Rejection of coronavirus bonus a 'slap in the face'
Unite expected to urge council pay offer rejection
Colchester Borough Council to furlough staff
'High risk' staff are being forced back, claims Unison
Developing a cohesive council workforce
With council workers, increasingly being asked to deliver more with less, Alexander Carlton discusses the role of technology in creating a cohesive workforce.
Council staff will be deployed for Covid-19 contact tracing
21/04/2020 Council staff will be deployed to help spot, trace and isolate new cases of coronavirus, the Welsh Government has confirmed. |
Council considers placing some staff on furlough
17/04/2020 A Scottish council is considering furloughing a limited number of workers in a bid to limit the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis. |
Unions slam 'woefully low' council pay offer
17/04/2020 The Government should provide extra funding to give council workers a 'proper' pay rise during the pandemic crisis, trade unions have said. |
Council workers offered a 2.75% pay rise
16/04/2020 Trade unions have been urged to accept a 2.75% pay increase for council staff. |
Town hall rich list branded 'inane and distasteful'
15/04/2020 Attempts to criticise local government salaries have been branded as ‘both inane and distasteful' by chief executives’ body Solace. |
Refuse workers in Wirral walk out over coronavirus fears
08/04/2020 Refuse collectors in Wirral have refused to work after claiming Biffa Waste Services failed to introduce strict social distancing measures. |
CQC issues COVID-19 guidance on DBS checks
03/04/2020 The Care Quality Commission(CQC) has issued interim guidance on the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and other recruitment checks in response to coronavirus. |
Scottish unions blast 'inconsistent' way councils are handling coronavirus
02/04/2020 Trade unions in Scotland have criticised the ‘inconsistent’ approach to protecting council staff from coronavirus. |
Local government pay summit to go ahead
30/03/2020 Negotiators hope to keep local government pay discussions on track despite the difficulties posed by the coronavirus crisis. |
Councils report ‘sickening’ attacks on staff
30/03/2020 Council staff have been subject to unacceptable physical and verbal assaults during the coronavirus crisis, including one council worker having their leg broken. |
Hancock announces free parking for NHS staff
26/03/2020 The Government has announced NHS trusts are to receive financial support to provide health care workers with free car parking during the coronavirus pandemic. |
Union questions how refuse workers can practice social distancing within an RCV cab
24/03/2020 A union has called on local government employers to spell out how refuse service workers can safely provide an essential service while meeting social distancing requirements. |
Union and council end dispute amid coronavirus crisis
24/03/2020 Trade union Unite has said its dispute with Veolia over holiday pay for refuse staff working at Tower Hamlets LBC has been resolved. |
Glasgow council seeks 1,500 voluntary redundancies
24/03/2020 Glasgow City Council has announced that it is offering voluntary redundancies to its staff in order to reduce its wage bill in the face of heavy budgetary pressures, including an over £500m equal pay bill. |
Council reviews bin collections after disabled man ‘blocked’ in house
20/03/2020 Trafford Council has agreed to review the way it monitors missed bin collections after the Ombudsman upheld half a dozen complaints. |
Social workers call for clarity on carrying out statutory duties
20/03/2020 Social workers are concerned they will be unable to safeguard families and carry out their statutory duties in the face of mass isolation. |
Union accuses town council of being like ‘The Godfather’
19/02/2020 There is a ‘systematic and sustained campaign of bullying’ in the Norfolk town council of Attleborough, according to the union Unite. |
A 10% council pay rise is 'affordable' says Unison
12/02/2020 A 10% pay rise for council staff is 'affordable' and would boost local economies, new research from a trade union has said. |
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'. |
Bromley's eight-month strike comes to an end
31/01/2020 An eight-month long strike at Bromley’s library services has finally ended following an agreement between Unite and the employer, Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL). |
Blackpool Council announces 75 job losses
31/01/2020 Blackpool Council has announced that its new budget proposals will result in 75 job losses as it seeks to close a £5m budget gap. |
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. |
Family ‘left in distress’ after council fails to investigate noise complaint
29/01/2020 A council in West Northamptonshire has been criticized by the Ombudsman for its handling of a noise complaint from residents living near an industrial estate. |
Pay dispute threatens to ‘disrupt’ council tax collection
24/01/2020 Newham council faces ‘significant disruption’ to council tax collection and rebates when staff stage a week-long strike in a job evaluation row. |
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. |
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’. |
Council warns of 78 job cuts
07/01/2020 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has outlined plans to cut 78 jobs as part of plans to save £9.2m by 2021. |
Former social workers urged to return to sector
06/01/2020 Former social workers are being encouraged to get back into the care sector with the return of a national scheme. |
Recognition for chiefs in New Year Honours list
02/01/2020 Chief executives in Bradford, Harrogate, Leeds, and the chief executive officer of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy are among those to have been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours. |
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. |
Surrey firefighters vote for Christmas industrial action
12/12/2019 Firefighters in Surrey have voted in favour of industrial action short of strike over the Christmas period in order to fight against local authority cuts. |
Fleet mechanics threaten strike after being asked to ‘accept one compromise too many’
03/12/2019 Council fleet mechanics in Wigan are being balloted for strike action after being told to work late on Fridays, according to Unite. |
At last 90,000 extra social workers needed to meet care reforms
28/11/2019 An extra 90,000 care workers will be needed to provide just two hours of basic care for older people with high needs, a report has warned today. |
Half of local government workers worry about redundancy as a result of cuts
14/11/2019 Around 50% of local government workers worry that they could be made redundant by technological innovation or Government cuts, a survey has revealed. |
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. |
Council launches bond scheme to recruit key workers
11/11/2019 Cherwell District Council has launched a new bond scheme to encourage more key workers to move to the area. |
Delays to pay claim talks branded a 'disappointment by union
07/11/2019 The biggest local government union has branded a delay to talks over their 10% pay claim 'a huge disappointment'. |
Decision on council staff pay rise delayed until the New Year
06/11/2019 A leading union negotiator has questioned local government employers' good faith after they decided to delay responding to their 10% pay claim until the New Year. |
Council workers to lobby for 10% pay rise
04/11/2019 Unions are set to protest in support of their 10% pay claim when local government employers meet in London tomorrow. |
Men dominate top table at combined authorities, research warns
04/11/2019 Only one in five with a vote at the top table in combined authorities are women, new research has found. |
Council cuts damaging ‘grassroots’ grass pitches
30/10/2019 Local authority austerity and budget cuts have had a damaging effect on ‘grassroots’ grass pitches, a groundskeeping organisation says. |
Council makes 'significant' progress on its pension scheme
25/10/2019 A new report has found the London Borough of Barnet has made significant progress in the way it administers its pension fund since an improvement notice was issued in July. |
Councillors apologise to staff over 'pagan ritual' offer
25/10/2019 Two councillors have apologised in writing to their entire council staff following an investigation into sexist behaviour which included telling a woman she had 'good breeding hips' and offering to perform a pagan ritual. |
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. |
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. |
Living wage boost would benefit hundreds of thousands of council staff
08/10/2019 Workers stand to gain from politicians' pledges to increase the National Living Wage. |
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.
