Towards a New Way of Working

Towards a New Way of Working

Section 1 - Employment Practice

18. Employment Practice is about the processes and practices that are in use in managing our organisations. Increasingly such practice is bound in legislation and regulation. Beyond this, the NHS as an employer needs to recognise the unique nature of the workforce and shape employment practice provide the best opportunity to recruit and retain high quality staff.

19. The NHS in Scotland as an employer has insufficient information on the way employment practice impacts on recruitment and retention. However we do know and understand many features of the workforce and the environment in which they work. Almost three quarters of our workforce are female: almost half work part-time and almost half are nurses.

20. We are aware of and are dealing with specific needs for sections of our workforce. For Junior Doctors the issues continue to be: hours of work, conditions and the quality of training. The issues of flexible working patterns and career progression, while balancing family commitments, are particularly relevant in an organisation which is largely female. For staff caring for people who are mentally ill or suffer from a learning disability, the challenge is of a changing service resulting in retraining and new and different employment.

21. The NHS in Scotland needs to concentrate effort on a number of key areas of employment practice, building on consistency and fairness. It is time, therefore, that Trusts and where appropriate, Health Boards, consistent with the principles set out in Part 1 of this document, undertake the following:

a review of temporary contracts including a policy framework which allows for their use in limited and specific circumstances;

the development of a practical programme of measures aimed at improving the personal safety and security of staff;

implement plans to meet the requirements of the New Deal for Junior Doctors both in hours and conditions of work by April 1999;

as part of a Risk Management strategy and to support the health of our staff, establish programmes which aim for a reduction to 3% in sickness absence and the elimination of accidents which cause personal injury;

establish clear Equal Opportunity programmes, including the Commission for Racial Equality Standard, which incorporate support for flexible working, job share and flexible child care arrangements;

Develop policies for organisational change for the NHS in Scotland as a whole based on the issues of redeployment, retraining and where necessary redundancy;

Develop Action Plans to attain the Positive about Disability

by April 2000;

Develop a comprehensive and inclusive Occupational Health Service. The service should be equally available to all staff connected with the employing organisations including GPs/Dental Practitioners and their staff, and cover as a minimum such areas as:

pre-employment checks of all prospective employees;
screening programmes as part of a Risk Management Strategy;
health surveillance and assessment;
immunisation programmes;
health promotion programmes;
a confidential counselling service.

implement plans to support the Government’s commitment to improving health of employees with particular emphasis on healthy living and eating, and a common approach to smoking, alcohol and drugs;

introduce plans to achieve Scotland’s ‘Health at Work’ award by April 2000;

develop policies on staff involvement, communication and recognition within a Scottish framework. This should include a policy which allows staff to voice legitimate concerns without fear of victimisation;

review arrangements which deal with performance issues including appraisal and breaches of conduct such as discipline and grievance;

review arrangements to minimise aggression, violence, bullying and harassment of staff.

22. In developing plans for changes in the areas of employment practice, Trusts and Health Boards should ensure such arrangements will support the implementation plans for the White Paper and the implementation of other initiatives such as the outcome of the Acute Services Review.

23. Trusts will be encouraged to work together in the development of the policy framework, sharing best practice and supported by the Scottish Partnership Forum. The outcome will be the development of a comprehensive partnership with all staff across the NHS in Scotland.

The strategy is clear on objectives, practices and actions