People Strategy 2021-26 - Council Workforce Demographics and People Metrics v2
Renfrewshire Council · 12 June 2025
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 12 June 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 12 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: People Strategy 2021-2026 – Council Workforce Demographics and People Metrics. ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Members with information on the Council’s Workforce demographics and people metrics for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Council managers already have access to a range of workforce data in real time through the Council’s Business World ERP system. 1.2 This report builds on the previous findings and analysis presented to Members in February of this year and details updated progress to support continuous improvement. 1.3 The report also provides an overview of the current workforce profile and highlights the importance of utilising people metrics for effective evidence- based decision-making within the Council. A clear understanding of our workforce is crucial for workforce planning and future operational service delivery. 1.4 The Councils’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion metrics and Health and Safety metrics are not included in this report as they are reported separately to members of the board. ___________________________________________________________________
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2 Recommendations 2.1 The board is asked to note: The contents of this report. This report will be reported bi-annually for monitoring purposes. The next report will be submitted on 20 November 2025. This will detail quarter by quarter comparison data, with targeted interventions to drive improvements where necessary. ___________________________________________________________________ 3 Background 3.1 Our workforce data is key to guiding performance related decisions and continues to support the Council with workforce planning, optimising efficient- allocation of resources, and supports employee development and wellbeing, leading to a more efficient and competent workforce. 3.2 Our data helps to identify areas of high demand and ensures that the right skills are aligned with the right projects, enhancing overall efficiency. Regular analysis of our workforce data also supports the Council to drive its equality, diversity and inclusion agenda and monitoring, ensuring specific and targeted initiatives promote a supportive and inclusive working environment. 3.3 The diagram below is an extract from the Council’s workforce demographics and provides an overview of the Council’s workforce profile as of 31 March 2025.
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3.4 Of the 8532 employees, around 70% of our people live within the Renfrewshire area. The largest proportion of our workforce have permanent contracts of employment with an average length of service of 10 years, which indicates we have an experienced, committed, and talented workforce. 3.5 The data, consistent with the previous report to Members, shows our workforce remains predominately female, with an average age of around 45 years. However, data also highlights that we have an aging workforce with 40% aged 50 or above. This presents the Council with future succession planning challenges around retaining key knowledge and skills, but also creates new opportunities to attract new and wider skills for the future in new and emerging disciplines, ensuring the Council remains competitive in the recruitment market and continues to proactively adapt to emerging trends. 3.6 Over the last couple of years, Council officers have taken significant steps to improve the Council’s overall gender pay gap. As part of ongoing workforce planning initiatives such as implementing a revised pay and grading model for c.6500 employees, and ongoing service transformation, noticeably within Building Services, Soft FM and Homecare, the Council’s gender pay gap, for the first time, has moved to a position in favour of female, at 0.52% (as at end of March 2025). 3.7 The Council continues to have a flexible workforce with almost 41% working part-time. To support employee health and wellbeing, foster a family-friendly and inclusive workplace culture, the workforce continues to benefit from a wide range of flexible working options, in line with the recently revised Flexible Working Policy. This supports the Council’s culture of continuous improvement, being flexible and responsive to customer needs and improving working lives. This trend highlights the need for ongoing reviews to our People & OD policies to ensure they remain modern, supportive, and inclusive. 3.8 The Council’s retention rate for this reporting period ending 31 March 2025 is approximately 91%. During this reporting period, 812 people joined the Council and 802 employees left, with the main reasons for leaving being career advancement and normal age retirement. Continuing to closely monitor this data helps us better understand the reasons why people leave the Council’s employment, providing opportunities to listen to the workforce and implement any findings to improve our workplace experience. 4 Employee Relations (Absence, Disciplines, Grievances, Overtime and Training) 4.1 Absence 4.2 In line with the reporting requirements for Scottish Councils, absence is expressed as a number of workdays lost per full time equivalent (FTE) employee.
