Cascade August 2012 Monthly briefing to keep you up to date with news from across the council

Contents Absence Line What to do if you’re absent from work Argyll and Bute Advice Network New website and inter-agency referral system Driving training Online resource for bus/lorry drivers in training Booking a room, or other council resource? New system outlined Care partnership’s success Team work pays off with award HR policies update TOIL, overtime, attendance and occupational health explained

Absence Line The Absence Line has now been rolled out to all departments within the council and all sickness absence must now be reported through this telephone line. Employees should call to report their sickness absence on their first day of absence and also on their return to work*. *Should your work require to be covered by another member of staff then please make sure your line manager is contacted as soon as possible so they can arrange cover for you. They will then report your absence to the Absence Line. Line managers will receive an notifying them of an employee’s start and return of absence. Return to Work Interviews should be completed (for all absences) on the day the employee returns to work or as soon as possible thereafter.

Absence Line cont. The Absence Line telephone number is: The line is open Monday – Friday from – Add this number to your mobile now so you can find it when you need it. For any other leave or communication during your absence you should contact your line manager direct. To find out more about the Absence Line or the Maximising Attendance Policy and Procedures please ask your line manager or check The Hub for further information.The Hub

Housing services have been working on behalf of Argyll and Bute Advice Network (ABAN) to develop its new website and secure interagency referral system. The website includeshttp:// A publicly accessible directory of advice and information providers A password-protected ABAN members’ area containing many useful resources

ABAN members include voluntary and public sector agencies who provide information and advice on a variety of topics. The website members’ area contains information and links on funding opportunities details of the Civil Legal Assistance Office a policy and practice library for advice agencies shared training opportunities for partners, and the easy, secure inter-agency referral system

The inter-agency referral system was developed for ABAN by Atlas CS and has a high level of internal security.. Our agreement with Atlas CS includes the purchase and management of SSL (secure sockets layer) for the website ensuring the encryption of site data while in transit between user internet browsers and Atlas servers. The SSL protocol is the Web standard for encrypting communications between users and SSL websites. Data sent via an SSL connection is protected by encryption, a mechanism that prevents eavesdropping and tampering with any transmitted data.

Making a referral using ABAN:- Agency sends referral securely Receiving agency gets an advising that they have a new referral Receiving agency logs in to ABAN using password There is no information about the client on the notification . Relevant documents can be attached and transmitted equally securely It’s free to join!! Contact for more information

New online CPC service for bus and lorry drivers Drivers can now view how many hours of periodic training they have completed towards their Driver CPC (Driver Certificate of Professional Competence) with the Driving Standards Agency’s (DSA’s) online driver enquiry service. Drivers can also give temporary passwords to prospective or current employers, so they can confirm how much training that driver has completed. DSA’s chief executive, Rosemary Thew, said “Driver CPC has been developed to raise and maintain the knowledge and skills of lorry, bus and coach drivers. The new online driver enquiry service will allow professional drivers to check that their training has been uploaded and allow employers to see that this crucial training is taking place – helping the passenger transport and road haulage industries to maintain high professional standards.” Register for the online driver enquiry service on the Direct Gov websiteRegister for the online driver enquiry service on the Direct Gov website. Visit the Direct Gov website for further information

New Booking System As part of the Council’s Process for Change Programme the Workforce Deployment Project has introduced a new booking system called Integrated Resources for meeting rooms, pool cars and general touch down desks. The new system will be operated by local administrators. Employees will contact their local administrator to book rooms, pool cars or touchdown desks. The new system was rolled out on Monday 9 July. The list of local administrators will be available on the Hub. Employees will be informed when the system becomes available via Newsflash and the Hub. All existing bookings and repeat bookings will be transferred into the new system.

