SALISBURY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY UPDATE REPORT

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1 SALISBURY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST PAPER: SHC 1734 TITLE: HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY UPDATE REPORT PURPOSE OF PAPER: To highlight the main areas of progress made against the Trust s Human Resources Strategy Working Together for Better Patient Care. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 1) The update report gives a summary of the development of the HR Strategy, and the context within which the strategy was designed to operate. 2) The report goes on to highlight some of the main areas of progress made in the last six months since first update of August 2006, and briefly describes the activities that have lead to that progress. ACTION REQUIRED BY THE BOARD: 1) To note the report. 2) To call for further progress report in six months time. 3) To approve a mid-term review and revision of the strategy Name: Position: Alan Denton Director of Human Resources

2 HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY UPDATE REPORT Introduction The Trust s Human Resources (HR) Strategy Working Together for Better Patient Care was developed during the second half of 2005 specifically in support of the application process for Foundation Trust Status. It was agreed and introduced in early Within the strategy it was recognised that the Trust operates within an evolving NHS environment in which there are a number of policy initiatives and key strategic drivers. Some of these addressed changes to service delivery or organisational configuration, some specifically addressed staff, their working lives, skills development or terms and conditions of employment. The Trust also operated and continues to operate within a particular South Wiltshire locality, within a larger Southern England geographical region, and in addition is are subject to local, regional and national labour market and general economic trends. Our strategy for Human Resources had to address these issues, as they all impacted upon staff and their ability to deliver our services into the future. Becoming a Foundation Trust added additional dimensions to the strategy. The creation of a new type of organisation with little track record or history would add an element of uncertainty. The transition over time for staff from being employees to also being members and in some cases governors of the organisation they worked for was an exciting prospect, but it was not easy to understand where that transition would lead. The purpose of the HR Strategy was summed up as follows: - This Human Resources Strategy aims to illustrate how the Trust intends to recruit, retain, develop and deploy its staff in order to deliver its service plans within a framework of high quality governance arrangements over the next five years. In short, the purpose of this strategy is to show how the Trust s people will be enabled to deliver high quality services, working together for better patient care. (p3) The strategy went on to illustrate various aspects it was relevant to describe in order to set a context within which the proposed strategic themes would exist. To that end, the strategy described the make up of the workforce (p4), our partnership working with Trade Unions (p8), the Trust environment (p9), our Service Development Strategy (p11), governance arrangements (p12), systems reforms that would impact on the Trust (p13), and our partners, stakeholders and the local population. (p14). Having set the context, and identified issues that arose in relation to each aspect of the Strategy, a set of four Human Resources Strategic Themes were developed, identifying those matters to be addressed by the Strategy, and describing how those matters would be addressed.

3 The Strategic Themes are: - 1. An employer of choice. 2. Modernising systems to support careers. 3. Sharing goals. 4. Building HR Management Capability and Capacity. The remainder of this update report addresses how some of the initiatives proposed have been taken forward in the first year since the strategy was agreed, and builds upon the first update report (SHC 1663) which came to the board in August Update Report This section reports on progress since the last HR Strategy update of August The numbers refer to the paragraph numbering in the HR Strategy. Theme One An Employer of Choice Investors in People In line with the HR Strategy, the Trust put itself forward for re-assessment against the Investors in People standard in January The report of the lead assessor following the assessment visit made it clear that the Trust had not only maintained the IiP standard but had made considerable progress in the three years since first achieving the standard. The report from the visit had several recommendations as to areas for further work. An action plan incorporating these recommendations as well as findings from the staff survey (see below) will be developed in spring Equality and Diversity An overall Trust Equality and Diversity Strategy which will apply to service users and to staff was agreed in January. The strategy was developed to encompass current legislation and to draw together current work. A new Trust Dignity at Work (bullying and harassment) Policy was agreed in September A similar policy covering equal opportunities and diversity will be developed in early 2007/2008. A Disability Equality scheme has been developed to meet the Trust s duty in this area, and will be agreed in April Work has begun on the development of a Gender Equality scheme to ensure a draft scheme is available by 6 th April. Twenty senior managers have attended Equality Impact Assessment training and work to carry out impact assessments has now begun. It appears that after considerable delay, the Pacesetters national initiative may be about to get underway, and the Trust will be one of the pilot organisations in this project.

4 2.1.4 Work-related Injuries and Accidents The various initiatives developed appear to be having a positive effect on total numbers of accidents and incidents, with only a very small number of significant incidents occurring. However, there is room for improvement, and more work to be done to reduce the number of incidents that occur that could be avoided comparitively easily Occupational Health Trust Policies on Stress and on Drugs and Alcohol have been revised and agreed in the period. A revised No Smoking policy is currently completing the approval process. A major initiative to establish a database in terms of latex intolerance amongst staff has begun Staff Security and Personal Safety The Local Security Management Specialist (LSMS) has now been in post for over a year, and is producing a report of her work over the period to the Joint Board of Directors to be presented in April. A security development group has been established composed of relevant individuals from across the Trust, including trade union representatives and a representative from the police. Current initiatives include improvements to CCTV coverage, piloting breakaway training for key staff, and working with the beat police officer and local Community Police Support Officer to improve communications and understanding between staff and the police force locally Childcare A salary sacrifice scheme for childcare vouchers that staff could use for offsite child care provision was developed and introduced in 2006, and take-up has steadily increased over the last few months. The scheme produces considerable savings for parents (of income tax and National Insurance payments) NHS Pension Scheme The Trust took part in the consultation in respect of changes to the NHS Pension scheme being introduced during the next year, and submitted a joint response with Trade Union colleagues / Schools and Work Experience 14 The Trust has continued its work to develop links with local schools and career services, and revised the processes used for administering applications for work experience placements to ensure the most benefit is obtained for all parties. A recent requirement has been the need to risk assess and address the issue of exposure to tuberculosis arising from the discontinuation of inoculation for this disease in schoolchildren Recruitment Processes and Systems The Trust has maintained its very significant move into the use of E- Recruitment, which has lead to a large reduction in expenditure on advertisements. The Trust recently changed its advertising agency in line

