In a letter to all staff, Rob Thomas, Managing Director, has provided an overview of the steps that have been taken since the outbreak of Covid19 at the beginning of March. It reads as follows.
Dear Colleagues,
As we are now in the sixth week of what has been a very rapid response to the pandemic I thought it may be helpful to offer a recap of the measures that have been put in place and a reminder of where all staff can find help and support.
All offices and Council buildings are now closed to all but those staff carrying out essential roles that cannot be conducted from home. For those that are still working from one of our buildings strict social distancing measures have been put in place, masks and hand sanitiser have been provided, and the enhanced cleaning schedules established at the start of March remain in place.
The majority of staff are now conducting their normal roles while working from home. Everyone in this group should by now have been provided with the ICT equipment required to do this and wherever needed help to set it up. If you are still experiencing any issues you should raise these with the ICT Service Desk in the first instance.
While some colleagues were already used to working remotely on occasion, doing so full time and while also juggling the responsibilities we all have outside of work is a challenge. To help with this a range of guidance covering both effective home working and looking after your health and wellbeing while working from home has been published.
For those staff working in frontline roles and dealing directly with the public we have so far provided more than a quarter of a million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe while carrying out their duties.
We also now have a priority testing scheme in place to ensure these staff and their families are able to access next day testing should they begin to develop symptoms of Covid-19. For anyone, working in any role, who feels they may be showing symptoms of Covid-19 there is guidance on what to do.
In recognition of the particular efforts of some staff groups and this unprecedented time I am very pleased to be able to say we have offered a temporary 10% pay enhancement to some staff, such as care workers in our Social Services team as well as those doing the most challenging frontline roles within Neighbourhood Services, where the application of social distancing measures is not always as possible as it is for other colleagues.
We are the first local authority in Wales take such action and I hope we will soon find ourselves in the position of having led the local government and care sectors to think again about how we reward those doing this vital work during such a challenging time.
This is of course a very difficult time for everyone. Whatever your role within the organisation the Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on all of our lives. While the work we all do for the Council is vitally important to supporting our communities, our first responsibility must always be to look after ourselves and our loved ones.
To make sure everyone has access to support if they need it, we have ensured that the Care First is still available to every member of staff, and additional counselling and support services are being put in place by our Occupational Health team for certain staff groups.
I would also recommend that staff take some time to look at the Council’s social media accounts via which the Communications Team have been sharing a lot of information on how residents can stay safe and well, and parents can entertain their children, while also observing the current government guidance on social distancing. The social media accounts also celebrate and recognise the work of our staff and partners and the very real difference this is making to our communities.
I hope this update has provided you a helpful reminder of what is available should you need it and I assure you that we are doing absolutely everything we can to make sure our staff are safe and the value of their work is being recognised.
I have written to you all with many examples recently of the work that is being done and would like to reiterate once again, I have never been more proud to work for the Vale of Glamorgan Council and to work with so many fantastic, committed, public servants than I am now.
Thank you once again for all your efforts. Diolch yn fawr i chi gyd.
Rob Thomas
Managing Director