Sharpening the commercial edge
The case for well-managed council commercial activity is one that needs to be defended if we want a mature and sustainable local state, argues Jonathan Werran.
Council ‘outraged’ by Unite decision to continue bin strike
14/05/2021 Thurrock Council has said that it is ‘disappointed’ workers in the local authority’s waste and recycling department have decided to continue pay strike. |
Council had 'truly toxic atmosphere,' tribunal hears
27/04/2021 The Hammersmith & Fulham LBC director at the centre of an unfair dismissal claim had been working in a ‘truly toxic atmosphere,’ an employment tribunal has heard. |
Datagraphic: "Document automation the key to hybrid working"
23/04/2021 According to leading UK provider of secure end-to-end document automation solutions, Datagraphic, payroll was one of operations that needed to adapt most quickly during the pandemic. |
How to reduce spending on temporary staff and boost employee engagement
25/02/2021 Scott Erwin calls on councils to adopt a ‘dynamic staffing’ model to combine the use of agency staff with more stable budgeting. |
Council chiefs welcome £120m boost to social care workforce
18/01/2021 Local authority leaders have welcomed a multi-million-pound funding boost from the Government which is aimed at supporting the social care workforce. |
The new cap on Public Sector Exit Payments
03/12/2020 Charles Pallot outlines the new Restrictions on Public Sector Exit Payments for local authorities and the clash with LGPS strain payments. |
Advancing beyond ‘business as usual’
17/09/2020 Raj Krishnamurthy, CEO of Freespace, looks at the role workplace technology can play in helping councils deliver services during the Covid-19 crisis. |
The key pandemic priorities for employers revealed
15/09/2020 Martin Shields, head of safety, health & environment at ODS, looks at the key pandemic priorities for employers. |
Oldham Council asks staff to consider ‘voluntary redundancy’
21/08/2020 Oldham Council have announced that they are asking staff to consider voluntary redundancy in order to help the authority close a £30m funding gap. |
Immigration plans branded an 'embarrassing shambles'
14/07/2020 The Government’s latest plans for post-Brexit immigration rules have been branded an ‘embarrassing shambles’ after they failed to include care workers. |
Colchester Borough Council to furlough staff
07/05/2020 A council in Essex is set to furlough some of its staff in order to limit the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. |
'High risk' staff are being forced back, claims Unison
04/05/2020 Unison is demanding Milton Keynes Council steps back from what it says is a ‘rogue local plan’ to order staff in high risk categories back to work. |
Re-write the rules of recruitment
15/04/2020 Anne-Marie Scott offers her predictions for public sector recruitment challenges for 2020 and asks, ‘how do we recruit the right candidates?’ |
Strategic workforce planning
09/03/2020 Michael Culshaw explains why local government needs a a strategic workforce plan whitepaper. |
Developing a cohesive council workforce
19/02/2020 With council workers, increasingly being asked to deliver more with less, Alexander Carlton discusses the role of technology in creating a cohesive workforce. |
Unions reject 'disappointing' 2% council pay offer
05/02/2020 Trade unions have rejected a 2% pay increase for council staff and called on employers to 'come up with a better offer'. |
Newcastle first council to be named UK’s most LGBT inclusive employer
30/01/2020 Newcastle City Council has become the first local authority to claim the top spot of Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list. |
Unions blast 'unnecessary' delay to council staff pay rise decision
23/01/2020 Trade unions have criticised employers for failing to make a pay offer to local government staff yet. |
Union calls for Sanctuary Care homes to be brought ‘back in-house’
14/01/2020 Unite is urging councils who have contracts with Sanctuary Care to bring them ‘in-house’ after a criminal investigation was launched into one of its homes. |
Council first in Northern Ireland to adopt ‘menopause policy’
08/01/2020 Derry Strabane Council has become the first local authority in Northern Ireland to adopt a ‘menopause policy’. |
Councils thank ‘festive force’ of care workers
24/12/2019 Local authority leaders in London have thanked the 22,000 care workers who will be working on Christmas day this year. |
Parish councillors call for childcare support
23/12/2019 Local councillors have urged the new Government to reform rules which prevent them from being able to claim childcare costs. |
Former council employee who falsified air quality data convicted of fraud
20/12/2019 A former Waverley Borough Council employee has been given a suspended prison sentence for committing fraud after falsifying air quality data. |
Council crematorium holds service with wrong body
16/12/2019 Coventry City Council has launched an investigation after a funeral service took place at a council-run crematorium with the wrong body. |