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The table below provides a breakdown of absence by each Council service, by quarter, with overall Environmental, Housing and Infrastructure and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership continuing to experience higher levels of absence than the Council’s internal targets. 4.3 Analysis of absence trends reveals a slight increase on the previous quarter, with higher incidence of illness among front-line service employees. 4.4 The number of Council FTE days lost due to absence for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was 97,089.26 FTE days. Although Environmental, Housing and Infrastructure and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership are experiencing higher than the average Council absence rates, the largest proportion of actual FTE absence days lost is within Children’s Services, with 41,312.17. This is partly due to the service having the largest proportion of the Council’s workforce (approx.48%). 4.5 The table below provides a breakdown of FTE absence days lost by each Council Service, by quarter. 4.6 During the reporting period, the 4 main causes of sickness absence, in rank order, throughout the reporting period continues to be: 1. Psychological. 2. Musculoskeletal and Joint Disorders. 3. Stomach/Bowel/Blood and Metabolic Disorders and; 4. Respiratory. 4.7 These causes of absence align with national trends. Service Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Chief Executive's 1.31 1.50 1.99 1.53 Children's Services 2.82 1.91 3.41 3.97 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure 4.15 3.58 4.06 3.62 Finance & Resources 1.97 2.31 2.38 2.30 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership 5.04 5.68 6.05 5.69 Total Absence Days Lost Per FTE Employee 3.27 2.81 3.72 3.80 FTE Absence Days Lost Per FTE Employee Service Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Chief Executive's 300.26 339.72 445.22 343.05 Children's Services 9647.92 6500.29 11608.71 13555.25 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure 7345.12 6444.19 7307.19 6536.45 Finance & Resources 1692.79 1980.35 2042.09 1971.82 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership 4349.65 4859.66 5086.05 4733.48 Grand Total 23335.74 20124.21 26489.26 27140.05 FTE Absence Days Lost
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4.8 To support employees remaining in work or returning to work following an occasion of absence, the Council continues to provide and promote a range of supportive policies and services that employees can access or be referred to at an early stage for assistance, such as the Council’s Occupational Health Service Provider, People Asset Management Ltd (PAM). Data for the reporting period confirms that 4205 appointments were made on behalf of employees to PAM. In the same reporting period, the Council’s employee assistance provider, Time for Talking (TFT) provided 1,441 appointments to employees. 4.9 Since the implementation of the Council’s revised Managing Absence Policy, Council officers have maximised the use of all available appointments and provisions through the contracts of both providers PAM and TFT, which has led to a further investment in additional support in known hotspot areas within services, particularly for absences related to physiotherapy, mental health, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and cancer. 4.10 Members will also be aware that this Board approved a revised Health and Wellbeing Plan to support attendance at work. The People & OD team, as part of this plan, are continuing to work closely with our current 91 mental health first aiders (MHFA) across the Council. MHFA’s support our workforce by initially providing a safe space to discuss mental health concerns and available specialist support in areas such as financial or psychological wellbeing. Plans are in place to increase the number of MHFA’s in the coming months, alongside running an event with the current MHFA’s to better understand the usage of mental health first aid support and issues that are being presented. 4.11 Council officers, in collaboration with subject matter experts, have delivered a range of successful Rentalks throughout this reporting period. These sessions covered current topics such as ‘Supporting Menopause’, ‘Raising our Teens’, ‘Learning for Life’, ‘Men’s Mental Health’, ‘Gambling Awareness’, ‘Budgeting Skills’, ‘Woman Health’ ‘Insights to CBT’, ‘Mastering Work life Balance’, ‘Discussing HRT’, ‘Breastfeeding’, ‘Support for Carers’, with ‘Holistic Well- Being’ being scheduled for later this year. These Rentalks have been recorded and are available for all employees as either toolbox talks or training through the Council’s i-Learn Training Platform. 4.12 11 supporting wellbeing sessions were delivered to our frontline service employees in Environment, Housing and Infrastructure and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, covering the Rentalk topics mentioned above, and where to seek support, if needed. Within Finance and Resources, 2 Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland awareness sessions were provided to our Customer Services Teams, following our accreditation for being a Breastfeeding Friendly employer. This equipped our teams with training, knowledge and tools to ensure breastfeeding parents feel confident and comfortable, whether they are navigating their return to work or feeding their child on our premises.
