Staff report
Staff numbers
The number of full time equivalent (FTE) persons employed by the Commissioner at the end of the reporting year was as follows:
| 2023/24 FTE | 2022/23 FTE | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Senior Management Team | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Employees | 14.0 | 10.0 |
| 19.0 | 14.0 |
The number of persons employed by the Commissioner at the end of the reporting year, disaggregated by sex, was as follows:
| 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Female | Male | |
| Commissioner | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Senior Management Team | 4 | - | 3 | - |
| Employees | 12 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| Totals | 16 | 4 | 12 | 3 |
As at the end of the reporting period, all staff members were employed on a permanent contract (2022/23: all permanent contracts). At 31 March 2024, the organisation was carrying forward one vacancy.
Funding for an additional 7.4 (FTE) roles was approved by the SPCB in October 2022 following a workforce planning exercise. Five of these roles were recruited in 2022/23, with four of these new employees taking up their posts in 2023/24. Two further roles (1.5 FTE) were recruited and started before the end of the reporting year, leaving one full-time vacancy carried forward at 31 March 2024. The Commissioner has concluded that the work to be completed by that post will instead be done by a contractor by way of a fixed term contract over the next one to two years. This is intended to save public money in the medium to longer term.
Staff costs (Audited)
| 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total £'000s | Commissioner1 £'000s | Employees £'000s | Total £'000s | Commissioner1 £'000s | Employees £'000s | |
| Salaries | 839 | 92 | 747 | 515 | 72 | 443 |
| Social security costs | 92 | 12 | 80 | 62 | 10 | 52 |
| Pension costs | 234 | 29 | 205 | 137 | 17 | 120 |
| Sub totals | 1,165 | 133 | 1,032 | 714 | 99 | 615 |
| Temporary staff | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Severance costs | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 1,165 | 133 | 1,032 | 715 | 99 | 616 |
| 1 Figures for 2022/23 include the combined costs for permanent and acting Commissioners. There were no acting Commissioner costs in 2023/24. | ||||||
Salaries include a provision covering the value of outstanding leave (the leave accrual). Staff costs, excluding severance costs and temporary staff, increased by 63.2%. This was due to the filling of pre-existing vacancies and the recruitment of new staff following a workforce planning exercise in October 2022.
Severance payments
No exit packages were required in 2023/24 (2022/23: None).
Staff pension arrangements
Employee pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements.
The Civil Service pension arrangements are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes in which the Commissioner’s office is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. The scheme actuary valued the Civil Service pension arrangements as at 31 March 2020. You can find details on the Scheme Valuations page of the Civil Service Pensions website.
During 2023/24, the Commissioner paid employer’s contributions of £233,500 to the Civil Service Pension arrangements (2022/23: £136,700) at one of three rates in the range 27.1% to 30.3% (2022/23: 27.1% to 30.3%) of pensionable earnings, based on salary bands.
The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions usually every four years following a full scheme valuation.
The contribution rates are set to meet the cost of the benefits accruing during 2023/24 to be paid when the member retires and not the benefits paid during this period to existing pensioners.
Outstanding scheme contributions at 31 March 2024 amounted to £22,562 (2022/23: £13,397). The uplift is due to an increase in staffing levels in the reporting year. Employer contributions for 2024/25 for the Commissioner and employees is budgeted to be £298,000 (2023/24: £215,000). The increase in budget is primarily due to the introduction of a new flat rate of 28.97% for employer contributions across all salary bands that applies from 1 April 2024.
No persons (2022/23: No persons) retired early on ill-health grounds; the total additional accrued pension liabilities in the year amounted to nil (2022/23: Nil).
Average sickness absence
The average sickness absence per person was as follows:
| 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner and employees | 2.5 days | 3.6 days |
The average sickness absence decreased again during the year as a result of an extended period of leave in the previous year coming to an end. The underlying trend continues to show a gradual decrease and falls well below the organisation’s ten-year average of 4.2 days.
Staff turnover
The figures include any agency staff and employees on fixed term contracts.
| 2023/24 | 2022/231 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees at the beginning of the period | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 |
| Employees at the end of the period | 19 | 14 | 12 | 9 |
| Average employees during the period | 17 | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| Leavers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Staff turnover | 6% | 8% | 9% | 60% |
| 1 There was an error in the 2022/23 figures, showing employees at the end of the period as 15 and the turnover as 7%. This has been corrected in the above table. | ||||
Staff turnover, that had been high for a number of years, reduced during 2021/22 and has stabilised.
Diversity, equality and inclusion
The Commissioner supports the principle of equal opportunities in employment and operating practices.
It is the Commissioner’s policy to treat all job applicants and employees equitably regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment status, marriage or civil partnership status, maternity or pregnancy, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation. As part of standard recruitment practice, applications are encouraged from all people who share protected characteristics that are currently not reflected in our workforce.
The Commissioner is committed to recognising and valuing what everyone has to offer. We are aware of our equality duties under the Equality Act 2010. In our policy development and our decision making we consider the implications for all staff in line with the Equality Act.
Employee participation
The Strategic Plan which concluded in March 2024, incorporated a range of actions designed to improve and develop employee relations. The new Strategic Plan for the period 2024 to 2028 has a specific objective stating:
“We value people and recognise that unless we have staff who are valued and supported to maintain their wellbeing, feel happy in and proud of our work and the way in which we do it, we will have failed.”
A suite of HR and operating policies and procedures are developed and maintained with staff input and consultation. Formal staff surveys on key topics are regularly undertaken.
Organisation wide staff meetings are held on a monthly basis, to supplement those for individual teams. The minutes of all Senior Management Team meetings are published, with updates provided to staff at their monthly meetings. Longer, quarterly meetings allowing for in depth training and consultation sessions began in 2024.
The Commissioner is introducing a range of cross-functional working groups to all staff to participate and have a stake in the development of policy and procedures. The first of these, an FOI Panel, was launched in January 2024.
Learning and development
Over the years, the organisation has developed a comprehensive annual performance review process, where individuals are encouraged and supported to plan for their own development needs and career plans. This performance management system ensures that staff members receive informal and formal external and internal training. During 2023/24, as well as attending a range of internal training sessions and webinars and conferences, staff were given the opportunity to attend 20 external training sessions. Topics ranged from writing in Easy Read to managing sexual misconduct investigations.
Health, safety and wellbeing
The Commissioner is committed to promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff, and to ensuring that our working environment supports this. The Commissioner has moved to a fully hybrid working environment. Appropriate equipment and furniture has been provided to staff. All staff must complete Health and Safety risk assessments of their remote working arrangements. The Commissioner operates a confidential counselling support service for all staff that wish to access it.
Authorisation
Ian Bruce
Accountable Officer
Date: 03 October 2024