People Committee Assurance Report - July 2025
Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting
Date: 9 July 2025
Report Title: People Committee Assurance Report
Agenda Item: PUB25/07/6.3
Committee Date: 30 April 2025 and 14 May 2025
Meeting Chair: Wendy Thomas, Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair
Meeting quorate: YES
Purpose: Assurance
Link to Strategic Objective:
- Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn.
- Provide outstanding quality of care and performance.
Summary of items considered at the meeting
| Issue | Consideration | Resolution | Assurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Women EEAST Update | The Committee received an update from Beth Owen who chairs the network. Much work has been on going including meditation sessions for staff wellbeing, planning for a multi network conference in June, rebranding of disabled toilets to accessible and inclusive facilities and exploring the provision of free hygiene consumables for women when at work. The priority for the 2025/26 year will be to continue to support sexual safety in the workplace initiatives. | The Committee noted the update and supported the proposal for the Trust to purchase hygiene consumables for women while they work. The Committee noted that Shavari Alape has now stepped down as joint Chair and asked for thanks to be passed to her. | Reasonable |
| LGBT Network Update | The Committee received an update from Graham Clark, Network Chair. Online conference planned for 15 May - International day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. There is much work on going within this network but one worrying trend that the Board should be aware of: many transgender staff had been in contact regarding the recent high court ruling that stated the gender “female” will be determined by biology. Staff are concerned about what this means for them in the workplace. | The Committee commended the update and for bringing the concerns of our transgender staff to our attention. The Chief People Officer agreed to meet with Graham and the network as a matter of urgency to explore the issues and offer reassurance to our staff. Report back to next meeting. | Reasonable |
| Workforce Behaviours - Employee Survey | The Committee were updated on the highlights. Below are just a few and the Board has seen the report in its entirety: - 15% of staff reported that they had experienced bullying and harassment in the last 12 months, this had reduced from 35% in 2023. - 5% of staff had experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, which was a reduction from 7% in 2023. Increasingly staff were reporting. - 3% of staff reported that they had been discriminated based on their sexual orientation, 71% of those had not reported this. - 10% of staff felt they were discriminated against based on their disability. | The Committee noted the report, and the positive progress was celebrated. However, we acknowledge that there is still much to do, and the Board has been very clear that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. The Committee also noted that to date, for the 2025/26 year, the Trust had dismissed the same number of people for sexual assault as it did in the whole of the 2024/25 year. | Substantial |
| Values Update | The values were launched at the recent leadership days, and they are being used within our metrics/policies and as part of the “Big Conversation” | This work was commended as the values were developed by staff for staff and great progress is being made to embed these into practice. | Substantial |
| Integrated People Services Report | The main areas of concern highlighted were: - Employee Relations case numbers - 157 at the time of the meeting. The capacity to deal with this number is a challenge but it is essential to manage inappropriate behaviour in the workforce - numbers are likely to increase as staff report instances that need to be managed. - Need for a policy change that has been highlighted via “the Big Conversation” significant staff feedback on dignity at work and the grievance process meaning a review will be necessary. - Wellbeing referral numbers have increased significantly, and we have employed more staff. This additional volume of work brings challenges for the OH service. Additional nurse4s and physiotherapists have been secured to help manage the demand. | The Committee noted the report, and highlighted the good progress made by People Services. ER cases were noted but the Committee knew that this was expected as we launched our sexual safety campaign | Substantial |
| Volunteer Hours | Lorna Hayes, Head of Community Response, highlighted the impact of a dedicated dispatcher and this will be included in a future KPI for the EOC. Some volunteers who are inactive are due to be removed from deployment and this may reduce numbers. However, volunteers respond to 2,000 jobs per month and are first on scene 86% of the time. Of this 85%, 56% of those patients did not need an EEAST resource to be dispatched. | The Committee reviewed the report, noting the great work that our volunteers undertake. The Committee was keen to see and monitor the KPIs going forward | Reasonable |
| Sexual Safety Group Update | There has been a rise in sexual safety cases which reflected the activity to increase awareness and reporting of these incidents via the Leadership Development Framework, targeted staff communications. Policy has been updated and training is ongoing. Sexual safety scrutiny panel being established and sexual safety led for students is being advertised. | The Committee praised the work of this group and reiterated that inappropriate behaviours will not be tolerated and certainly never sexual safety cases. | Reasonable |