Library strike ‘longest-running employment dispute of modern times’
13/11/2019 A strike by library workers in Bromley, south east London, is set to enter its sixth month. |
Victims in the line of fire
24/10/2019 Local government monitoring officers are increasingly being caught in power struggles between senior officers and are becoming targets for politicians. How should the problem be tackled? Martin Ford reports |
Government launches care recruitment drive
16/10/2019 The Department of Health and Social Care is set to launch the second phase of its advertising campaign to help fill 122,000 vacancies in social care. |
Nearly £300,000 paid to member of public due to typing error
15/10/2019 A council has added a new checking procedure to its finance system after an error led to a member of the public being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
Council leader steps down to chair controversial tourism firm
15/10/2019 The leader of Wakefield Council, Cllr Peter Box, has announced that he is standing down following his appointment as chairman of an embattled tourism agency. |
Shining the spotlight on local council whistleblowing
14/10/2019 Andy Shettle outlines how councils can create working environments where staff feel able to speak out about concerns surrounding misconduct. |
Review launched into handling of alleged misconduct of senior council officers
09/10/2019 A review into the way alleged misconduct by senior council officers is investigated has been launched. |
New management model with no chief approved
25/07/2019 Redcar and Cleveland BC hopes to save about £220,000 per year after scrapping its chief executive role as part of a new management model. |
Unions set to propose 10% pay rise for council staff
17/07/2019 Better work-life balance and support for mental health are likely to be elements in a pay claim being agreed by local government unions, LocalGov can reveal. |
EXCLUSIVE: Brum's Baxendale quits for New Zealand
10/07/2019 Birmingham CC chief executive Dawn Baxendale is departing to take up a new post at Christchurch City Council in New Zealand after just over a year in post. |
Council staff receive millions in equal pay settlement
28/06/2019 Thousands of council workers have received their first equal pay settlements in Glasgow after the council finalised a funding deal with Legal & General. |
Northern Ireland council staff sickness at highest level in nearly 30 years
18/06/2019 Sick leave at Northern Ireland councils is at its highest level since 1990, with nearly 15 days lost per employee a year, auditors have warned. |
Sleep-in care workers report unsuitable conditions
18/06/2019 Overnight care workers have reported being attacked at work and forced to sleep in offices, in a new survey conducted by Unison. |
Councils invited to join design technique scheme
04/06/2019 Councils are being invited to join a scheme to help them use design techniques to improve the services they offer. |
Capping exit payments in the public sector
07/05/2019 Kim Howell explores how the ongoing uncertainty about the proposed cap on exit payments should be managed by employers in local government. |
Council proposes random drug testing of staff
10/04/2019 West Lothian Council is considering introducing random drug testing for staff in posts defined as ‘safety critical’. |
Cheshire East’s most senior financial executive resigns
09/04/2019 The chief operating officer at Cheshire East Council has resigned after a suspension lasting two years. |
Dundee council workers threaten strike action
02/04/2019 Dundee City Council workers have voted in support of industrial action in response to local authority cuts. |
Vicarious liability
02/04/2019 Helen Snow, senior associate in the employment team at Geldards LLP, looks at how to mitigate against the rogue employee. |
Council to introduce alcohol and drug tests for staff
10/05/2018 A council in Northern Ireland could soon be introducing a new scheme to test employees for alcohol and drug use. |
Council called out on bullying and harassment
30/01/2018 Cheshire East Council has a bullying and harassment problem, the Local Government Association (LGA) has concluded. |
Council leaders demand end to pay cap
07/12/2017 Nearly 100 council leaders have written to the chancellor demanding extra funding for workers and an end to the public sector pay cap. |
Labour Party suspends Slough leader
03/11/2017 Slough BC’s leader has been suspended from the Labour Party, amid criticism over his choice of permanent chief executive. |
K&C chief steps down under pressure from Whitehall
22/06/2017 The chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council has resigned amid fierce criticism over the borough's response to the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. |
Councils sign HR shared service deal
02/08/2016 Two councils have agreed to extend cooperation with a new HR deal that will save both hundreds of thousands of pounds annually. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
