Employee Update
Employee_Update_issue 16_15 March 2010.pdf (4 pages, 1.54mb)
Pay and Conditions FAQs.pdf
HR drop-in sessions.pdf (1 page, 18kb)
CMT Roadshow slides (Jan/Feb 2010)
If you were unable to attend the recent corporate management team roadshows (or even if you did, and are interested in the content), you can download it below:
Roadshows slides_Jan_Feb_2010.pdf (41 pages, 3mb)
Roadshows Series 2 Feb 2010 - Managers Briefing Pack.pdf (42 pages, 4mb)
Durham - Showreel
Watch our DVD which shows off just some of Durham’s cultural highlights.
Are you involved with parish and town council?
If you have any contact with parish councils in your day-to-day work, whether it is in an advisory capacity, or providing services/support, then the authority’s Local Councils Support team would like to hear from you. Email LocalCouncilsTeam@durham.gov.uk or call Vicky Prendergast on 0191 383 6495.
A new Local Councils Charter, which sets out how councils in County Durham work together to improve services for communities has now been published.
To see the charter or find out more about the Local Council Support team please click on the links below.
Local Councils Support team.pdf (1 page, 9kb )
County Durham Local Councils Charter.pdf (16 pages, 110kb )
17 December - Cultural Roadshows
The council’s Corporate Management Team will be hitting the road again in the New Year to let staff have their say.
The next series of Cultural Roadshows will give staff the chance to hear feedback about the issues raised in the initial meetings, as well ask further questions and share more of their views.
A member of the corporate management team and an HR representative will be at each event.
A list of dates can be found in the document below. To book your place contact Emma Gardner on 0191 383 6449 or email emma.gardner@durham.gov.uk
Cultural_roadshows.pdf (1 page 28kb)
Employee Update
Employee_Update_Issue_15_February_2010.pdf (4 pages, 0.5mb)
Employee_Update_Issue14-11Jan 2010.pdf
Employee_Update_ Issue 13-22 December2009.pdf (2 pages, 165kb)
Employee_Update_Issue_12 - 3 Dec_2009.pdf (4 pages, 363kb)
Employee_ Update_Issue_ 11- 9_Nov_2009.pdf (4 pages, 261kb)
Employee Update Issue 10 - 26 Oct 2009.pdf (4 pages, 120kb)
23 October - Cultural Change Roadshows
Following the successful transition into the new council, work is underway with Members on developing the council's new vision and culture. As the council's staff are critical in realising this, the council's management team shared this with staff through a series of roadshows across the county.
Don't worry if you couldn't attend as there will be a host of other opportunities to find out about this over the coming months as we work with staff to make the changes needed to make this an 'Altogether Better' council. We have also attached the slides shown at the roadshow, and the briefing pack for managers to share with staff below:
Vision_Roadhows.pdf (15 pages, 154kb)
Delivering the Vision - Managers Briefing Pack.pdf (17 pages, 271kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 9 - 29 Sept 09.pdf
Employee Update
Employee_Update_Issue8_Sept_22.pdf (2 pages, 81.4kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 7 - 8 September 2009.pdf (2 page, 98kb)
19 August - Career transition support
Sessions are being held on the following dates to give employees practical advice and support on application forms and preparation for interviews. If you wish to attend a half day session, please seek approval from your line manager before sending an email. Staff who are unaffected or brigaded should not attend these sessions. If you are an affected employee and wish to attend a session please contact: hrcareerworkshop@durham.gov.uk
The dates available at County Hall, Durham are:
- 24 August (pm)
- 25 August (am)
- 26 August (am/pm)
- 27 August (am/pm)
- 4 September (am/pm) (two sessions will be running on this day)
- 7 September (am/pm)
- 8 September (am/pm)
- 14 September (am/pm)
- 15 September (am/pm)
- 17 September (am/pm)
10 August 2009
Financial Awareness Workshops
To assist affected employees included in the next phase of the Restructure regarding ER/VR options, financial awareness workshops have been organised for:
- Monday 14 September 2009
- Monday 5 October 2009
- Friday 23 October 2009
All workshops will run from 9.30am until 12.15pm followed by the opportunity for questions and answers. Refreshment will be available. Location of workshops will be confirmed at a later date.
The workshops will open with Nick Orton, Head of Pensions and he will provide an overview of the pension implications of any decisions that you take. There will be guidance on financial planning and state benefits.
Any affected employee who wishes to attend this course should contact Human Resources by e-mail on hrfinanceworkshop@durham.gov.uk with your preferred option.
Confirmation of 'affected' status will be contained in ringfence letters distributed on the 1 September.
