions.

Recommendations It is recommended that the report is approved.

Summary There are a number of areas of service which require additional support following the review of the implementation of the fundamental review. The reviews of those areas of support have now been undertaken by the relevant Directors and following consideration by Management Board a number of changes to establishment are proposed.

OFFICIAL

Support Service Establishment Changes Human Resources Committee Date: 26 February 2016 Agenda Item: 11 Submitted By: Chief Employment Services Officer




Background papers open to inspection: Management Board Papers – February 16th, 2016

Annexes: None

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Support Service Establishment Changes Page 2 of 5

1 Introduction 1.1 Members will be aware that the Budget Report approved by Full Authority on 19 February 2016

included the following statement:

“There are a number of areas of service which require additional support following the review of the implementation of the fundamental review plus there is the additional support required to implement the recommendations included in the IT review. The bids for new posts will be reviewed by Management Board with the revised structure presented to an early meeting of the Human Resources Committee”.

1.2 A sum of £350,000 was identified for this additional support.

1.3 The reviews of those areas of support have now been undertaken by the relevant Directors and following consideration by Management Board, the proposals set out below are recommended for approval. Any implications arising out of the IT review will be subject to separate reports.

2 Information

2.1 Following consideration by Management Board, the following changes to establishment are

proposed: 2.2 Data Team 2.3 The number of Risk Analyst posts in the Data Team was increased in 2010 to support the work of

IRMP 1 and 2. With the removal of FSEC (a national fire modelling tool) and the decrease in demand from Strategic Development for IRMP 3 modelling work, the requirement for two full-time posts has decreased but resilience is still required to cover peaks in demand.

2.4 One of the Risk Analyst posts is now vacant and the recommendation is to remove this post from

the establishment. Resilience will be met by cross training the remaining Risk Analyst, the Graphical Information System (GIS) Officer and the GIS Operative. This will provide cover for leave and enable peaks in demand to be met effectively.

2.5 The removal of 1 x Grade 7 post from the establishment would save £24,472 per year. The

additional regrading of one post from Grade 7 to 8 and one post from Grade 5 to 6 would cost £4610 (on reaching maximum spinal points) realising a net annual salary saving of £19,862.

2.6 Visual Services Team 2.7 The Visual Services department’s function has significantly changed since the fundamental review

and now requires a change in structure to allow it to provide the skills and services customers demand. The following changes are proposed:

1. Convert the current temporary contract Multimedia assistant position to an establishment post

within the Visual Services department.

2. Change 1 of the current Grade 6 Photo Technician posts to a Multimedia assistant position at Grade 7

3. Convert the current WMB post (e-Learning) to a Green book post with a new Job Description aligned to the needs of the administration certification process (Grade 5/6)

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2.8 The anticipated costs would realise savings dependent on the new Green Book post which is anticipated to be around a Grade 5/6 as there is a current Grade 4 post within the Visual Services department that is not filled. The new Grade 7 post which is currently a 6-month fixed term contract can be set against the removal of the current WMB control post

2.9 Employment Services Department 2.10 A new HR Strategy has been developed and is included on this agenda for approval at agenda

item 10. The Strategy sets out wide ranging and ambitious objectives for the organisation over the next few years. In particular, emphasis is placed on employee engagement and well-being, values and behaviours and diversity, areas which to date, the organisation has not been able to progress to the desired level due to other pressing priorities.

2.11 In order to ensure that the newly formed Employment Services Directorate continues to function

effectively and adds significant value to the organisation and delivers the HR Strategy, a number of changes to the structure of the Department are recommended

Delete Cost Station Manager HR SM 1.00 52,171 HR Team Leader Grade 9 0.92 33,992 HR Officer Grade 7 1.81 55,368 SAP Admin Officer Grade 3 1.59 33,726 175,256 Additions Assistant HR Manager Grade 11 1.00 43,432 HR Business Partner Grade 8/9 3.00 101,711 Pensions Officer Grade 9 1.00 36,948 HR Assistant Grade 4 2.30 52,831 Pensions Assistant Grade 5/6 1.00 25,316

Diversity Projects Officer Grade 7 1.00 30,590

Attendance Manager Grade 8 1.00 33,904 10.30 324,732 Net Cost 149,475

2.12 It should be noted that the Authority is currently employing 1 fte at Grade 6 and 1 fte at Grade 4 on

long-term temporary contracts. The Attendance Manager is also in post on a temporary contract. Subject to the revised structure being agreed, these temporary posts will no longer be required, resulting in a cost reduction of circa £90,000.

2.13 Finance Department 2.14 It is proposed to increase the finance establishment by 1 additional post to provide a specific post

to deal with capital accounting and provided resilience in the area of expenditure monitoring. Included within the structure of the finance department is provision to employ a temporary accountant for 6 months of the year to assist in the closure of accounts with a specific reference for asset management and capital accountant. The accountant in question is already past retirement age and is unlikely to wish to continue following the closure of the 2016/2017 accounts in 2017.

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2.15 The overall cost of the new post will be £36,000 in a full year and it is anticipated that, owing to the recruitment process, the likely cost will be in the region of £30,000 in 2016/2017. In 2017/2018 the part-time accountant post will be deleted from the establishment with effect from 1 August 2017 resulting in a saving of £9,000 in 2017/2018 rising to £18,000 in a full year.

2.16 Central Staffing Team 2.17 Since the introduction of the Central Staffing Team (CST), its role has evolved over the years.

The CST undertake a number of important and critical additional roles and responsibilities. In order to deliver these critical functions, it is recommended that a Grade 5 post be replaced by a Grade 7 post. The difference between the two pay scales is £4,219 per annum.


3.1 The table below summarises the full year costs of the posts included within this report. The funding for these posts was approved as part of the 2016/2017 approved revenue budget.


4.1 All new posts within the structure (where assimilation does not apply) will be subject to the

Authority’s recruitment procedure, ensuring a fair process and that appointments are made on merit.

4.2 The creation of an additional post within the Diversity Team will help to ensure that the Authority

meets its equality obligations in full.


5.1 None arising from this report.


6.1 Organisational changes and external issues will continue to influence the role of support service functions. The current pace of change in WYFRS is unprecedented due to the comprehensive programme of IRMP interventions. Changes to employment legislation and projects forming part of the Efficiencies Research Programme around Ways of Working and the Command and Leadership programme will also affect the future workloads of the support service departments.

Full Year CostData team -£20,000Visual services team £33,000Employment services team £60,000Finance team £18,000Central staffing team £5,000

£96,000

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7 Service Plan Links 7.1 The proposals align to the Service Plan Priority:



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Documents

The Living Wage and National Living Wage · The Government’s ‘National Living wage’ 2.5 The National Living Wage (Formally the Minimum Wage) will increase to £7.20 in April