Council launches new employee deal to improve workplace culture and stamp out bullying

Kath O'Dwyer - Brighter Future Together launch at Sandbach Town Hall (1)

Cheshire East Council has launched a new employee deal as part of a programme of work to improve workplace culture at the authority.

Councillors and members of staff from across the organisation have taken part in events to formally unveil a vision for workplace culture, a revised set of behaviours for staff, managers and members and a new employee deal.

These important documents have been developed as part of the council's 'Brighter Future Together' culture programme, which sets out to address the recommendations of the recent Local Government Association review into the organisational culture within Cheshire East Council.

The LGA review of the authority's culture concluded that there is evidence that bullying and harassment does take place at the council.

Undertaken by Sarah Messenger, a workforce consultant from the Local Government Association, it revealed that over 200 people had personally experienced bullying and over 360 people had personally witnessed bullying in the past six months.

The LGA recommendations included that "the council should consider presenting a new employment deal for everyone working in Cheshire East, which is explicit about what employees can expect from the council and what the council can expect from them".

It also recommended that "elected members and senior managers should initiate an immediate conversation about what they want the 'tone' of the organisation to be".

Kath O'Dwyer, acting chief executive at Cheshire East Council, said: "This is a significant milestone in our Brighter Future Together culture programme. More than a thousand individuals, including staff members, councillors and union representatives contributed directly to the words and ideas embodied in these documents.

"They will shape the way we work together, the standards we can expect of each other and will help us make Cheshire East Council one of the best places you could hope to work."

Councillor Rachel Bailey, leader of the council, said: "I thank all officers, members and union representatives for their positive contributions. This is just one aspect of our work to develop an increasingly positive culture, to ensure that staff feel safe, supported, and respected and to ensure that they are well led.

:The next steps for the 'Brighter Future Together' programme include a development programme for managers, workshops to help all staff embed the behaviours in their day-to-day work and further promotion of helplines for staff who may, at times, need advice and guidance around a range of issues, including inappropriate behaviour, finance and family problems."

Photo: Kath O'Dwyer, chief executive of Cheshire East Council, at the launch

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Cheshire East Council
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Pete Taylor
Saturday 28th July 2018 at 11:17 pm
Heck. Not a good place to work, at the moment, then?