Work life balance issues

ps/12/06
14 March 2006
MPA briefing paper

Author: Debbie Bishop – Work life Balance Advisor, MPS

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Introduction

1. The MPA have asked for a simple briefing paper on the MPS approach to work life balance issues including the proposed changes reflected in the Workforce Modernisation Programme. The sub headings in this report reflect the issues raised in the commissioning brief.

Business context

Workforce modernisation

2. The object of the MPS workforce modernisation programme is to consider, plan, recruit and retain the staff and skills necessary to enable the MPS to best achieve its goal to make London the safest major city in the world.

3. Recognising the scarcity and competition for key skills, and the increasing importance to people of achieving an appropriate work life balance, the MPS acknowledges that an awareness and understanding of the impact on business effectiveness of work/life balance policies, and their application, will be key to the MPS achieving its strategic business objectives.

Work life balance

Policy and practice framework

4. As part of its work/life balance programme, the MPS has developed a comprehensive range of policy and practice frameworks. A dedicated advisor was appointed in February 2004 and is responsible for the promotion and management of this programme, in partnership with managers from across the MPS. Comparison by the MPS against the top seven companies where ‘women want to work’ (source – www.wherewomenwanttowork.com) reveals that the MPS is a competitive and leading edge employer in the provision of work life balance initiatives.

Flexible working

5. The MPS Flexible working policy promotes an accommodating, creative approach to flexible working and encourages managers and staff to consider all reasonable possibilities for flexible working, based on the preferences expressed by the post holder or applicant and on the business needs of the role and department. Comprehensive guidance was issued to managers and staff in October 2004, in the form of a ‘toolkit’; and illustrates the benefits of a variety of flexible working options (including part time working, job sharing, term time working and others) and how these may be considered, planned for and applied.

6. Workforce data provides a picture of part-time workers including ethnicity and gender. As at the end of December 2005 11.3% (2,560) of the total female population of 15,096.40 were engaged in part-time working. Within the same group, BME female strength stood at 2,781.35 and of those 9.94% (409) were engaged in part-time working.

7. The HR Policy Survey provides a picture of flexible working broken down into different working patterns. Unfortunately, there is no gender or ethnicity breakdown. However, the data does indicate that the three most popular working patterns are part-time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

Special leave provisions

8. The MPS has developed a range of special leave provisions:

9. Carers leave is designed to meet the needs of carers including individuals who have long-term caring responsibilities for sick, elderly or disabled relatives, and enables up to 5 days paid leave per year.

10. Compassionate leave is recognised for crisis and emergency situations and time off with pay can be given up to 28 days at the discretion of head of unit.

11. Special unpaid leave In extreme circumstances where all other forms of paid leave have been exhausted, individuals can apply for unpaid leave for a period of time.

12. Parental leave - Unpaid leave of up to 10 days per year with 28 days notice is available to parents of children under 5 and provides for 13 weeks leave for each child, to be taken in units of at least a week but not more than 4 weeks for each child, per year.

13. Maternity support leave (paternity leave) - A nominated carer is the person nominated by the mother to assist in the care of the child and to provide support to the mother at or around the time of the birth. The policy goes beyond legislation and does not require the carer to have a biological relationship to the child. Police officers are entitled to five days and two rest days maternity support leave on full pay and police staff are entitled to 12 days maternity support leave on full pay.

14. Adoption leave mirrors maternity leave and maternity support leave for police staff. Police officers are entitled to one week adoption leave at full pay and, for those that meet the qualifying criteria, will be entitled to 26 weeks adoption leave at statutory adoption pay rate and an additional period of 26 weeks unpaid adoption leave around the time of placement. Officers are entitled to two weeks adoption support leave, the first week of which will be on full pay.

15. Recent legislative change for example the Civil Partnerships Act did not require any change to MPS Special Leave policies.

Childcare support provision

16. An MPS Childcare Strategy is due to be published in Spring 2006. The MPS Childcare Strategy will complement the National Childcare Strategy.

17. The MPS Childcare Coordinator has worked in close partnership with the NHS childcare coordinators in developing and delivering the strategy document. It has been based on and informed from a variety of activities within the MPS and an analysis of their identified needs in relation to childcare.

18. The focus of the childcare strategy is to promote family friendly policies and enable access to good quality, affordable and accessible childcare.

Provisions include:

19. A childcare voucher scheme (salary sacrifice) was introduced for all MPS staff in 2005. Police Staff could take advantage of the scheme in June 2005 and Police Officers in December 2005. The scheme enables staff to sacrifice a part of their salary in exchange for childcare vouchers redeemable against the cost of childcare provision. The individual realises tax and national insurance savings based on their reduced salary as a result of purchasing childcare through the voucher scheme. To date 585 members of staff have accessed the scheme, and this is expected to rise significantly during the course of this year based on further promotion of the scheme.

20. Holiday playschemes - Discounts have been negotiated for MPS parents at 35 holiday play scheme sites in London and the Home Counties and at 300 day nurseries across the country.

21. Workplace day nurseries - Plans are in place to enable staff to purchase nursery provision across the capital from September 2006. The scheme will enable MPS staff to realise tax and national insurance savings through salary sacrifice based on the whole amount spent on childcare.

22. Before and After School Clubs – information is available on the childcare website. Childcare Website is available on the intranet and can be accessed via the Ask HR website or the A-Z index. The site is regularly updated and contains details of all the discounts obtained, the information and application forms required for the childcare voucher scheme, a useful website list and other useful information on childcare.

Long hours/overtime culture

23. There has been structured debate at events organised by the Diversity Directorate around the need to challenge existing cultural barriers including the need to work long hours, and there will be continued emphasis on this in the development of work life balance practice.

24. Key areas for action include the promotion of flexible working patterns including greater management understanding and support for change.

25. The focus and energies of the HR and Diversity Directorate(s) for the last three years has been around bringing staff together in focus groups and building understanding around gender issues.

26. Future focus will concentrate on performance management frameworks, which will inform and test implementation of work life balance policies.

Business benefits

27. It can be difficult to quantify the business benefits attributable to any single element of the work life balance programme. However business research as indicated earlier with www.wherewomenwanttowork.com evidences that an organisation which boasts a creative and accommodating approach to work life balance is more likely to recruit and retain its staff and its skill base. Police officer and police staff recruitment remains buoyant and turnover is extremely low. At the end of February 2006, there was a turnover of 4.5% for Police Officers, while police staff turnover accounted for 6.1% of the total service strength (Source; Workforce Information). Associated business benefits would include reduced expenditure on duplicate training; greater willingness to undertake personal professional development; staff more adaptive to change.

28. Certainly, there is some correlation between the promotion of flexible working and applications for career breaks. An analysis of the available data indicates that the number of female police officers and police staff taking career breaks has decreased whilst the take up rate for flexible working in the same group has increased.

Equality and diversity implications

29. The MPS Work life Balance Policies embraces the MPS Values and Behaviour Programme and complements all initiatives aimed at supporting equality of opportunity, respecting diversity and ensuring dignity at work.

30. The Gender Agenda will continue to inform the MPS of required improvements and actions enable work life balance. This will assist with our aim to remain an employer of choice and will support the recruitment and retention of staff from diverse backgrounds with diverse needs.

Financial implications

31. There are no specific financial considerations arising from this report.

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