Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Tom Munro, Amanda Davis, and Karen Hanson (Chief Executive) and Liz Robinson (UNISON Convenor).

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business to be considered.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 4^th September 2024.

Moved by Chris McKinney (UNISON) and seconded by Councillor Justin Gilbody

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of the Safety Committee held on 4^th September 2024 be approved as a true and correct record.

The Scrutiny Officer briefly explained that the Customer Services Scrutiny Committee and Local Growth Scrutiny Committee were carrying out a Joint review into the security of The Arc following incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour and recent portents that could have risked the safety of Members, Officers and above all members of the public.

Areas of improvement would be identified and education on security practices provided to staff at The Arc.

A Joint meeting of the Scrutiny Committees listed would be taking place in January 2025, with the intention to deliver the review / provide recommendations to the Executive in spring 2025.

If Members of the Committee wished to provide their thoughts, this would be welcomed.  The Committee would also be updated on this review moving forwards.

The Chair invited the Health and Safety Manager to present the report to the Committee.

The Health and Safety Manager explained the total number of employee accidents in Quarter 2 2024/25 was 14 (excluding Dragonfly Developments Ltd); this compared to 11 during Quarter 2 2023/24.  Employee accidents of Quester 2 2024/25 occurred in the following service areas:

·       Streetscene – 12;

·       Property Services – 1; and,

·       Customer Services – 1.

The following types of incidents were involved:

·       Struck by a moving object – 2;

·       Manual handing – 3;

·       Slips/trips/falls – 4;

·       Cuts and abrasions – 1;

·       Violence and aggression – 1;

·       Struct by a fixed object – 1;

·       Burn – 1; and,

·       Other – 1.

An error on the report was highlighted – the number of accidents that were RIDDOR reportable was not 3 but 4.  However, the incident that took place on the 14^th August 2024 was still reported within the required 7 days.

The number of near misses reported during Quarter 2 2024/25 was 2 (this included an incident of suspect post).

The report provided details on all incidents of Quarter 2 2024/25.

The total number of days of work lost for Quarter 2 2024/25 was 81.5 days.

The total number of accidents reported by the Public was 41; none were RIDDOR reportable.  For context, while all these incidents occurred across Leisure Services, the average quarterly footfall in Go!Active was 85,958 people.

4 accidents were reported by Dragonfly Development Ltd. during Quarter 2 2024/25.

22 Council employees were trained Quarter 2 2024/25:

·       Asbestos Category B – 3;

·       First Aid Refresher – 2; and,

·       Sharps Awareness – 17.

There were 3 recharges made for unattended training places.

7 formal inspections of the Council had occurred in Quarter 2 2024/25.  These were undertaken by a member of the Health & Safety Team, Facilities Management Team, a building representative, and a Trade Union Representative (when available).  These inspections had occurred at:

·       Pleasley Vale Mill 2 &The Dye House (biannual);

·       Pleasley Vale Mill 3 (biannual);

·       Shirebrook Contact Centre (annual);

·       South Normanton Contact Centre (annual);

·       Pleasley Archives (annual);

·       The Tangent (biannual); and,

·       Castle Leisure Park (annual).

Regular joint informal walk-arounds of The Arc and Riverside Depot continued.

7 formal Dragonfly Development Limited inspections had  ...  view the full minutes text for item SAF14-24/25

The HR Business Partner presented the report to the Committee.

The average number of days lost per employee was 2.35 for Quarter 2 2024/25.  The 2024/25 projected outturn for the average number of days lost was 9.22 days.  The annual target for the Local Performance Indicator to the end of March 2025 was 8.5 days.

Attached at Appendix 1 were Tables 1, 2 and 3, which detailed the key patterns and trends being experienced corporately in relation to sickness absence.

Key trends included:

·       The overall average days lost due to sickness in Quarter 2 2024/25 was 2.35 days, this was lower than Quarter 2 2023/24;

·       6 Services experienced zero sickness in Quarter 2 and a further 3 Services experienced less than 1 day per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employee;

·       Stress/Depression had remained in the top three reasons for absence since Quarter 2 of 2019/20;

·       There were 6 cases of absence due to Stress/Depression during Quarter 2 2024/25 (2 were work related, 3 none work related, and 1 a combination of home and work-related issues);

·       COVID-19 accounted for 15 days lost due to sickness in Quarter 2 2024/25 – an increase from 12 days lost in Quarter 1 2024/25; and,

·       There were 16 long-term cases in Quarter 2 2024/25.

Steps the Council had taken to support employees in their health and wellbeing included:

·       Mental Health awareness sessions were now available ‘on demand’;

·       Mental Health awareness initiatives and possible support were published every week and included:

o   Suicide Prevention Day;

o   Mental Health Awareness Day;

o   Mental Health First Aider Training;

o   High-Quality Conversations Training;

o   Alcohol Awareness Week; and,

o   Vivup Rewards & Benefits;

·       The number of Employees subscribing to the Gym for Quarter 2 2024/25 was 57;

·       Managers and Employees had accessed Occupational Health, Counselling, Physiotherapy, the Council’s Employee Assistance Programme and other support;

·       Employees were signposted to incentives which were available via Leisure i.e.:

o   To encourage health and wellbeing staff could take up membership for Go!Active for £15 per month;

o   There was a Health Referral Programme (Physical Activity & Lifestyle Support) available.

Health checks were also available (56 members of staff had received blood sugar tests).

Menopause and Pension Awareness Sessions had taken place, along with wellbeing walk challenges outside of work.

A Member asked, with numbers of Stress/Depression proving consistent, despite work being undertaken to help mitigate / manage the mental health and wellbeing of staff, would the numbers be worse if no action had been taken.

The HR Business Partner believed the work was making a difference and what was not included in the figures was the measurable benefits on staff through support like the Go!Active subsidised membership.

The Strategic Director of Services agreed, reiterating previous comments made on the issue of Stress/Depression of staff was only really known when staff were absent from work.  Stress/Depression coping mechanisms were also different per person, as was the situations staff might find themselves in.

A UNISON Representative added the opportunities being provided were likely preventing some instances of Stress/Depression  ...  view the full minutes text for item SAF15-24/25