The value of HR for councils and local authorities
Local authorities have seen their funding cut in many areas since austerity measures began in 2010, resulting in support services such as HR departments being cut or downsized to help these authorities balance their budgets.
Councils and local authorities need to bear a large amount of responsibility as well as follow strict regulation. It is therefore important to ensure all HR matters are taken care of and that cost-effective measures are in place to ensure the organisation is fully compliant.
HR services for the public sector
Uncertain times make improvements to company culture difficult to manage.
As a result of funding cuts, staff can feel demoralised and undervalued. These cuts can lead to the need for redundancies, restructuring and other measures to minimise payroll costs.
Managing redundancies and other HR issues such as frozen pay incorrectly can discourage your staff and create a negative culture across your organisation.
The evolving role of HR
Because of the funding challenges, the HR function within local authorities has had to develop itself into a more strategic role and become a more intricate part of the overall management of the organisation.
For this reason, many authorities have found it to be more cost-effective to outsource their HR tasks to HR professionals in order to manage their HR issues correctly and compliant with the sectors’ regulations.
Local authorities now often utilise private enterprises to perform many of their transactional HR duties. This allows the organisation to focus on their core responsibilities and ensure the highest levels of productivity and improvement.
Trade unions
The public sector in the UK has many active unions which can present a further challenge to HR personnel that work with local authorities.
Trade unions have brought about some important changes to employment law that HR functions must successfully navigate:
- Annual rises to minimum wage
- The health and safety at Work etc Act 1974
- Working time directive
- Paternity, maternity and shared rights
- Equality legislation
- Holiday and sickness entitlements
PeoplePointHR can help local authorities and councils
PeoplePointHR offers an extensive range of HR solutions servicing local authorities and councils across the country. Some of the services we offer are:
- Performance management
- Disciplinary and grievance
- Absence management
- Redundancy management
- Equality and diversity
- Pay and reward
- Employee engagement
PeoplePointHR can assist councils and local authorities with all of their HR requirements.
Contact our HR consultants for more information on how we can support you. Call us today on 0330 555 2555.
