Item 06 - Joint Consultative Forum
West Dunbartonshire Council · 19 August 2026
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 19 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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JOINT CONSULTATIVE FORUM At a Meeting of the Joint Consultative Forum held in the Council Chambers, Clydebank Town Hall, Clydebank on Thursday,11 June 2026 at 2.00 p.m. Present: Councillors David McBride, Chris Pollock, Martin Rooney and Gordon Scanlan; Mick Dolan and Michael McCallion (EIS); David Scott (GMB); Joe Keegan (SSTA); Freya Smith (Unison); and Connor Farmer (Unite). Attending: Victoria Rogers, Chief Officer – People and Technology; Gillian Hamilton, Chief Officer – Education; Amanda Graham, Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities; Graeme Forrester, Manager of Democratic and Registration Services; Louise Hastings, Strategic People and Change Manager; Claire Cusick, Senior Education Officer; Karyn Wood – Head of HR (HSCP); and Carly Chisholm, Committee Officer. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Michelle McGinty, Lawrence O’Neill and Hazel Sorrell. Michael McCallion in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR Michael McCallion, Chair, formally welcomed Freya Smith to their first meeting as a member of the Forum. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in the item of business on the agenda. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of Meeting of the Joint Consultative Forum held on 12 March 2026 were submitted and approved as a correct record. ITEM 6
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EMPLOYEE WELLBEING ANNUAL UPDATE 2025/26 (COUNCIL-WIDE) A report was submitted by the Strategic People and Change Manager providing a detailed analysis on Council-wide employee wellbeing and attendance for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. After discussion and having heard from Council officers present, including the Chief Officer – People and Technology, the Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities, the Chief Officer – Education, and the Strategic People and Change Manager, the Forum noted the findings set out in the report as follows:- (a) the decrease in Council-wide sickness absence of 1,380.95 full time equivalent (FTE) days lost compared to the previous year, which, whilst encouraging, was noted to have been accompanied by an increase of 0.18 average FTE days lost per FTE employee since 2024/25, which was likely attributed to the reduction in the workforce of 153 FTE; (b) the top three reasons for absence remained unchanged with minor illness the top reason for absence, followed by personal stress and acute medical conditions respectively; (c) the proportion of absence that was considered long-term had increased to 82.4%, an increase of 16.5% compared to 2024/25 and was largely linked to the high level of absences attributed to acute medical conditions and personal stress; and (d) work-related stress sickness absence had increased by approximately 0.25% compared to 2024/25 and ‘in-work’ stress risk assessments had decreased by approximately 32% compared to the previous year. TRADES UNIONS ISSUES The Forum noted that the Trades Unions had not provided, in advance of the meeting, any issues that they wished to raise. The Forum noted that this would be the final meeting of the Forum which Mr McCallion would chair, and the Forum and the Chief Officer – People and Technology thanked him for his contribution as Chair. The meeting closed at 2.49 p.m.