Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children’s Services to provide an update following the implementation of the recruitment and retention offer as agreed by the Committee on 5^th December 2015.

The Committee considered the update report on the Children’s Services recruitment and retention offer, as introduced by Sarah Barter, Business and Resources Manager, and Neelam Bhardwaja, Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Social Care.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding the definition of ‘experienced’ social workers as covered in paragraph 5.5 of the report, the Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Social Care advised that this definition of ‘experienced’ (having practiced for at least three years after gaining a social work qualification) was set out by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), with whom all qualified social workers were required to be registered. It was proposed to clarify the definition of experienced social workers in the criteria for the recruitment and retention offer in order to avoid confusion and potential overpayments in future. In response to a further question from the Committee, it was confirmed that staff would not be eligible for payments as set out in paragraph 5.5 of the report in the event that they were subject to suspension or statutory sickness procedures during the qualifying period.

The Committee considered the comparison of costs for social care agency staff with equivalent costs for permanent staff and noted that, while there was little difference for social workers, the difference in costs between agency and permanent staff was more significant for senior practitioners and team managers. Given the impact of the memorandum of co-operation in respect of the pay rate cap for agency staff, the Committee questioned the impact this would have on agencies supplying social care staff. The Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Social care, noted that the pay rate cap currently only covered the London area, and not all London boroughs had signed up to it, however it was acknowledged that agreements such as this may have an impact on social care agencies in the longer term.

The Committee asked about the policies in place to manage sickness within the Council, particularly in potentially stressful areas within children’s social work. It was reported that the HR Business Partner was using sickness absence reports to identify areas of specific need and develop appropriate case plans, and that this was beginning to bring absence levels down in these areas. The Head of People and Change, Victoria Tricarico, also advised that HR was working proactively to support managers and staff in dealing with sickness issues, including stress-related sickness. An employee assistance programme had recently been introduced and take-up of this would be monitored on a quarterly basis – an interim report suggested that around 20 staff had been referred for counselling through the programme since its introduction.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding why it was not possible to quantify the number of claims for reimbursement of HCPC registration/renewal fees as set out at paragraph 9.2 of the report, it was reported that this was because the Council reimbursed such fees when staff were recruited, and not on an ongoing basis.* The Committee asked whether staggered payments had been considered as an alternative to incentivising staff retention, and it was reported that this model had been considered but that in looking at neighbouring boroughs and their offers for social work staff it had been felt that starting at a lower level of payment may not have been sufficient to attract staff initially.

The Committee emphasised the need to keep this offer under review in order to ensure that changes in the market were being reflected in the Council’s policy; it was agreed that a further report would be brought back to the Committee in six months’ time. The Committee also noted the importance of ensuring that the offer did not constitute a breach of equal pay legislation, leaving the Council vulnerable to legal challenge; Ian Morgan, Reward Strategy Manager, advised in response that the offer was classified as recruitment and retention and was therefore permitted under equal pay legislation, provided that there was supporting evidence, and it was confirmed that there was significant evidence to support the need for such an offer in these areas. This would be kept under review, however, to ensure that the offer remained appropriate and necessary.

The Committee welcomed the proposal to amend the eligibility criteria for the recruitment and retention offer to include the “satisfactory completion of probation” and “satisfactory completion of the programme of work at the end of the first 12 months”.

The Chair moved the recommendations of the report and it was:

RESOLVED

i)             That the Committee note the implementation of the recruitment and retention monetary award as agreed by the Committee on 14^th December 2015.

ii)            That the Committee agree the recruitment and retention monetary award as detailed in paragraph 5.5 of the report, to replace the recruitment and retention monetary award as agreed by the Committee on 14^th December 2015, the recruitment monetary award to apply to staff appointed on or after 1^st January 2016 and the retention monetary award to apply from 1^st January 2017.

iii)           That the Committee note the steps taken by the Council to implement the Memorandum of Co-operation, to develop the workforce and to implement the further incentives and initiatives to enhance the recruitment and retention offer for social workers in Haringey as agreed by the Committee on 14^th December 2015.

It was noted that a further review would be presented for consideration by the Committee in six months’ time.

* Post-meeting note: Subsequent to the meeting on the 4th October following a question raised by the committee regarding the payment of HCPC registration fees (9.2 in the report) it was clarified that:

Any staff appointed on or after 1^st January 2016 and all our current permanent members of staff who require HCPC registration by law  and are in a post requiring registration, are eligible to request re-imbursement of the HCPC registration/renewal fee by submitting a claim for expenses. This is a bi annual registration and reimbursement of this will be reviewed alongside the other recruitment and retention incentives.

The renewal/registration fee is recorded on the HCPC website:

‘The renewal fee is £180 for two years. If you are a new UK graduate from a HCPC approved course, the fee you will pay for the first two 'professional years' is reduced by 50 per cent to £90. The amount you are required to pay is indicated when we invite you to renew your registration’

It is estimated that the cost to the service will be approximately £36,000 over 2 years.