Recruitment

• Bristol first council to become ‘Ban the Box’ employer

  Bristol City Council has become the first local authority in the country to use job applications without a tick box that asks applicants about their criminal record.

  

• Five recruitment trends in local government

  Jes Ladva argues that local authorities are embracing genuine transformation in recruitment as the austerity freeze continues.

  

• Project launched to retrain 100 social workers

  Three regions will take part in a new programme to help retrain 100 social workers who have left the profession.

  

• Councils face recruitment crisis unless pay restraint eased, say financial experts

  Councils could face a management-level recruitment and retention crisis unless public sector pay restraint is eased, a respected think-tank has warned.

  

• New plans to increase mental health services revealed

  Plans to boost mental health services and recruit thousands of new staff have been announced today by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

  

• County Council announces jobs freeze to tackle £8m overspend

  Devon County Council has announced a jobs freeze in order to manage a projected £8.1m budget overspend.

  

• 60% of local councils want a new leadership approach

  The majority of HR directors in local government believe a new style of leadership is required to help them deliver a better quality of service.