SUMMMER HOLIDAY – MANAGEMENT COVER ARRANGEMENTS

The summer holiday period is nearly upon us and as Managers you will be busy making sure that services still operating during the holiday are appropriately covered, to ensure smooth delivery for our customers and service users.

This is just a reminder to make sure that the appropriate management cover arrangements are also in place and have been notified to those colleagues working over the summer holiday period to ensure that they feel appropriately supported and know who to turn to should a situation arise.

LEARNPRO

CLIVE (Learnpro) will remain temporarily unavailable during the month of June. This means that anyone trying to log on from a work or personal device will be denied access. We are hopeful that the situation will be remedied soon, and we will keep you posted on any changes to the proposed timeline. In the meantime, please remember that eLearning training will not be available and therefore you may need to consider rescheduling any online training to July. If this creates an unacceptable risk, please contact organisational development and alternative arrangements can be considered in order to mitigate impact.

SKILLS NETWORK LAUNCH - Unlock Your Potential

Moray Council has partnered with The Skills Network to promote external training opportunities giving colleagues access to a wide range of free, fully accredited and externally provided courses.

The Skills Network provides a range of online courses and qualifications via their distance learning platform which enables a way of learning remotely without needing to attend classroom workshops.

Thanks to the Scottish Funding Council and in partnership with West College Scotland and North East Scotland College, The Skills Network can offer these distance learning courses free of charge.

This allows learners to study at their own pace, in their own home at a time that fits around their busy lives. Learners have the freedom to revisit areas of the course as little or as much as they need without having to keep the same pace as others and there is also full support from Skills Network tutors via email. If your chosen topic will add value to the performance of your role, please liaise with your manager to discuss the possibility of scheduling some study time into your working week.

There are 36 fully funded courses to choose from including:

• Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Environmental Sustainability
• Level 2 Certificate in Awareness of Bullying in Children and Young People
• Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Team Leading
• Level 2 Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health Problems

To find out more about what courses are available and how you can sign up to start your online learning journey click here to view the Moray Council microsite.

DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND: DUTY TO REFER - REMINDER OF RESPONSIBIITIES

If an organisation has employees or volunteers doing regulated work, it has a legal duty to report harmful behaviour to Disclosure Scotland.

This duty applies whether the person is a member of the PVG scheme or not. It’s known as making a ‘referral’. 

By law, organisations must report harmful behaviour even if it takes place outside of work, or if the organisation only finds out about it after the person has left.

Why referrals are important

Referrals are important because they help protect children and vulnerable adults. When Disclosure Scotland receives a referral, it will consider if the person is unsuitable to work with these groups.

The Council must make a referral if a person shows harmful behaviour and they:

• are dismissed as a result
• would or might have been dismissed but left before they could be
• are permanently moved away from work with children or protected adults 

If any of these actions were taken, the council must make a referral to Disclosure Scotland within 3 months of making the decision. Failure to do so could result in Disclosure Scotland reporting the council to Police Scotland.

If you’re unsure whether to make a referral, you can check some examples. You can also email customerengagement@disclosurescotland.gov.scot for help.

How to make a referral

First discuss the referral with your manager. You will then need to complete a referral form and send it to Disclosure Scotland.

The form asks for:

• proof of the person's identity (name, address, date of birth, national insurance number)
• details of the type of regulated work they do
• the person's PVG scheme number, if they have one
• information on the harmful behaviour
• details and documentation of the investigation and outcome

You should not identify any children or protected adults by name. Use a coded reference instead, like "child A - age 12, male, victim".

Where to send the completed form Send the form by email to pvgreferrals@assured.systems.gov.scot. Free Training on Duty to Refer is available on a rolling basis via EVENTBRITE: Disclosure Scotland events.

STAR AWARDS ARE COMING

It will soon be time to open the nomination window for the 2024 STAR Awards.

STAR (Special Thanks and Recognition) Awards formally recognise the outstanding contributions of our colleagues. The Star awards and nomination process will follow the same format as previous years; submitting your nomination must be made using the correct nomination form. We will be accepting nominations from 12 August.

Nomination forms and guidance will be available on the interchange soon or alternatively from OD.

So, get your thinking caps on now and let us know who you think deserves to be recognised!

