Change to Sickness Absence Standard Operating Procedure

The revised Sickness Absence Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) came into effect on Wednesday 8 April.

Section 18 – unsatisfactory attendance – has been updated to include an informal initial meeting stage to discuss the issue before a referral to Stage One. The new SOP also provides guidance on the Ill Health Dismissal Process.

As part of the transition, employees subject to a warning pre-December 2008 will continue to be monitored under the old procedure. Those subject to a warning post-December 2008 (Stage One) will have a full review before being assessed as to what stage they should move onto should their attendance fall below the required standard during the monitoring period.

If you have any queries or comments in relation to the SOP, please contact the Employee Relations Department.

The SOP and accompanying appendices can be found on the HR Policies and Procedures page.

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Jennifer Climbing Four Thousand Mountain For Charity

Jennifer from reception has signed up to climb Ben MacDui - the highest mountain in the Cairngorms - on June 6^th 2009 with ten friends to raise funds for WaterAid We are raising money for the charity WaterAid.

www.wateraid.org

The climbers have a communal website where they are clubbing together all donations, in the hope of raising £1000.

Jennifer said:”The website is www.justgiving.com/thebigclimb2009  which is a 100% secure website where you can donate using your credit/debit card.  It only takes a minute to donate, and every amount, no matter how big or small, helps towards us achieving our target.  Alternatively, if you would prefer to sponsor me the old school way by using cash, please come and see me in reception as I’ve got a wee collection going. Thanks a million.”

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NPIA Flu Pandemic Advice

The National Policing Improvement Agency has produced guidance on pandemic flu for police officers.

The guidance provides useful information and addresses common queries about pandemic flu. It also contains advice on how a flu pandemic may affect police officers.

Officers are advised to read the guidance and familiarise themselves with the Force’s contingency plans should a major outbreak occur.

Meanwhile, officers and staff should take measures to protect themselves by frequently washing their hands and maintaining good personal hygiene.

To see NPIA guidance on pandemic flu click here.

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New Electronic Database to Maximise Staff Skills

Members of staff are being urged to enter details of their specialist skills into a database that will allow others to find the relevant people and speed up the process by cutting down on paperwork.

Anyone seeking a search-trained officer, someone skilled in body recovery or sexual offence interviewing will be able to call on the Employee Skills Project to find the right information and, ultimately, the employee with the appropriate knowledge and ability.

The comprehensive skills database is being set up on the Training Administration System (TAS), part of the ORIGIN HR system.

The objective of the project is to provide BTP with the foundation on which to build its future learning and development needs and provide the business with a skills database that will enable DMS Rostering and Command and Control to allocate resources efficiently and effectively.

David Harding, Birmingham-based Employee Skills Project Manager, outlined its benefits. He said: “The skills our staff have gained in the past and gain in the future are all being entered into TAS.  That will greatly speed up the process for identifying and deploying them.

“No longer will people have to spend so much time searching manual records. Central Rostering Units and Command and Control will be able to search for skills and resource incidents, events and operations speedily and accurately.”

The database will also be used to help refine targeting of BTP’s future learning and development needs, and identify skills gaps.

All BTP employees are being asked to log on to the system and enter their own details into the database by Thursday, 28 May.

Log in to http://origina.btp.local:7801/portal/page?_pageid=53,49609&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL: and select Self Service.

A powerpoint presentation on how you can input your skills into the database can be obtained by emailing

[email protected]

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Melissa’s Last Day……….

Today is Melissa’s last day at work before the birth of her second baby. We wish her, and husband Gerry, all the best when the big day comes!

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