Employee Update
Employee_Update_Issue_6.pdf (3 pages, 556 kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 5 - 3rd July 2009.pdf (2 pages,79kb)
Employee Update
Employee_Update_Issue4_June19.pdf (4 pages 253kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 3 - June 2009.pdf (2 pages, 90kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 2 - May 2009.pdf (2 pages, 96kb)
Employee Update
Employee Update Issue 1 8th May 2009.pdf (2 pages, 80kb)
23 April 2009
Further fourth tier management appointments
See Update 19 for the latest fourth tier management appointment.
Employee Update
LGR Update April 2009 Issue 19.pdf (2 pages, 250kb)
Employee Update
LGR Update April 9 2009 issue18.pdf (4 pages, 261kb)
Employee Update
LGR Update - 17 Apr 2.pdf
Letter from George Garlick
George Garlick letter to employees 260309.pdf (1 page, 70kb)
9 April 2009
Further senior management appointments and next steps on restructuring.
See Update 18 for news on the latest Heads of Service and latest fourth tier management appointments and the next steps on restructuring.
1 April 2009
Fourth Tier Management Appointments
Update for details of the fourth tier management appointments announced so far.
26 March 2009
Letter to all Council employees
Council Chief Executive, George Garlick writes to all council employees to thank them for their hard work.
23 February 2009
Fourth Tier Management Structure
See the Jobs and HR section for information about feedback on the consultation.
28 January 2009
Job descriptions and person specifications for the proposed 4th tier management posts now available.
Please see the Jobs and HR page for further information.
26 January 2009
Consultation on 4th Tier Management Structures
Durham County Council is consulting on proposals for the 4th tier of management for the unitary council. The consultation document and advice on how to take part in the consultation have been published on the intranet/shared folder in your respective councils. Employees have until 12 noon on 6 February 2009 to respond. The responses to the consultation will be considered and it is envisaged that the final structure will be circulated w/c 23 February 2009, at which time trade unions and individuals affected will be consulted on the filling of posts.
26 January 2009
Guidance for Employees During the Restructure and Transition Process
Guidance for employees on the approach the unitary council is taking to the design of staffing structures and the filling of posts has been published in the Jobs and HR section (26 January 2009).
17 December 2008
Extended Management Team appointments
We have made a number of Heads of Service appointments to the Council's Extended Management Team. Please see the. Please see the December/January issue of the LGR Update for Staff for further information.
12 December 2008
A Christmas message from George
As I come towards my first 100 days in the job as Chief Executive, I can safely say that I am feeling very positive about the future of local government in County Durham.
As you may know, over the past few months I have spent time travelling to district and county council offices across the county. And from meeting the committed and talented staff across all our services, I am confident that we are in a good position to meet the challenges ahead.
I am really grateful for the warm welcome I have had from staff everywhere, and I have been heartened by the things I have seen. I think that we will have the people within the new authority to help us make real improvements and a real difference to the lives of the residents of the county.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome and being as open as you have been to new ideas, and generous in sharing your experience.
I realise that this is a time of change and therefore uncertainty for staff, but I am sure all of us will stay focused on our job of improving services for local people. All of my colleagues on the senior management team are working extremely hard to make the transition to the unitary council as smooth as possible, and we will keep you up-to-date on everything that’s going on. To that end, please look out for these regular LGR Updates and keep a check on the LGR staff website.
Having said all this, the festive season is upon us and I am looking forward to catching up with friends and family after what has been a busy few months. I hope that you all manage to do the same and may I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
All the best
George.
25 November 2008
Further consultation on Area Action Partnerships
20 November 2008
County Cabbies to be consulted on future taxi policy
12 November 2008
Early Retirement & Voluntary Redundancy
3 July 2008
County Durham Appoints Country's First 'Super Council' Boss
I am delighted to tell you that following three days assessments and interviews, George Garlick has accepted our offer to become the first Chief Executive of the new council.
George brings with him 25 years of local government experience, which has included spells in senior positions with councils in the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside as well as the North East where he has been Chief Executive of Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council since 1995.
In that time, he led the establishment of Stockton-On-Tees as a unitary council and has taken Stockton on to become one of the top ten performing local authorities in the country, achieving the highest possible ratings for service performance.
George has a notice period to serve with his current employer, but we are hopeful that he will be able to take up post with us before the end of September.
We are very much looking forward to working with George and hope that you will join me in wishing him every success in his new and exciting role with us.
Best wishes
Councillor Simon Henig
Leader of the Council
30 June 2008
Employee Update from The Joint Implementation Team
Lots of work has been done to develop the new unitary council for County Durham. Workshops for Cabinet members are being held during June to work towards establishing a ‘vision’ for the new authority, and as we approach July, there will be some key dates that will be important milestones for changes to our organizations.
This note gives you details on some of the timescales decided by the Joint Implementation Team. It also provides information on some of the areas where colleagues may have questions and concerns, but for a range of reasons we don’t have answers to these at this time.
The key areas where we can provide staff with information are outlined below:
Chief Executive Recruitment
Recruiting a Chief Executive for the new unitary authority is now well advanced and will end with the final selection interviews which take place next week.