STAR Awards 2024 schedule

TALENTLINK

In order to ensure that applications automatically archive in line with the ‘Privacy and Cookies’ statements on myjobscotland website and with GDPR regulations, you must close jobs down at the end of the recruitment process.

You can find guidance on Talentlink processes HERE including how to close jobs, resetting your password, how to set up interviews, etc.

JOB FAIRS

Throughout the year there are a number of job fairs within Moray where we promote the Council and our open vacancies.

Some services and departments already promote their areas and available positions at these recruitment events, but there are more spaces available if you want to join us!

Recruitment events are an excellent way to speak with potential future Council employees as well as Networking with other organisations.

If you would like to attend or know more about what Recruitment events are coming up, please contact karen.baker@moray.gov.uk

MANDATORY CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS – PASSWORD ELEARNING

A recent external assessment of the passwords used by staff to gain access to our network has revealed the use of weak passwords by some people. The auditor carrying out the assessment was able crack a worrying number of user passwords using a dictionary-based attack – a common tactic of the cyber-criminal, where they try to guess a user’s password using a dictionary of common words, phrases and commonly used passwords, along with their many permutations.

As a result of this assessment, we were advised that all users should be made aware of what constitutes a secure password.

To that end, and following on from the previous Phishing eLearning module, the next cyber awareness module will be about Passwords. 

What you can expect

You should have received an email from no-reply@metacompliance.com which will contain a link to the online training module provided by MetaCompliance, and will look like this:

The purpose of the training is to learn about password security – the importance of having a strong password, how passwords are attacked and how to create a strong password.

The training module lasts approximately 15 minutes and will help foster a culture of cyber resilience within Moray Council by giving everyone the tools to choose a password which is resilient to cyber-attack.

Why a strong password is important

Having a strong password is a fundamental part of workplace security. But passwords are regularly exploited, misused, and abused. Research has shown just how bad the password security situation has become in recent years:

How insecure are passwords?

• The number one reused password was ‘123456’ closely followed by ‘password’
• 60% of users recycle their passwords (making slight changes each time)
• 84% use the same password across multiple accounts

Passwords are vulnerable to phishing attacks: Research into the effectiveness of phishing has found that 32% of employees will click on a phishing link. Human error, which includes sharing passwords and using weak passwords, is behind 95% of cyber-attacks, according to an IBM survey.

What can You do

Improving password security is a fundamental way an organisation can help its security posture. Completing the password eLearning module will not only help Moray Council but give you the tools to help protect your personal on-line accounts.

Clearing out old email addresses

It’s good practice to clear out old email addresses from your Desktop Outlook application for a few reasons:

• Accuracy: Over time, cached email addresses might become outdated or incorrect. By clearing the cache, you ensure that the auto-complete feature suggests accurate and up-to-date addresses
• Privacy: Cached email addresses can potentially reveal sensitive information if someone else uses your computer or gains unauthorized access to your email client. Clearing the cache helps protect your privacy
• Performance: A large cache can slow down your email client. By periodically clearing it, you improve performance and responsiveness.

How do I do that?

Open Outlook on your desktop, and then:

1. Go to File > Options > Mail.
2. Scroll down to the Send Messages section.
3. Click the Empty Auto-complete list button to clear the autocomplete cache.

Remember to restart Outlook after clearing the cache. This should help keep your email addresses up to date.

Anything else?

Clearing out browser cache periodically is also good practice as this can impact both privacy and security:

• Cached data may include sensitive information, such as login tokens or session IDs.
• If someone gains access to your computer, they might extract this data from the cache.
• Clearing the cache helps protect your privacy by removing potentially sensitive content.
• Outdated cached files can pose security risks.
• Malicious scripts or compromised files might be stored in the cache.
• Clearing the cache reduces the chances of loading harmful content from the cache.

How do I do that?

Internet Explorer - View and delete your browsing history in Internet Explorer - Microsoft Support

Google Chrome - Clear cache & cookies - Computer - Google Account Help

Microsoft Edge - View and delete browser history in Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Support

POLICY REVIEW UPDATE

We’ve updated 2 of the council’s employment policies to take into account changes in legislation, benchmarking and best practice recommendations These policy changes take effect from April 2024.

