SPRING HOLIDAY – MANAGEMENT COVER ARRANGEMENTS

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

The public holidays for Moray Council are:

• Friday 18th April
• Monday 5th May

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

EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE CHANGE TO LOGGING IN

There has been an update to the security process for logging onto the HR/Payroll iTrent system including Employee Self Service which will be implemented during March. This is to provide greater protection for employees’ personal details against malicious cyber-attacks. As well as the current username and password employees will be required to set up a second memorable password which they will be required to enter 3 characters from when logging in.

An email will be sent to all users advising of the change along with instructions on how to set up the memorable password, once the password is set up employees will be provided with a recovery code which they should save as this be required if they forget their log-in details to re-set their passwords. If employees forget either of their passwords and do not have their recovery code payroll will still be able to re-set their password but they will need to set up a new memorable password as well.

If employees are struggling they should either call payroll on 01343 563100 or email payroll@moray.gov.uk ensuring they include their payroll and National Insurance number in the email for security purposes.

EMPLOYEE SURVEY 2025

The Employee survey is available from 10th March to 4th April 2025, and we would really like to hear from you and your staff, as the feedback will play a critical role in shaping our workplace culture.

This is an opportunity to share opinions, thoughts, and give feedback on what is working well and on areas that can be improved, highlighting examples of best practice and identifying areas where focus is required to enhance job satisfaction.

The survey asks a range of questions about all aspects of working for the Council. The information will be used to check whether work we are doing from previous surveys is still relevant and having a positive impact and also to identify where more work is needed. The results are important so that the views of the workforce are provided to Elected Members for their consideration.

Surveys provide a platform to anonymously share views which help guide decision-making in the Council, so it is important that everyone is given an opportunity to have their voice heard and contribute to creating a better working environment.

To encourage participation, the survey will be available electronically and in paper format for those with no computer access. QR codes with links to the survey will be available and we will be undertaking drop-in sessions across frontline services to allow an opportunity for these employees to complete the survey there and then.

Please support the completion of the survey by allowing 10 minutes out of the working day for staff to complete the survey and use team meetings to highlight the importance of participating.

Remember, the survey is not just about telling us when things are not quite right, it is equally as important to tell us when things are right! So, if communications have improved, or senior managers are more visible, or you feel more recognised for the job you are doing – tell us!

If you’ve any questions about the survey please contact Clare Alexander, OD Adviser, at clare.alexander@moray.gov.uk.

A voice does make a difference so please give your staff a chance to use theirs.

CYCLE2WORK COMING SOON!

The Cycle to Work scheme will be returning twice for 2025!

The scheme will be open from Monday 12th May to Friday 20th June 2025 and will also open in November ready for Black Friday and Christmas discounts.

The salary sacrifice scheme offers an opportunity for all employees to hire a bike (manual or electric) and/or accessories up to a value of £3000 over a 12 or 24 month period, with the option of purchasing the bike at the end of the hire period by either taking out an extended hire agreement at no additional cost or returning the bike. To qualify for the scheme the bike should be utilised for 50% of travel to your workplace. This is a hire agreement so please ensure you fully read all the terms and conditions surrounding the scheme.

So, if you or a member of your team fancy a new bike, get window shopping now!

Further details will be communicated on the Interchange soon HERE

NEW EMPLOYEE BENEFIT

The Halfords Trade Card offers employees up to 50% discount on tools and equipment at Halfords and is completely free!

The Trade Card offers exclusive pricing, price match, and you can shop where and whenever you like, in store or online.

All you need to do is scan the QR code or see HERE for further information and complete the sign up for the card.

Once you have entered your personal details, please select Approved Employee for Eligibility and Employee Benefit – Moray Council for Proof of Trade.

After submission of your application, you will receive an email with your Trade Card details and information on how to set up your account.

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

SICKNESS – EMPLOYEE MEDICAL CERTIFICATES

If an employee is off sick for more than 7 calendar days they are required to provide a medical certificate (Statement of fitness for Work) from their Doctor.

Most doctor surgeries now provide these electronically by email, if they receive the certificate by email they should forward the email to both manager and payroll (payroll@moray.gov.uk) at the same time adding in their payroll number to the email. This means there is no need for the manager or Administrator to have to send it on and the employee’s record is updated quickly.

If the doctor provided a paper certificate, this can be scanned or photographed by the employee and emailed to both manager and payroll as above. However, the scanned or photographed copy must be of the whole A4 certificate and not just part of it and it must be clear and not blurred. Alternatively, the employee can send in the paper certificate.