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4.13 The Council’s new Menopause Champion has also introduced ‘Let’s Pause’ monthly sessions for employees, which are supportive spaces for anyone experiencing menopause who wish to share their experiences and connect with others in a relaxed and friendly setting. 4.14 The direct salary cost of statutory and occupational sick pay for absences, for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is approximately £14.7m. Members are asked to note that costs are not additional costs to the Council as they are already budgeted for, and do not include any additional costs for cover, for example overtime. £10.9m (74%) of this cost is relating to employees with long term absences (28 calendar days or more). The table below provides a breakdown by Council Services, by quarter. 4.15 Our data once again suggests that absences continue to be impacted due to lengthier NHS treatment, medical intervention and specialist report waiting times. 4.16 Members are asked to note that in May 2025, an update on the Council’s Local Government Benchmarking Framework 2023/24 performance was provided to the Council’s Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board. The report noted that sickness remains challenging for all Scottish Councils. Teacher absence fell from 7.4 days to 7.23 days, and Non-Teaching absence fell from 15.2 days to 14.7 days. Overall, the Council’s national ranking position improved from 25th to 19th. Council officers will continue to explore all opportunities and will take steps to reduce absence levels and costs. 4.17 Overtime Working 4.18 Overtime continues to play a critical role in the Council’s day to day business operations, which offers several advantages, such as meeting ad-hoc increased service demands, seasonal peaks, short term projects like event planning, avoiding permanent recruitment costs. It can also support operational continuity in emergency situations where specialist skills are required. With careful workforce planning, the Council can use overtime to leverage these benefits while minimising risks such as employee fatigue and higher resourcing costs. Service Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Chief Executive's £57,541.53 £55,395.93 £67,442.48 £61,267.49 Children's Services £1,616,263.43 £1,210,545.90 £2,156,549.53 £2,327,173.28 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure £861,140.58 £795,653.84 £901,809.11 £808,423.72 Finance & Resources £208,916.96 £240,377.36 £256,215.01 £257,446.53 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership £611,020.55 £701,828.50 £766,514.91 £696,844.28 Grand Total £3,354,883.05 £3,003,801.53 £4,148,531.04 £4,151,155.30 Absence Cost
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4.19 The table below highlights the level of overtime working across the Council and associated costs for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Categories of overtime claimed are in line with conditions of service and include plain time, time and a half, and double time. The number of overtime hours claimed within the first three quarters of this reporting period reduced quarter on quarter. However, quarter 4 data highlights an increase in overtime hours claimed across most services. 4.20 The direct salary cost for this reporting period is approximately £5.84m. The table below highlights that Environmental, Housing and Infrastructure and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership are experiencing higher levels of overtime claims than other services. 4.21 On further analysis of our data, 67% of the overtime hours worked are for reasons such as, holiday absence cover, demand in workload, vacancies, and sickness cover. The People and OD team are exploring different ways with services to help reduce the costs generated by overtime through workforce planning, providing management information and reviewing the current public holiday arrangements. 4.22 Disciplinary Investigations 4.23 The table below highlights by Council service the number of live disciplinary investigations being carried out under the Council’s Disciplinary Policy for each quarter within the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Within the full reporting period, there was a maximum of 59 cases being progressed across the Council at any one time, in line with Council policy (0.07% of the Council’s overall workforce). 17 of these cases (28%) required a precautionary suspension. 4.24 All disciplinary cases are supported and progressed as quickly as possible in line with Council Policy. Members approved a revised Disciplinary Policy in June 2024, which provides a framework for supporting and progressing cases fairly and consistently, towards a resolution as quickly as possible. The People & OD team will continue to work with services and trade union colleagues to reduce the number of live cases. Service Hours Amount Hours Amount Hours Amount Hours Amount Chief Executive's 182.65 £5,040.35 131.20 £3,682.83 155.60 £4,930.77 84.95 £2,319.96 Children's Services 11535.00 £229,842.69 7374.33 £155,988.72 7121.03 £146,206.18 10539.51 £213,714.63 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure 52463.72 £1,078,828.95 49920.89 £1,025,268.68 34417.11 £719,103.34 37497.12 £825,311.96 Finance & Resources 2551.94 £52,385.78 1783.00 £36,655.57 1258.65 £26,926.86 2590.17 £57,178.61 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership 18157.53 £327,046.93 15773.08 £394,777.25 11468.98 £236,846.44 15451.09 £298,640.65 Grand Total 84890.84 £1,693,144.70 74982.50 £1,616,373.05 54421.37 £1,134,013.59 66162.84 £1,397,165.81 Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Overtime Working