| People Strategy Update | Sudha Pavan, Deputy Director of People Services, presented the Quarter 3 People Strategy update on progress. The main aim of the strategy was to help improve our people experience and progress EEAST as an employer of choice. 45/63 programmes will have been completed by Q3, with the remaining programmes due to deliver by March 2025. | The Committee noted the update. There are 13 areas that will continue into 2025/26 as they are long-term programmes that span multiple years, however the phase 1 and 2 of these programmes will be completed by Quarter 3 2025. | Reasonable |
| Health and Safety | The Committee was informed that: - Every premises now has a fire safety risk assessment completed. - H&S training compliance is above 90%. - Contravention Notice from the H&S Executive to improve the stress safety of staff. An action plan is in place with eight recommendations to be implemented by July 2025. Progress to be discussed with HSE on 01 May 2025. | The Committee noted the report and requested an update as the actions to address the HSE recommendations progressed. | Reasonable |
| Integrated Strategy and Culture Report | Progress has been made in all areas. Highlights: - 77% of team leaders are progressing through the Leadership Development Programme. - 87% of appraisals completed. | The Committee noted the progress made. | Reasonable |
| Education Update | Progress report and some highlights were: - Driver training unit now working at full capacity and the barriers faced by international nurses have been removed. - Our first apprenticeship group of 18 students has now started with a total of 156 expected annually. - Benchmarking shows the Trust in upper quartile for student experience. Two recommendations were made: 1. To continue positive improvements in culture, and 2. Raise awareness of the Freedom to Speak Up service. | The Committee noted the progress made. | Reasonable |
| Internal Audit Final Report – Workforce Planning | The report gave a reasonable assurance opinion. Several good practices were noted with three important actions identified: 1. Workforce planning did not extend to the corporate functions. 2. Monthly workforce returns to be independently reviewed before submission. 3. All relevant workforce planning risks to be recorded on the risk register. | The Committee discussed the report findings and noted the actions to address the recommendations made. The high turnover in EOCs needs targeted action to address. | Reasonable |
| People Transformation Programmes | Transformation programmes now report to the Transformation Programme Board (TPB) and so reports were to highlight key successes and risk: Team Based Working Demand and capacity review planned for end July with Aug/Sept implementation. Staff are understandably anxious as this will affect working patterns. Full assurance cannot be given until the above actions are complete, but Communications are working with staff and unions to brief as much as possible. | The Committee noted the progress made. | Reasonable |
| People Committee Integrated Performance Report (IPR) | The Chief People Officer (CPO) presented and suggested that the metrics should be considered early in the meeting to ensure the agenda is focused on the key risk areas | The Committee was content that the Committee IPR covered all the key agenda items discussed today and agreed that this should appear early on the agenda | Substantial |
| Sub-Group Assurance and Escalation Report | All sub-groups had met, with the exception of Health and Safety; this group is to relaunch on 01 May 2025 with a revised membership to ensure quoracy. The concern related to the fact that union colleagues were not present. | The Committee noted the report. | Reasonable |
| People Committee Annual Report | Co-ordinated by the Governance team, the report highlights the effectiveness of the Committee during the 2024/25 year. The agenda has moved on significantly with many achievements celebrated. There is still much to do, especially with culture, embedding Time to Lead, and the challenges of making savings in our corporate services. | The Committee received the report, and given the importance of our people agenda, especially as we will be making significant changes in the corporate functions this year, the frequency and length of the meetings may need to increase, at least in the short-term. | Substantial |
| 14 May 2025 | Extraordinary meeting | ||
| WRES and WDES submission | The WRES and WDES is an annual mandatory submission required by NHS England. The information collated for submission is contained within the Trust’s Inclusivity Plan, which was fully developed during the 2024/25 year. Challenges remain for the Trust with insufficient number of staff from BME backgrounds in senior positions. Also, there are disparities with recruitment and access to training. Harassment against people with disabilities continues. The Inclusivity Plan contains positive actions to address these inequities and will be motored by People Committee on an ongoing basis. | The committee reviewed the proposed submission and agreed the content for due date 31 May 2025. | Reasonable |
| Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap | Again, this is a report that is mandatory, and the statistics show that the pay gap at EEAST continues to reduce. We have seen an increase in the number of women employed, however, the pay gap shows a difference in women’s earnings of 95p per hour whilst men gained £1 per hour. There are targeted measures being delivered as part of the Inclusivity Plan including enhanced flexible working options, improved transparency in recruitment and the Leadership Development Programme. | The Committee reviewed the proposed submission and agreed the content for due date 31 May 2025. The following updates were agreed: • Ethnicity pay gap by Q2 2025/26 • Disability pay gap by Q3 All other protected characteristics by year-end | Reasonable |
Matters for escalation or referral:
None