Bookable Resources Integrated Resources will be used to book council meeting rooms, pool cars and touch down desks. Integrated Resources will not be used to book council halls, schools and leisure facilities. Existing arrangements will remain in place for these. From Monday 9 July all existing arrangements for booking rooms, pool cars and touch down desks will cease. If you have any questions about this new system please contact

Award for Argyll and Bute partnership The Argyll and Bute Reshaping Care for Older People Programme Board was selected from more than 200 entries as winner of the Partnership of the Year Award at the Scottish Care Awards 2012, sponsored by the Joint Improvement Team. Team representatives were presented with their award at a ceremony in Glasgow’s Marriott Hotel, hosted by TV presenter and singer Michelle McManus. The Argyll and Bute partnership includes Argyll and Bute Council, NHS Highland, Scottish Care (representing the independent care at home, care home and housing support providers) and Argyll Voluntary Action (representing voluntary and third sector providers). They have been working together to consolidate aspects of their areas of work to steer change in the care at home sector, and are now working to embed and extend co-production as a model of working.

HR Policies Update Time Off In Lieu – TOIL Payment of overtime process Maximising attendance at work Occupational health provision

New Policy on Time of in Lieu (TOIL) What is TOIL? Toil is time off that is used to compensate for additional hours worked by employees, it must be approved by your 3 rd tier manager in advance of working. When is TOIL appropriate? For exceptional working – attending evening meetings outwith normal working, ferry times dictating working late/early. TOIL is not appropriate for routinely working additional hours, it is appropriate for a specific event or task. Are there limits? No more than 14 hours TOIL may be accrued per month except in exceptional circumstances. TOIL not taken within the agreed accounting period of one month will be lost. A 3 month period of grace to utilise TOIL accumulated prior to Monday 25 June is in place, though the new policy applies to all TOIL accumulated from Monday 25 June. Full details of the Policy are available on the HUB at Copy of TOIL request forms can be located at

Payment of Overtime Process A new overtime payment process has been introduced to streamline payments for staff (Former APT&C) and cover payment for staff above SCP73: The process details required authorisations for overtime. Also included in this is how staff on Local Government Employee Conditions above SCP 73 will have overtime authorised and paid. The new process is available on the HUB Copy of Justification for Overtime and Overtime Request Forms can be located at

Maximising Attendance at Work Policy Recognising the importance of staff attendance, the council has approved a new managing attendance policy that is now in effect. The new policy includes changes to absence management triggers and follow up actions. The new triggers are three or more periods of absence or ten or more days absence in a year. The new policy is now available on the hub at bute.gov.uk/hr/Pages/HRPoliciesandProcedures.aspxhttp://intranet.argyll- bute.gov.uk/hr/Pages/HRPoliciesandProcedures.aspx

Occupational Health Provision We recently tendered for the provision of occupational health and welfare services, including counselling. These services will help the Council to support employees who are ill.. The new contract will make more use of telephone consultations and Occupational Health Nurses to ensure timely advice and less travel for staff suffering from medical conditions. The Employee Counselling Service will continue to provide free confidential counselling to Council employees together with access to a 24 hour advice line. We are also currently in discussions with NHS Highland to provide employees with access to physiotherapy treatment. This will be delivered from locations in Lochgilphead, Oban, Dunoon and Helensburgh and can be accessed on the recommendation of occupational health or your GP. Further information about this service will be provided in future cascades.

HR Postal Mail Please be advised that as of Monday 20 August all postal mail for HR and Payroll teams must be sent to the following address: FAO Improvement and HR Argyll and Bute Council Whitegates Office Whitegates Road Lochgilphead Argyll PA31 8SY This is due to a recent restructure within the service. Please do not send any postal mail to the HR offices in Kilmory/Dunoon or Campbeltown from this date. Please note: Time sheets only should still be sent for the attention of: – Argyll and Bute Council, Improvement and HR, Witchburn Road, Campbeltown, PA28 6JU. If you have any queries regarding postal mail please do not hesitate to contact

Got something for Cascade? Cascade is issued to managers on the first Friday of the month, and goes live on The Hub one week later. If you have anything for future issues of Cascade please send it to the communications team at: The next Cascade will be distributed on Friday 7 September. If you have anything you’d like included please send it by Friday 31 August.