HR ADMIN DOCUMENTATION – NOTIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT FORMS

Employees should be sent their contract of employment on or before Day one of employment/change in contract. In order to meet this legal requirement HR require the Notification of Appointment form to be completed and authorised on the EE Portal in advance of the employee commencing work in the position or changing their contract. Currently many forms are not being received until after this date. Please look at your processes when employing staff/making contractual changes to ensure the Notification of Appointment form is completed, authorised and submitted in advance.

NOTIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT FORMS – FULL LEGAL NAME

For HMRC purposes the payroll system must contain an employees full legal name. Please ensure when completing Notification of Appointment forms an employees full legal name (including middle names) is provided.

PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ON COUNCILS INTERCHANGE

A communication is due to be issued as a reminder to staff when posting documents and articles on the Interchange. Please be aware that there is a public element to the council's interchange site that requires careful consideration when posting documents. We want to ensure that all staff are aware of the implications and take the necessary precautions to safeguard sensitive information. Please can you ensure that you are familiar with the guidance and brief your teams accordingly.

Public Availability of Documents

When posting documents to the council's interchange, it is crucial to recognise that documents are public by default and therefore accessible to the public. This public availability means that anyone outside of the council network may view these documents, which could lead to unintended exposure of confidential or sensitive information e.g. disclosure of staff personal details.

Guidelines for Document Posting

To prevent any accidental disclosures, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Evaluate Document Content:

Before posting any document, thoroughly assess its content to determine whether it contains sensitive, confidential, or proprietary information. Please refer to the Interchange Accessibility Guidance due to published in due course.

• Decide Access Levels:

Decide whether the document should be left open for public access or locked to staff access only. Consider the nature of the information and the potential impact of public availability.

• Set Access Restrictions:

Utilise the interchange's settings facility to establish access restrictions. If you require ICT to upload your documents please ensure that you communicate that the documents are intended for internal use. ICT will then ensure they are properly set up, locked and only accessible to staff members. If you are uploading your own documents then please apply the required restrictions.

• Regular Reviews:

It is good practice to periodically review the documents posted on the interchange to confirm that access settings remain appropriate and consistent with our privacy and security policies.

By following these guidelines, we can maintain the integrity and security of our information while ensuring transparency where appropriate. Your cooperation and diligence in managing document access on the interchange is greatly appreciated. Should you have any questions on this please contact ICT Helpdesk.

TALENTLINK – NEW DEVELOPMENT

Work is happening behind the scenes to improve the posting and management of vacancies on Talentlink – look out for news here and on Interchange soon!

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

NEW EYECARE PROVIDER - SPECSAVERS

The council have approved Specsavers as our new Eye Care scheme provider to meet our legal obligations and compliance with DSE regulations, to offer eye care examinations and corrective measures to mitigate eye strain and other health issues associated with prolonged use of display screens.

Following the process detailed in the Display Screen Equipment Employee Guide found on Interchange, you will receive a voucher that entitles you to a free VDU eye test and a free pair of glasses, or money off a more expensive pair of glasses that meet your VDU prescription.

The nearest Specsavers branches are situated in Elgin Nairn, Inverness, Inverurie and Aberdeen.

MENOPAUSE EVENTS IN 2025

Menopause events for council employees are being planned for 2025. If you would like to attend a café style event, chat with your peers on all thing’s menopause, or have any ideas for other events and would like to help organise them please contact karen.baker@moray.gov.uk

LIVE ON CLIVE

So, what’s live on CLIVE? Well, we’re glad you asked. We’ve got new Learning Bytes looking at the following:

• Learning Byte: How to claim your leadership power
• Learning Byte: Great leadership is a network, and not a hierarchy
• Learning Byte: Disclosure Scotland – get ready for online accounts

All of these courses can be found under the CPD tab.

We also have a new course looking at the use of CCTV, a must for anyone that uses CCTV or a body worn camera. This course can be found under the Essentials tab.

Courses that we have coming soon are:

• S.M.A.R.T Reablement
• An Introduction to Procurement

To access CLIVE click HERE

FREE TRAINING RESOURCES

To help with the delivery of the corporate development programme, Organisational Development have sourced FREE learning resources.

These resources range from short learning bytes CLIVE to fully funded courses (delivered by The Skills Network) and will cover a wide range of topics looking at leadership, IT skills, and personal development.

These resources are designed to be accessed at any time, a time that suits you best, and all you need is an internet connection to complete them. These will range from 30 minutes to several weeks to complete. It all depends on what course you sign up to.

