Mental health first aiders are to be introduced at Gedling Borough Council to help staff members who may be going through difficult times.
The Labour-run authority is looking to create the positions later in the year.
Staff members who seek help from the first aiders will be signposted to the relevant support they need.
The new roles were announced during a Joint Consultative and Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday (August 27).
David Archer, the head of HR, performance and service planning, said: “The measures we have taken and continue to take to support people at work, sometimes to return to work, I am really proud of.
“There is provision later in the year to hopefully take on mental health first aiders in the workforce as well. It will be a signposting role to help support people who are perhaps having more difficult times and need support.”
Concerns over staff well-being were raised by committee chairman Cllr Jim Creamer (Lab), as two roles will be merged into one to save money.
Two occupied job roles, customer insight and performance management, have been merged into a single full-time role.
The two roles had together equated to over 44 hours’ work in a single week, prompting concern from Cllr Creamer over work load.
“None of us should work in ways that are damaging to us,” Mr Archer added.
“We would need to perhaps look at some of the things we do and do them differently and cut out some things as well.”
During the meeting a potential pay rise for all staff members – other than chief officers – was discussed.
In February unions including GMB, Unite and Unison asked for an increase of at least £3,000, or 10 per cent, as well as a two-hour reduction in the working week, an additional day of annual leave for personal or well-being purposes and a phased approach to reaching a minimum pay rate of £15 an hour in a maximum of two years.
National Employers, which represents local authorities, has made a full and final offer to increase most pay by £1,290.
Providing an update Mr Archer said: “There has been some progress.
“The [National] Employers have made a full and final offer to increase most pay by £1,290 per year, or 2.5 per cent.
“If you look at the pay awards that have happened over the last three years, from April 2021 to the current rate of pay, the people in the bottom rate of pay will have had an increase of 29 per cent, in the middle of the pay bands nearly 19 per cent, and nearly 11 per cent at the top.
“The cost of the pay award as is proposed nationally is about 4.03 per cent, for us about 4.05 per cent, on the pay bill. So there is an effect.
“Where we are at in terms of that national negotiation is GMB have now balloted members who say they are prepared to accept the national pay award.
“That said Unite, who we don’t recognise locally but for the purposes of national pay bargaining we do, so Unite and Unison both are now going out to ballot for industrial action.
“For Unison the ballot runs until October 16 and to October 15 for Unite. I think we won’t get into a position until at least November and possibly later. It depends on the outcome of the ballot. There is potential for industrial action, strike action, [but] it may be there’s an agreed settlement.”
So mental health of workers at GBC (Excellent, pay rises…Excellent…Shorter hours Excellent…Performance Management…
“Concerns over staff well-being were raised by committee chairman Cllr Jim Creamer (Lab), as two roles will be merged into one to save money.
Two occupied job roles, customer insight and performance management, have been merged into a single full-time role”.
One assumes the local council tax will pay for this mental health care and shorter hours and pay rise?
So what about the mental health damage to its customers caused by failed policies and implementation?
ASB issues….Environment issues….Broken unfair discriminatory Housing issues?
Does any of that warrant councillors time…Personally tired of getting “Away from my desk until xxx messages when trying to get perfectly simple reasonable questions answered”
Can I post pictures of some examples? Can I get a single councillor to answer an email…champion a cause? LISTEN? WHO are these members of the public that signed to say 90% satisfaction with service levels at Gedling Council?
Personally I would sooner have a bankrupt council than a broken inward centred council…GBC is broken and poorly lead.
Agree completely with above comments. And can I say disgusted with this new job worths title.
Spend money on Robots, they don’t need special parking at the offices, don’t have mental health problems and work 7 days a week with no pensions to pay for.
I just don’t understand how any intelligent person could agree with this. The world is madness personified led by councils and government in UK, spending our taxes on what they want not what the taxpayers NEED.