The Paternity/Maternity/Adoption Support Leave Policy has been updated to include: 

• Increased time employees have in which they can start this leave following the birth or adoption, with the period moving from 56 days to 52 weeks.
• 2 weeks paternity leave can be taken as 2 weeks or as 2 separate weeks
• The notice period to request leave has reduced from 15 weeks to 4 weeks
• There is no longer a need for 28 days’ notice for changes

You can find out more about the Paternity/Maternity/Adoption Support Policy HERE

The Recruitment and Selection Policy has been updated to reflect shortleeting moving back to services and the reference to centralised shortleeting has been removed.

You can find the updated policy HERE

EQUALITY DATA

The Council collects data on ethnicity, race, religion, marital status, disability, sex, sexuality and gender reassignment status - these are all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and the data is collected during the recruitment process.

This information is utilised to make sure that its recruitment processes and employment practices are fair, nobody is put at a disadvantage because of any protected characteristic, and that the Council considers how its employees can do their jobs effectively.

One of the challenges for the Council is that a large number of employees do not fill in the equality data. Although people don’t have to share information about their protected characteristics, it does help the Council to deal with inequality more effectively.

We would like to encourage all employees to ensure their data is up to date, and you can do this via the Employee Self-Serve Portal. You can also update your bank details, address, phone number and view your payslips here. All information given is held confidentially.

Information on how to launch the ESS portal is available on Interchange including how to access the portal and find your way round it.

To read more about Equality Data please visit Interchange HERE

THE DIGITAL CHAMPIONS NETWORK – HERE TO HELP

Struggling with Excel? Baffled by PowerPoint?

Our Digital Champions are here to help. They are an engaged group of passionate employees, who recognise the benefits of technology, and are committed to helping colleagues across our organisation improve their confidence, motivation and digital skills for work. Through peer-to-peer learning, Digital Champions are supporting colleagues with a range of digital tasks from helping someone get to grips with making a video call on Microsoft Teams, accessing eLearning or getting the most from Excel.

It is very easy to get help, just send your request to DigitalChampions@moray.gov.uk and a member of the network will be in touch.

CAREER READY – #PowerOfAnHour

Career Ready, a programme designed to connect disadvantaged young people with the world of work, unlock their potential and level the playing field, is looking for volunteers. 

Moray Council have been supporting this programme since 2014 by creating opportunities for interested staff to volunteer as a mentor.

Becoming a Career Ready mentor is a fun, flexible way to inspire a young person, unlock their true potential, and guide them through the early stages of their career journey. There is no denying that being a mentor is a commitment. It requires monthly contact (about an hour a month) with the young person over the 18 months and the support of a 4-week summer internship.

Although an hour might not seem long, a one-hour mentoring session is proven to have a long-term positive impact on both a young person and their mentor.

• 91% of students say Career Ready raised their career aspirations.
• 87% of alumni said Career Ready had a positive impact on their life.
• 89% of mentors report their mentoring and coaching skills as excellent or good at the end of the programme, compared to 40% at the start.
• 98% of Career Ready students’ progress onto positive destinations in education or employment.

We ask that anyone interested in becoming a mentor, contact us so that we can begin to fulfil our commitment, mentors are to be registered by the end of August for the next programme which is due to start in November. Further details on Career Ready and how you can become a mentor is available here: http://interchange.moray.gov.uk/int_standard/Page_155659.html

Alternatively, if you have any questions and would prefer to speak to someone in person, please contact: organisational.development@moray.gov.uk

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN 2024

We’re pleased to announce that throughout 2024 we’ll be offering several management development programmes. These are the First Line Managers Programme (FLMP), and the Leadership Development Programme.

First Line Managers Programme

Are you new to management? Is this your first time in a supervisory role? Or are you an aspiring manager?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the FLMP Is for you. Over 4 sessions we’ll cover off the following:

• communication styles,
• goal setting,
• managing performance,
• change management, and
• establishing your team.

Leadership Development Programme

Our leadership development programme will give you the opportunity to reflect on your service delivery today, where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there. We’ll look at how as leaders we don’t need to know all the answers, and how we can work with our teams and resources fully.

Through a series of 7 half day workshops, and practical sessions, we’ll look at tools and tips to help you on this journey. The topics we’ll cover are:

• 3 Horizons tool,
• Leading in Complexity,
• Communication style using the Jigsaw tool,
• Action Learning Sets (putting it into practice),
• Wash-up session.

