We want to build a sustainable workforce for the future and fill long standing vacancies in care at home, care home and supported accommodation establishments. Orkney overall has virtually full employment and a significantly higher than average aging population and declining working age population. Orkney Health and Care has higher than average sickness absence levels. In addition, the use of agency staff within the social care workforce has continued to rise in recent times and we want to reduce the level of agency usage and provide greater consistency of care to everyone who uses our services or lives in one of our establishments.

The posts included in these schemes are Care at Home Assistants, Care Organisers, Mobile Community Responders and, Social Care Assistants in adult residential units and supported living accommodation.

Information will be published through the Orcadian Newspaper (Situations Vacant section from w/c 17th June 2024) and the Orkney Islands Council MyJobScotland page for any of the positions within the scope of these schemes.

If you’re a member of Council staff interested in finding out more about how to apply for one of these roles, and/or about the Golden Hello and Refer a Friend schemes, please find relevant information in the MyView system via the Useful HR Information section - “OHAC Social Care Recruitment 2024/25”.

A project team has been established to look at recruitment challenges within Orkney Health and Care and the reliance on agency staff. A recent “Working in Care” survey has highlighted key themes which will be taken forward by the project team. It was great to see from the survey that lots of staff would like to be part of working groups to help address and offer their advice regarding what we can do to alleviate these challenges. Working groups will be getting organised and set up in the near future.

Induction is hugely important, both in terms of the Council and Service. and we are reviewing our existing content to ensure that, where possible, we make the new inductions as consistent as possible across all areas and that all employees have supported, positive start to their working relationship with the Council. We will plan inductions out across the year so we are able to have existing staff involved in them and to ensure there is capacity to take the inductions and training forward.

A clear training plan will be put in place for the local induction process for all staff to make it consistent across all areas. Discussions will take place prior to recruitment to ensure there is capacity for this.

There will be information and data collected from the beginning of the project regarding recruitment interest and the progress of posts and vacancies will be monitored and reviewed throughout the 12 month trial period.

The Council has over recent years already streamlined pre-employment processes to speed them up wherever possible. The requirements that remain are generally legal requirements and/or requirements of the Care Inspectorate Safer Recruitment approach which the Council is expected to follow. There is nothing in the pre-employment process or timescales that can be safely cut out that has not already been done.

Pre-employment check timescales are also largely dependent upon other organisations, applicants or individuals processing them, for example Disclosure Certificates, Medical Pre-Employment Health Checks, and Employment References, to name some.

To help, Recruiting Managers will be carrying out as much of the pre-employment checks as possible at interview, i.e. evidence of right to work in the UK, qualifications, driving licence and professional registration (where appropriate) in line with the current Council Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure. It can also be useful and often lead to faster turnaround times, when the successful candidate helps to ensure they complete their part of these processes as quickly as they can, such as filling in forms, and notifying their referees to look out for a reference request as they will be guided to do. Recruiting Managers will be maintaining contact with successful applicants during the pre-employment process to look to remind and support them to complete these as quickly as possible.

The survey has been analysed and the project team will be reviewing the findings of this in more detail and prioritising the key themes that have been raised. Staff will be contacted about this in due course with action points that OHAC are taking forward plus there will be further opportunity for involvement through focus groups.

Over and above that there has been other work already carried out to help increase the pool of potential candidates who can apply for posts. For example in Care at Home posts driving is no longer an essential criteria for day/evening posts. This change has been made as staff, who work in the service, have been highlighting that they are aware of people who would love to work in care at home but don’t drive.

The Golden Hello is aimed at attracting new people into the care profession or people that are returning to care. There is a need to grow the existing workforce and attract more people into the organisation.

The trial period is for 12 months with a 6-month review to look at the progress.

We are exceptionally grateful to all of our agency colleagues in Orkney for the work they have done and continue to do. Our agency colleagues have left their families and their homes in mainland UK to come to Orkney to work and help us deliver our services and we could not have continued to deliver services in the way we have without them. However we need to build a larger contracted workforce that delivers greater consistency of service provision. It is not anticipated that we will see any immediate differences in our agency workforce but as the project progresses the services will review the position. We want to reassure our agency colleagues that we will have ongoing conversations with them at each step of the way.

Yes there is an opportunity to increase current contracted hours. There have been staff discussion sessions held recently regarding this topic, with further information sent out to staff who weren’t able to make any of the sessions.

Relief staff are also able to take up contracted roles should they wish to do so. However for staff who wish to remain as a relief worker there will still be hours that require to be covered, however we would have to advise that there can be no guarantee that the level of relief hours will be able to continue as they are, as we are prioritising filling the contracted posts. Relief cover will still be an important need.

There is a need to grow a more sustainable and consistent workforce to provide ongoing compatible services. Therefore these posts are the ones that, currently, either have a high number of vacancies and/ or despite being advertised again and again have not had the level of interest necessary to fill those vacancies.

No, the criteria states that it has to be a permanent post or temporary of at least 12 months in order to qualify.

Whilst the focus is on recruitment where staff want to decrease their hours, this can initially be discussed with their line manager, followed up by completing the correct form in line with the Council’s Flexible Working Policy. This will then be considered by the appropriate manager. All flexible working requests are considered fairly but the decision as to whether they can be granted is subject to the needs of the Service. When making requests for flexible working, care should be taken to understand any possible implications for shift working allowances that may be paid.

All Council employees including care staff have the legal right to request flexible working which can include a set pattern of working. Flexibility of working is a key strand of the Council being an employer of choice Flexible working requests are always considered reasonably and fairly and are never unreasonably refused, however the need to be able to deliver front line services is always a fundamental consideration.

We acknowledge that the Council faces a number of different challenges relating to recruitment and retention of staff, including the availability and costs of accommodation, which is largely out with the control of the Council as an employer. However as part of the Council’s Our People Our Plan work, a working group has been looking at steps that could be taken to try to assist with the accommodation challenges and recommendations are being made to the Council.

During the discussion sessions with staff, after the survey results had been shared, there was further information provided about Golden Hello and Refer a Friend, and staff were advised that they are currently ambassadors for their services. It was explained that the good work staff carry out and their value base and behaviours make them ambassadors for their respective services; that their work speaks for them; the reasons that staff have stated they would recommend someone to work for the Council and what is important to them all demonstrates an ambassador approach.