5 with PASA developments, and has taken the opportunity to revise and refresh its advertising and job pack materials. Theme Two - Modernising Systems to Support Careers Agenda for Change Assimilation The assimilation of Trust staff onto Agenda for Change pay and conditions of employment was completed some time ago. The appeal process is now completed with the exception of a few staff who have been on maternity leave etc. Certain conditions of employment, most notably arrangements for common unsocial hours payments are still to be introduced into the national agreement. Proposals have now been made for these to be introduced from October 2007, and the Trust is currently taking part in a national consultation exercise. We are currently analysing the financial and other impacts the proposals will have on the Trust. Some conditions of employment already agreed were to be phased in over several years. December 2007 sees the first staff groups whose basic hours were less than 37.5 per week increasing their hours either to or towards (Examples include Admin and Clerical staff, radiographers, therapists etc). Communication with both managers and staff has begun to ensure that all concerned are aware of and have planned for the change in plenty of time Agenda for Change Ongoing Systems Systems introduced to match/evaluate new posts onto AfC pay bands, and to track all posts across the Trust (for the purposes of grading control) have been in place for some months. A roster for trained job matchers and evaluators has been established in order that a programme of matching panels can be set up throughout the year to deal with new jobs as they arise Agenda for Change Local Agreements A large number of local policies have been developed and agreed with Staff Side which address areas left for local agreement (e.g. notice periods, minimum payments for on-call, etc). Most recently the Trust agreed new arrangements for protection of pay and conditions of employment in situations where changes to working patterns or grade leading to loss of earnings are imposed by the Trust Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) Progress continues to be made with this major part of the Agenda for Change system, with the majority of staff now having individual KSF competency outlines agreed, and the increasing use of the e-ksf tool as an aid to administration.

6 Continuous Learning, Maximising the use of new Technology in Learning/ Training and Prioritise Training Delivery There has been a major expansion of the availability and access to E-learning during the year. Trust training resources have been focused towards the delivery of corporate and directorate service plans (through the Training Needs Analysis process) and ensuring Trust staff are equipped with the skills required to achieve the core competencies of the KSF at relevant levels. The report from the IiP visit was extremely positive in terms of the range and availability of training materials and opportunities available to Trust staff Pre and Post Employment Checks The policy for carrying out the checks required before staff start employment with the Trust or transfer to other employment within the Trust has been revised in line with developments to best practice NHS standards Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Modern NHS and Conduct, Capability and Competence A group of Trust staff (including a senior member of medical staff) has been trained in carrying out investigations in line with the Trust s Disciplinary and Handling Concerns about the Conduct and Performance of Doctors and Dentists policies and procedures. This led to a changed investigation process being agreed during the training course to meet best practice standards, and more standardisation in how investigations are conducted and the format of reports produced as a result. Theme 3 Sharing Goals Staff Survey The results of the 2006 Staff Survey were published in March 2007 and are the subject of a separate report to the Board. The results will be taken together with the report from the IiP visit and used to develop action plans to address areas of concern or possible developments in response to results obtained Partnership Working with Trade Unions The Trust continues to enjoy excellent relations with Trade Unions locally, and a staff representative sits as a full member of the Operational Management Board. Recent developments in addition to those noted elsewhere in this report include revisions to the Recognition and Facilities agreements, a major review of arrangements for the Safety Committee, and an invitation for a staff representative to join the Trust s Environmental Executive Committee. Theme 4 Building HR Management Capability and Capacity Training on HR Issues

7 See above and below Partnership Working with outside HR Organisations The Trust commissioned NHS Partners to support the Governors with the development of terms and conditions of service for Non-Executive Directors. These were agreed in September A similar commission in respect of the Executive Directors has now been undertaken. A considerable amount of close working with the Trust s legal advisors has been necessary over the period covered due to a number of very complex staff issues occurring recently. In addition, there have been a number of changes in employment and case law that have required Trust HR staff to attend updates and increase their knowledge. Conclusion The Trust has continued to make good progress to deliver the HR Strategy. Inevitably, operational pressures have meant that not every proposed initiative has progressed as quickly as might have been hoped. For instance, the introduction in 2006/7 of the electronic staff record (ESR) the new payroll/personnel system, consultation in respect of the transfer of community staff to the Trust, consultation and TUPE of hospital based therapists, several complex and resource heavy personnel matters occurring during the period. The implications of the tail-end of the introduction of Agenda for Change, i.e. reviews and rematches, appeals relating to process application, etc were not well identified at the beginning of the project and have been time consuming for HR staff, managers, matching panel members, Trade Union representatives and members of staff alike. However, this process has now all but concluded. Some national initiatives (IWL, Positively Diverse ) appear to have come to an unexpected end without a clear way forward being identified, or post-event evaluation being performed. With the HR strategy now being in its second year, and with considerable changes to the Trust and the environment in which it operates, a mid-term review and revision of the strategy is probably required over the next six months. It is proposed that by the time of the next six-monthly report, such a review will have been undertaken. Alan Denton Director of Human Resources Peter Hill Director of Operations