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4.25 Grievance Cases 4.26 The table below highlights by service, the number of live Council Grievance cases for each quarter within the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Within the full reporting period, there was a maximum of 16 grievance cases being progressed across the Council at any one time, in line with Council policy (0.02% of the Council’s overall workforce). Similar to the disciplinary process, all grievances are fully investigated in the strictest of confidence using the Council’s fair, inclusive and consistent processes. 4.27 Where appropriate, the Council will use its ACAS trained and accredited mediators to support the grievance process using early intervention approaches. Mediation provides informal resolution solutions to matters that may otherwise would have resulted in the need to use formal grievance or disciplinary processes. In addition to the number of grievances reported below, our trained and accredited mediators successfully resolved 7 other cases informally which mitigated or avoided the potential for these cases to progress to a formal grievance. 4.28 Mandatory Training 4.29 Members will be aware that one of the Council’s core values is learning. Investing in the development of our workforce is a key thread throughout the Council’s People Strategy, promoting a collaborative learning environment. Ongoing continuous development is crucial for the Council’s ongoing success, delivering best value outcomes. Investing in our workforce through training can provide the Council with many benefits such as: enhanced employee performance, consistency in work quality, increased employee satisfaction and retention levels, risk mitigation, compliance, increased innovation and adaptability and enhanced employer reputation. Service Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Chief Executive's 0 0 0 0 Children's Services 12 14 13 16 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure 18 20 19 27 Finance & Resources 0 1 3 2 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership 15 15 16 14 Grand Total 45 50 51 59 Disciplinary Investigations Service Q1 Ending 30 June 2024 Q2 Ending 30 September 2024 Q3 Ending 31 December 2024 Q4 Ending 31 March 2025 Chief Executive's 0 0 0 0 Children's Services 4 4 3 4 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure 7 7 4 5 Finance & Resources 0 0 0 0 Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership 4 5 4 4 Grand Total 15 16 11 13 Grievance Cases
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4.30 The Council has 5 mandatory training courses for all employees, which the table below details. Highlighted within the table are completion rates by service for each of these courses as of 31 March 2025. Data shows that overall, the Council has an average course completion rate of 58%, with the Chief Executive’s and Finance and Resources and Health and Social Care Partnership experiencing higher completion rates, mainly due to accessibility. 4.31 In addition, the Council has 3 mandatory courses for employees who use the Council’s ICT network. Highlighted within the table are completion rates by service for each of these courses as of 31 March 2025. 4.32 Data shows that overall, the Council has an average course completion rate of 55%, with Chief Executive’s, Finance and Resources and Health and Social Care Partnership once again experiencing higher completion rates than other services. 4.33 Regular reports on mandatory training performance is reviewed by the Council’s Corporate Management Team. To help improve mandatory completion rates in the upcoming year, a set of new focused initiatives has been agreed upon, which include the following: Providing Teachers in Children's Services with protected time and space to complete mandatory training. Delivery of recently converted mandatory training content into toolbox talks for front line service employees. For all employees, set up reminders and alerts in Business World for expiring, expired and non-completed mandatory courses to self-manage completions easier. Inclusion of additional mandatory training modules on Corporate Induction, Prevent Duty Awareness, Risk Management and Managers Induction. Course Name CE CS EH&I FARS RHSCP COUNCIL Equality Diversity and Inclusion Awareness 92% 46% 59% 99% 87% 61% Information Governance Annual Refresher 2024 75% 24% 47% 88% 67% 43% Intro to Data Protection 91% 49% 57% 99% 87% 62% Introduction to Freedom of Information (FOI) 92% 44% 57% 99% 86% 59% Living Our Values 93% 50% 59% 99% 89% 63% Average for all course across Service 87% 43% 56% 97% 83% 58% Mandatory Course Completions for ALL Employees Course Name CE CS EH&I FARS RHSCP COUNCIL Display Screen Awareness DSE 77% 37% 64% 93% 69% 53% Information Security Awareness 91% 47% 81% 99% 91% 64% Cyber Security 77% 28% 65% 95% 63% 47% Average for all course across Service 82% 37% 70% 96% 74% 55% Mandatory Course Completions for NETWORKED Employees
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Adding new mandatory performance indicators to Service Improvement Plans. 5 Next Steps 5.1 This report will continue to evolve for members, providing performance data comparisons quarter by quarter for scrutiny. It will also support the Council to better utilise resources in the areas where our performance requires to improve. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The Council’s costs in relation to workforce planning are detailed throughout this report and are met within existing service and Council budget lines. Council Officers will continue to monitor data and take appropriate actions to improve performance levels. 2. 3. HR & Organisational Development – People and Organisational Development Practitioners will continue to work with service managers and consult with the Trade Unions to improve performance. 4. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – enter details/ delete if not appropriate. Our Renfrewshire is well - enter details/ delete if not appropriate. Our Renfrewshire is fair - enter details/ delete if not appropriate. Our Renfrewshire is safe - enter details/ delete if not appropriate. Reshaping our place, our economy, and our future - enter details/delete if not appropriate. Building strong, safe, and resilient communities - enter details/delete if not appropriate. Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all - enter details/delete if not appropriate. Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy - enter details/delete if not appropriate. Working together to improve outcomes - enter details/delete if not appropriate. 5. Legal- Effective workforce planning can ensure legal compliance. 6. Property/Assets- None. 7. Information Technology- None. 7. Equality & Human Rights The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only.
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If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - Effective workforce planning can ensure legal compliance and support the well-being of our people. 9. Procurement – None. 10. Risk - Without a continued effective focus on workforce planning, there is a risk that may impact on the Council both financially and in terms of service delivery. 11. Privacy Impact- None. 12. Climate Risk- None. 13. Children’s Rights – None. 14. Cosla Policy Position – None. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - None ___________________________________________________________________ Authors: Steven Fanning, steven.fanning@renfrewshire.gov.uk Andrew Brown, andrew.brown@renfrewshire.gov.uk