This month we have course 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. We will be updating these regularly, see keep an eye out for any new courses on that we post here.

Also, if you know of anything that would of interest to staff, please drop Organisational Development an email with your suggestions.

CORPORATE TRAINING 2025

The Corporate Training calendar for 2025 is now available to view on Interchange. You can view all the dates by clicking here.

Course that we have coming up April with some space available are:

• Recruitment Skills
• Discipline: Policy, Practice, and Procedure
• Health and Work
• Conflict Management and Mediation
• First Line Managers Programme

To book a space on these workshops’ login to you CLIVE account and book your spot today.

NEW LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – CLIVE

Our new look Learning Management System CLIVE is nearly ready to launch – testing is ongoing, and we hope to bring the new look dashboard and improved functionality to you soon. The changes and updates to the structure should improve the user experience. Watch out for further comms to be issued in April 2025.

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE FOR SENDING GROUP EMAILS WITH EXTERNAL RECIPIENTS

Email provides a fast and efficient way of communicating information. However, errors when sending an email which result in the inadvertent disclosure of information are one of the leading causes behind data breach incidents reported within organisations and to the Information Commissioner.

1. Sending group emails - If you are sending an email to several recipients and either you do not want each recipient’s email address to be visible to all other recipients or there are personal / external emails that should not be visible to all other recipients, you should insert the recipients’ email addresses into the ‘BCC’ rather than the ‘to’ or ‘CC’ fields.
2. Distribution lists - have processes in place such as discrete distribution lists, checklists and even asking a colleague to review your email to confirm that everything is in order before clicking ‘send’. If you do use a distribution list, make sure to review it regularly for accuracy and that it only contains recipients who require the information.
3. Double check email recipients - the main reason for emails being sent in error is simple human error. So, while it may sound simple, the main way to prevent data breaches when using email is to be careful and pay attention.
   • For example, when checking the recipients of an email, double click on a recipient’s name as displayed in the ‘to’, ‘CC’ or ‘BCC’ fields so that their full email address is visible. Then confirm if this is the address that you are intending to use.
4. Setting a delay rule - consider creating a rule which delays Outlook from sending an email for between two to five minutes after you have clicked ‘send’. This would allow you to go into your Outbox and change or delete the email if you do find an error after you have clicked ‘send’. If not setting a delay rule, consider saving to drafts and revisiting a few minutes later with fresh focus.
5. Recall – the recall functionality does not work out with the Council network therefore you must not try to recall an email that has external recipients as this will not recall the email and will only re-send the original email to all recipients.
6. Email threads - be careful when forwarding emails with multiple conversations, also known as ‘email threads’. There is a risk that more information than is necessary will be disclosed to a recipient where you forward the entire email thread. If an email thread is too long or contains information that the sender doesn’t need to know, consider alternatives, such as drafting a new email.

TIME FOR TALKING

Is spring good for your mental health?

With longer days and warmer temperatures, spring offers the perfect opportunity to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D. Spending time in nature has been proven to boost mood and reduce stress. Take a walk in the park, go for a hike, or simply sit in your backyard and enjoy the beauty of the season. But if you do feel the need for a bit of extra support, guidance or advice and would prefer not to speak with friends, family or colleagues then please contact Time for Talking.

Time for Talking (the Councils Employee Assistance Provider) 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 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 HOUSEKEEPING

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 shortly so please can you ensure that you undertake this before April 2025.

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

DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND UPDATE

As some of you may know, in November 2024 Disclosure Scotland changed the way that we apply for a PVG, how we can access these, and how the employer can view these.

To help with the transition to online PVG checks we have a created a Learning Byte on CLIVE called Disclosure Scotland – getting ready for online accounts. This short course will take you through all that you need to do and where to go for more advice if needed.

This course isn’t just for those you applying for a PVG, it’s also for those of you that are counter signatories for the council.

If, however, you are neither of these but are recruiting to positions that require a PVG check then there are a series of free Disclosure Scotland workshops that you can access by clicking on the link below:

Disclosure Scotland Courses

There are also course here for counter signatories.

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 to the next programme which is due to start in October.

For further information please contact: organisational.development@moray.gov.uk

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 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:

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 the LGBT Financial Recognition (FR) Scheme for Veterans, a new strategy for Sight Scotland Veterans, the Scottish Men’s Sheds, Unforgotten Forces Regional Forums, Cyber Security Courses and a new section on Research & Engagement, plus much more!