Filling this key post will help us to progress with identifying and agreeing the top management team arrangements (director posts) for the new unitary authority.
Top Team Arrangements
Information has been gathered about the potential shape of the top team of the new organization. This has been collated through:
- A survey of senior managers to secure their views on the original bid proposals, set against the current business context.
- Discussion with trade union colleagues.
- Advice from external consultants on national best practice.
- A Cabinet workshop to consider leadership arrangements.
However, until this initial research is considered by the new Chief Executive there is no firm proposal to consult upon. The research will be shared with the new Chief Executive upon their appointment in July 08 so that they can consider with Elected Members the future shape of the top team. We can then move towards formal consultation with those affected by any changes proposed.
Early progress on this issue will be vital as it will be this top team, operating as the Corporate Management Team of the new unitary, that will drive any further changes that might impact upon employees.
Posts beneath Director Level
We expect that the director posts will start to be identified and filled from around September 2008. Then attention will turn to the shape of the new corporate organization and any detailed changes within services. This means that currently, it is very hard to give information with any certainty on the potential scope of any change for employees within services. We do know that:
- We do not envisage large scale changes to front line services. These will be required to maintain and improve levels of service delivery i.e. ‘business as usual’ during the transition period.
- The bid identified a duplication of posts in certain professions and support areas where a change will be needed in the number of duplicated posts. However, it is important to highlight that the bid document was based on a workforce profile that is now two years old and as such we are not using the bid as an appropriate reference point for identifying areas of the business that may be subject to employee changes.
- In addition, we need to understand the geographical arrangements of services before understanding the extent of change that will be required in terms of the workforce for the future.
- Proposed changes to staffing structures immediately below director level will start to emerge in late 2008. We expect that where changes are planned, posts at the ‘head of service’ level (immediately below directors) will start to be recruited in late 2008.
All of this means that it will be unlikely that all service restructuring will be concluded by vesting day and, in all likelihood, service structures will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis after 1 April 2009.
How Will This Affect Me?
We recognize that in this period of uncertainty, people will have lots of questions that at this stage we are unable to answer for the reasons outlined above. However below is some information on two key areas that may be of interest to colleagues:
Opportunity for Early Retirement/Voluntary Severance (ER/VR)
We have been discussing with trade unions how we can take a planned approach towards workforce changes, and a consistent approach towards the policy on any future ER/VR arrangements. These discussions are ongoing and we will keep you informed as they progress.
We can say that before the new organizational vision, values and appropriate structures have been identified, it is impossible to anticipate how the organization will change, and the detail of how the workforce will be affected by those plans.
It’s also worth noting that at this time, individual authorities are not prevented from considering ‘business as usual’ ER/VR requests from employees by way of normal efficiency business cases.
Your Pay And Conditions Of Employment
It is important to point out that the Local Government Review Staffing Guidance/Regulations have determined that the principles of TUPE will be applied to the transfer of functions from the district council to the new unitary authority. This means that employees of the previous employer, automatically become employees of the new employer on terms ‘no less favorable’ than those held prior to the transfer. It is as if their employment contract has simply transferred to the new employer.
The new unitary authority will be required to have an equality-proofed pay structure for the future. This is a complex area of work and the arrangements for transferring employees will have to be considered in any exercise to harmonize pay, terms and conditions of employment.
Work has begun in this area, but this will not be concluded before vesting day. Of course, we will keep colleagues informed of progress on this.
The legal detail around this is complex, however the above principle will apply in our reorganization.
Those Authorities who have not yet concluded Single Status and Job Evaluation exercise will continue to progress this work.
Next Steps
We will continue to provide your with regular employee communications from the Joint Implementation Team, but if you have any further questions, you can raise these via the
FAQs section or by emailing
lgrcomms@durham.gov.uk.
Joint Implementation Team, 30 June 2008
23 June 2008
Welcome
Well here it is – our new website specifically for staff in the eight councils going through reorganization. Through this site, we hope to provide staff in all of the councils with up-to-date and consistent information on progress with reorganisation in an easy and accessible way. It is also a channel through which you can ask questions and make suggestions to the LGR programme office.
The LGR programme is about to enter a new phase. Over the next few weeks, our newly elected councillors will be making key decisions about the direction of the programme and the future shape of the new unitary council. They will be appointing a new Chief Executive and going out to consultation on how the new council should relate and engage with local areas and communities across the County. They will determine the overall organisational structure of the new council, which will enable them to appoint a top management team to drive the integration of county and district services as we move forward. This will pave the way to give the certainty which all members of staff are looking for – how and where they will fit into the new flagship council that we are all putting in place.
It is going to be an exciting time, so I encourage you to visit this site on a regular basis and to take advantage of the facility to let us know what you think.
Roger Goodes, LGR Programme Manager, LGR Programme Office