To find out more about these programmes please email organisational.development@moray.gov.uk, or visit the corporate training calendar on Interchange Here for dates.

MANAGERS FORUM

The Manager’s Forum is normally planned for the last Thursday of the month and has been arranged and facilitated by Organisational Development since its introduction during the pandemic.

Due to a change in the way the service is delivered, Organisational Development are no longer able to facilitate this event and the reins are being handed over for it to become a self-managed event. So, if you have a topic you would like to discuss with your peers or have examples of good practice that would aid your colleagues in their areas or perhaps you have a new initiative launching that you would like to share, make time to schedule a Manager’s Forum and invite your colleagues along.

Our regular attendees acknowledged that it was useful to connect with other 3rd tier managers over shared experiences in a proactive, non-judgemental, and supportive environment. It provides a space to take a step back, pause and reflect, check in to see how others are doing, capture and share learning on what’s working and what could be done differently and to build on positives achieved.

Remember, the last Thursday of each month at 2 pm was the allocated diary slot so if you want to keep the Forum going where you have that ‘safe space’ to discuss a hot topic, take up the reins and get in touch with your colleagues to host your event.

PRE-RETIREMENT COURSES

Are your retirement savings on track? Do you know how much income your pension savings may provide? And have you thought about how much income you might need when you retire?

Financial education specialists ‘Affinity Connect’ would like to personally invite you to attend an interactive full day course around the key aspects of planning for a financially secure future.

Retirement might be up to 10 years away but it’s never too soon to start planning. This course is perfect for anyone thinking about retirement or already at the planning stages.

During the course you’ll learn how to:

• Help you plan for the lifestyle changes ahead
• Maximise the benefits of your State and workplace pensions
• Make the most of your tax-free cash
• Understand the income options available from your pension
• Achieve your retirement goals

Affinity is also offering a new course ‘Your Financial Wellbeing’ on the following date:

This course is designed to help employees clearly identify the 4 steps towards becoming financially well that can support employees through working life and beyond.

Booking links for the above courses:

• Face to Face Retirement Course Booking
• Online Retirement Booking 
• Online Your Financial Wellbeing

You can also find more information on how to join a course here - Planning for the Future

SCOTTISH MILITARY COMMUNITY PAGE

The latest edition of the Scottish Military Community Update has been published on Interchange: Latest Updates

This month there is information on awareness of older ex forces personnel, memorial for LGBT+ Armed Forces, supporting carers, Age Scotland awards, Unforgotten Forces Gatherings as well as new funding opportunities, plus much more!

You can also find information on the RAF Benevolent Fund and how to access their services guide.

UPDATE TO RIDDOR REGULATIONS

Are you responsible for the reporting of incidents and accidents in your service which fall within the requirements of RIDDOR Regulations?

Are you aware of the updated guidance released last week by the Health and Safety Executive?

If not, read on to find out more.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released updates to guidance to help organisations to understand how and when to submit a report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

Although the improvements, based on feedback from stakeholders who felt the guidance was unclear in some places, do not include any changes to any of the legal requirements, the updates include more direct links to guidance on types of reportable incidents to help you decide whether a report is required, as well as improved guidance on who should and should not report under RIDDOR. Stakeholders also felt the online reporting forms were hard to follow and would benefit from improved guidance.

The guidance also details what is meant by a ‘work-related’ accident and when it results in a reportable injury, information on when an occupational disease is not reportable.

The ‘over-7-day’ absence is a commonly encountered misunderstanding within RIDDOR and clarity has been improved around this area.

The safety regulator for the UK has also made changes to the reporting forms:

• questions about severity of injuries have been front-loaded to help you quickly decide if your incident is reportable or not
• pop-up messages will now redirect you if the incident is not reportable
• guidance has been improved throughout the forms to make them easier to use
• injured or affected people now have increased number of options when completing the gender field.

Over 60,000 non-fatal work-related injuries to employees were reported by employers under RIDDOR in 2022/23. What we don’t know is how many were erroneously reported, and more importantly how many that should have been reported but were not.

Hopefully these changes will bring greater clarity to the process.

Please remember to contact safetyadviser@moray.gov.uk to discuss any incident that you think may be RIDDOR reportable prior to reporting to the HSE.
For the full updated guidance follow the link to find out more at -  

RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations