People Committee Assurance Report

Meeting:

 Public Board

Date:

08.11.2023

Report Title:

 People Committee Assurance Report

Agenda Item:

 3.2

Committee Date

 27.09.23

Meeting Chair:

Wendy Thomas, Non-Executive Director 

Meeting quorate

YES

Purpose:

Assurance

Recommendation:

The Board is asked to:

Receive assurance from the business discussed at the meeting and to review the matters for escalation and referral 

Link to Strategic Objective

Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn

X

Provide outstanding quality of care and performance

X 

Be excellent collaborators and innovators as system partners

Be an environmentally and financially sustainable organisation

Summary of Items Considered at the Meeting

Issue

Consideration

Resolution/Outcome

Assurance

All Women EEAST Staff Support Network Update

The All Women EEAST Network has been running for many years and is a well-established group.

The Committee heard from Beth Owen and Sharvari Alape, who have recently been appointed as joint Chairs of the Network.The Committee heard that at a recent awards ceremony 95% of the awards were for young women and we need to better understand their support needs to ensure they continue to flourish and grow – this will be a priority.

Expect the finalised breastfeeding policy and menopause guidance coming soon. The Chairs confirmed that they were aware of the inclusivity plan and had been involved in the development of the new uniform going forward.

George Lynn, NED, has experience of setting up and supporting a womens’ network in a previous role and agreed to meet with Beth, Sharvari and Kate Vaughton, Executive sponsor to offer help and support in the future.

Of particular note:

Appraisals remain below target & it is essential that our staff have the opportunity for meaningful discussions with their manager. Implementing “Time to Lead” will enable this.

The Committee noted that there is continued progress across a majority of the Strategy, Education and Culture focused metrics. The areas highlighted need further attention.

The Committee considered the data provided and noted that the priority areas for the future are to address the number of people with disabilities who are shortlisted & those with a disability who go through the formal disciplinary process.

Reasonable adjustments policy is in draft form and expect to see approval by end Q3

The 2023/24 annual report and plan was approved and it was agreed to share this information with the ICBs by 31/10/23 (to be presented to the Private Board meting on 11/10/23)

The Committee noted that the Pay Gap action plan has 17 objectives (included in the inclusivity plan) and 26 actions (many of which are already being worked on)

Kay areas to address for the coming year are cross referencing the action we take to support women during pay negotiations (especially on appointment to a new role) That the organisations monitors the Protected Characteristics and to assess the TRAC applications to understand why women withdraw from the interview process.

The Committee noted that despite there being much more to do in this area the gap during this financial year has reduced to 7.2% when last years gap was 11.9%

The Committee noted that the appraisal process was simplified in July 22 in response to feedback from staff. However, this is still a manual & time-consuming process. This contributes to the poor appraisal rates seen in the IPR.

The Committee were advised that a procurement exercise had identified 3 preferred providers and the work with the preferred bidder was to start in October 23.

The Committee noted that turnover continues to fall, PTS and Make-Ready Teams are the exception. ER cases are reducing and sickness currently 8.05%, which is close to target. The Department are involved in a significant amount of change projects and this is proving challenging, as are the recruitment targets In the workforce plan – working in partnership with LAS on this.  13 weeks taken for time to hire and need to reduce this to target of 6 weeks for the future. Sickness, disability and reasonable adjustment cases are all reducing in number, which is encouraging.

This had been an area of concern for the Committee for some time. This month a comprehensive report providing assurance on the action taken to date and outstanding actions required within the next 3 years identified that the actions outstanding represent a low level of risk to the organisation.

The Committee noted highlights from:

Time to Lead – The risk with this programme is the temporary disruption to the structure of the organisation. New team leaders need to be aligned to the clinical strategy but as the programme progresses we need to ensure we do not create gaps in other parts of the service.

Culture Programme – There are deep-rooted behaviours and this will take time to change.

People Strategy & People Services Development – challenging workforce targets.

The Committee were assured that risks were being mitigated although the risks for the Committee remain high. A discussion was held and the Committee agreed this is the correct rating given that EEAST is a people organisation, we are going through a period of leadership development and we have a need to maintain essential and developmental clinical skills.

The Committee noted the reports of the sub committees of the Clinical Reference Group for triangulation on the key risk areas.

The Committee considered the metrics presented as a way of receiving assurance on the Committees effectiveness for the future. It was agreed that clear measures were to be visible with exception reporting and annual review.

Matters for escalation or referral

Issue

Reason