CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY – PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

The public holidays for Moray Council over the festive period are:

Wednesday 25^th December 2024

Thursday 26^th December 2024

Tuesday 31^st December 2024

Wednesday 1^st January 2025

Thursday 2^nd January 2025

If staff work on any of these days, they will be entitled to enhanced rates of pay which should be claimed by timesheet.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY – MANAGEMENT COVER ARRANGEMENTS

The festive 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 holiday period to ensure that they feel appropriately supported and know who to turn to should a situation arise.

CYCLE2WORK & HALFORDS DISCOUNT

The Cycle2work salary sacrifice scheme has closed for the second time this year. Next year there will be two openings in Spring and Autumn with an increased spend limit of £3,000 which can be paid over 12 or 24 months. Further details can be found HERE

Halfords are also offering all employees 10% discount on their cycling products in store until 30/04/25 – You can find the voucher here

SPECIAL LEAVE POLICY UPDATE

The Special Leave Policy has been updated to accommodate the change required by the council in continuance of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award.

Employees who are members of the non-regular forces and attend an annual training camp for a period of not less than a week should be granted special leave with pay equal to the period which the employee actually attends the training camp, but not exceeding a period of fifteen working days with no deduction of normal pay.

You can find the special leave policy HERE

DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND

New changes to applying for a PVG and viewing the results online

Disclosure Scotland’s Online Account service is now live, including applying for a PVG from our Moray Council account.

For counter signatories, this means that you’ll be able to apply for and view your PVG digitally using our Disclosure Scotland Online Account.

You’ll be able to view results of applications that either you or other staff at Moray Council have countersigned. Results are available to view for 14 days after they’ve first been viewed.

Disclosure Scotland will send you an email when results are available to view for applications you’ve countersigned. You will no longer receive paper certificates.

You can view your applications and results for all countersigned PVG applications through the Moray Council’s Disclosure Scotland account and Disclosure Scotland will continue to add more features in the future, such as managing your details or receiving notifications.

Further information can be found in the News Article on Interchange going live on 6^th January 2025.

You can also ask any questions regarding the switch to Online Results and applying for a PVG using the Disclosure Scotland online account, by contacting them by email at: response@disclosurescotland.gov.scot or contact their helpline on 0300 020 0040.

Information on Disclosure Scotland PVG training sessions can be found HERE

LEADERSHIP FORUM INVITATIONS

Invitations will be distributed shortly to all third tier managers for 2025 forums. Please respond in a timely manner to allow for the accurate preparation of discussion groups for the in person forums.

BUDGET UPDATE – TEAM TALK DIALOGUE

Team Talk Dialogue information has been distributed to all 3^rd Tier Managers to cascade across their teams. Deadline for completion of discussions and submission of feedback is 20 December 2024.

TRAINING RESOURCES

To support the delivery of the corporate development programme, Organisational Development have sourced learning resources, that are free to access.

These resources range from short learning bytes (delivered through CLIVE) to fully funded courses (delivered by The Skills Network) and will cover a wide range of topics aligned to the learning and development required to support service delivery in accordance with Corporate Plan priorities, including leadership, digital skills, and personal development.

These resources are designed to be accessed at any time, a time that suits you best. The time commitment required will range from 30 minutes to several weeks to complete depending on the type of course you sign up to.

This month there are courses covering the following:

• Microsoft how to guides,
• Leadership,
• LEAN management techniques, and
• Productivity.

These, along with other courses, can be found at the following page. There will be regular updates to what is on offer so keep an eye out for any new courses here.

Also, if you have suggestions for topics and/or courses that may be of interest across the workforce, please contact Organisational Development by email, organisational.development@moray.gov.uk with your suggestions.

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.

TIME FOR TALKING

Christmas can be a painful and lonely time for some people, if you or anyone in your team need support over the Christmas period please contact Time for Talking (the Councils Employee Assistance Provider) who are open 365 days a year for any support that may be required.

They offer counselling, psychological, mediation and legal support, through a 24 hour helpline, a digital app, online resources and self-help programmes.

You can contact them 365 days a year, via their website www.timefortalking.co.uk, by phone on 0800 970 3980, by app (downloaded from the app store or google play) or chat online to a counsellor through their Live Chat using the password TfTnow

All chats are totally confidential, people don’t need to give their name or email address unless they want to.

More information can be found at Time for Talking

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.

An audit will be taking place in Spring 2025 so please can you ensure that you undertake this before 31^st March 2025.

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

STAR AWARDS WINNERS 2024

Our Special Thanks and Recognition (Star) Awards give us the chance to formally recognise the outstanding contribution our colleagues make to Moray Council.

It’s a cliché to say an organisation’s best asset is our staff, but it’s a fitting commendation of the hard work we know our colleagues put into their roles. This year’s winners were hand delivered their awards on 2^nd October 2024 by the Interim Chief Executive John W Mundell OBE and Councillor Kathleen Robertson, Leader of Moray Council.

Link to interchange STAR Awards winners

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 course ‘Your Financial Wellbeing’ on the following dates:

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:

Planning for Retirement (Online) - https://affinityconnect.event-registration.co.uk/events/moray-council/retirement/2-hour-30-minute-course-online

Planning for Retirement (Face-to-Face) - https://affinityconnect.event-registration.co.uk/events/moray-council/retirement/1-day-course

Your Financial Wellbeing - https://affinityconnect.event-registration.co.uk/events/moray-council/your-financial-wellbeing/1-hour-30-minute-course-online

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 Regional Collaboration Forums, Troubles’ Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme, Erskine Veterans Activity Centre in Forres and Winter Fuel Payments, as well as new funding opportunities, plus much more!