Agenda item

Julie Foy, Director of Human Resources was present, and outlined the report during which the following main points were made –

·         Pandemic has impacted the way that the Council staff works with residents, and with each other, and there was a need to respond to the challenges of COVID

·         Noted will continue to use apprenticeships and schemes like Kickstart to provide job opportunities for local people, and to use agency staff to supplement staff and address issues of capacity

·         Noted the workforce strategy and challenging inequality programme and the Islington as an employer key actions, which are all either complete or will be delivered by the Autumn

·         Data summary – noted information contained in Appendix 1 and that the headcount of employees was 4729. Islington has a similar sized workforce to boroughs such as Southwark, Camden, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets who have similarly retained services in house

·         Race – Percentage of  BAME employees is 40.9%, compared to 50.77% who are white, with 9.03% not declaring data. Islington population data shows % of Islington residents who were from a BAME  background was 32%. Islington Council has a mean ethnicity pay gap of 10.3%.There is tailored support for BAME staff, and the apprenticeship scheme has attracted a range of candidates from diverse ethnic backgrounds

·         Sex – women are slightly more represented amongst workforce at 52.76%, and this is a slight variation from the resident population which has 49.9% women. Women are more represented than men at all salary bandings, with the exception of the £20-30k band which includes predominantly male groups of public realm staff operatives and caretakers

·         Disability – 8.9% of staff shared that they had a disability, and the lowest levels of known disability are at the lower pay grades. The staff survey indicates that 18.5% have a disability, in line with the resident population

·         Age – average age of LBI employee is 46.7, which is marginally higher than the London average. 54.7% of long term sickness  falls within the 50-64 age group

·         Sexual orientation – 3.7% have recorded that they are LGTB, 51.6% heterosexual and the remainder have indicated no sexual orientation

·         Religion or belief – data on religion shows 32.4% of workforce are Christian, 6.53% Muslim, 7.34% another religion, 11.57% of staff with no religion, and 39.37% of staff who have not stated

·         Pregnancy/Maternity – During 2020/21 60 women commenced maternity leave

·         In response to a question as to whether it would be possible to expand on the report in future in terms of the corporate learning management system, it was stated that in terms of the Council’s public equality duties this would be helpful and that as data was improved this could be taken on board

·         Reference was made to the number of casual workers employed, and that this information could be provided in the next report to the Committee. Noted that IT are exploring career programmes, utilising the apprenticeship levy, in order that more in- house staff were employed, especially in the area of technical project management

·         In response to a question it was stated that there had been no changes to the IT services/contract provided

·         Noted that more female staff had left the Council than men, and it was stated that the reasons for this were being looked at

·         Reference was made to long term sickness levels, and it was stated that Islington’s levels were consistent with national levels

·         Discussion took place as to the breakdown of ethnic communities within the borough, and staff, and comparison with other boroughs, and it would be useful if this information was provided in future reports

·         In relation to a question as to the number of applications from BAME staff and the resultant success rate, it was stated that that these applications were mainly for lower paid jobs, however this was an area that was being looked at

·         Reference was also made to apprenticeships and whether these led to successful full time jobs. It was stated that this information could be looked at and provided in future reports. It was stated that the employment of apprentices should be discussed with organisations that the Council had contracts with especially Partners

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the report be noted and Appendix 1 be noted, and emerging areas of

Focus

(b)  That the progress against the existing Islington as a Fairer Employer workstream of the Challenging Inequality Programme be noted, and the plans to deliver outstanding commitments

(c)   That the officers are currently carrying out a refresh of the Challenging Inequality Programme, and that this dataset, and further detailed analysis will inform new activities as part of that workstream

The Chair thanked Julie Foy for attending