The Workforce Committee

Annual Report

Financial Year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

1. Period covered by this report

This report covers the work of the Workforce Committee for the financial year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

2. Introduction

The Workforce Committee has been formally established by the Board of Directors as one of its sub-committees. It is authorised to investigate and seek assurance on all aspects of strategic workforce matters relating to the provision of care and services in support of getting the best clinical outcomes and experience for patients and staff. The purpose of the Committee is also to ensure there is a positive working environment for staff which promotes an open culture that helps staff do their job to the best of their ability.

On behalf of the Board of Directors the Committee will:

• Seek assurance on the progress made against the NHS People Plan.
• Seek assurance on the development and the delivery of the Trust’s People Plan and will have oversight of the Plan’s key strategic themes which include: health and wellbeing; resourcing; equality and inclusion; engagement and retention; and leading together.
• Carry out the role of Health and Wellbeing Champion.
• Seek assurance on the development of the workforce to ensure the Trust has productive staff with the skills, competencies, and knowledge to provide safe and effective care.
• Seek assurance that the Trust is meeting its legal and regulatory duties in relation to its employees.
• Have oversight of the relevant workforce data and specific initiatives in relation to the equality and inclusion agenda as requested by the Board of Directors, recognising that a significant element of the Trust’s work to ensure equality and inclusion is with regard to the workforce.
• Seek assurance that the Trust is actively involved and where relevant influencing work taking place at a national, regional, and local level including the work carried out by the West Yorkshire Integrated Care System relating to workforce.
• Seek assurance on progress against the workforce metrics.
• Seek assurance around the risks delegated to it via the Board Assurance Framework. The Committee should determine if the appropriate level of risk has been identified, review the effectiveness of the controls in place relevant to the risks, review and challenge the strength of the assurances provided, identify any gaps in control or assurance and ensure that the risk lead identifies appropriate actions to address such gaps.
• Where necessary seek assurance into any area of work related to workforce and related matters on behalf of the Board.
• The Committee will also review the draft Internal Audit Annual work plan so it can be assured on the sufficiency of the work the Auditors will carry out in respect of matters pertaining to the duties of the Committee. Assurance on the plan’s sufficiency (or comments on any matters that should be included) will be provided to the Audit Committee to allow it to approve the overall plan.

This report covers the work the Committee has undertaken at the meetings held during 2024/25. It seeks to assure the Board on the work it has carried out and the assurances received, and to demonstrate that it has operated within its Terms of Reference.

3. Assurance

The Committee receives assurance from the executive director members of the Committee and from the subject matter experts who attend the meetings as required dependant on the agenda items being discussed. Assurance is provided through written reports, both regular and bespoke, through challenge by members of the Committee and by members seeking to validate the information provided through wider knowledge of the organisation; specialist areas of expertise; attending Board of Directors’, and Council of Governors’ meetings.

The Committee is assured that it has the correct membership to provide the right level and calibre of information and challenge, and that the right reporting methods, structures and work plans are in place to provide oversight on behalf of the Board in respect of performance in the areas covered by its Terms of Reference.

Part of its assurance role is to receive the Board Assurance Framework (BAF), a primary assurance document for the Board which details those key controls in place to ensure that the risks to achieving the strategic objectives are being well managed. The BAF lists the committees that are responsible for receiving assurance in respect of the effectiveness of those controls. The Workforce Committee is asked to note, in particular, those where it is listed as an assurance receiver to confirm that it has received sufficient assurance through the reports presented to the Committee, or to commission further information where there is a lack of assurance (actual or perceived). The Workforce Committee is listed as an assurance receiver for the following risk:

• SR3 – There is a risk that we fail to deliver a culture and environment that recruits, retains, and attends to the wellbeing of staff to enable them to be their best and deliver quality services now and in the future.

The Committee views the BAF at each meeting.

4. Terms of reference

In February 2024 the Terms of Reference for the Workforce Committee were approved by the members. The Terms of Reference are next due to be reviewed at the April 2025 meeting.

5. Effectiveness of the Workforce Committee

The Committee reviewed its effectiveness in February 2025 and considered what developments could take place to ensure it remains effective.

In October 2024, a representative from The Value Circle observed a Workforce Committee meeting as part of an independent review of the Trust’s Well Led governance arrangements. It was noted that the Chair was well prepared and ensured that the meeting was conducted in an effective manner. It was also noted that throughout the meeting, questions and contributions were invited and discussion was encouraged and there were good examples of constructive challenge by non-executive members which were conducted in a respectful manner.

6. Meetings of the Workforce Committee

In 2024/25 the Committee formally met on five occasions and each of these meetings was held virtually. The dates on which the Committee met during the year are as follows:

• 15 April 2024
• 6 June 2024
• 8 August 2024
• 17 October 2024
• 6 February 2025

7. Membership of the committee and attendance at meetings

The membership of the Workforce Committee is made up of two non-executive directors; the Director of People and Organisational Development; the Chief Operating Officer; the Director of Nursing and Professions and the Medical Director. The Committee is chaired by a non-executive director (NED), Zoe Burns-Shore. Kaneez Khan is the other NED member of the Committee. Should the NED Chair be unable to chair the meeting this role will fall to the other NED.

The Committee is attended by a number of subject matter experts to provide expertise and knowledge on the areas that they are responsible for. On these occasions, they are attendees and do not count towards the membership of the meetings as outlined in the Terms of Reference.

The Trust also invites governors to observe Board sub-committee meetings. This opportunity allows governors to observe the work of the Committee, rather than to be part of its work as they are not part of the formal membership of the Committee. Governors observe Board sub-committee meetings in order to get a better understanding of the work of the Trust and to observe non-executive directors appropriately challenging the executive directors for the operational performance of the Trust.

Attendance at Workforce Committee meetings by substantive members

Attendance at Workforce Committee meetings by formal attendees

Attendance at Workforce Committee meetings by governors

8. Reports made to the Board of Directors

The Chair of the Workforce Committee makes an assurance, escalation and advisory report regarding the most recent meeting of the Committee to the next available Board of Directors’ meeting. This report seeks to assure the Board on the main items discussed by the Committee, and should it be necessary to escalate to the Board any matters of concern or urgent business which the Committee is unable to conclude. The Board may then decide to give direction to the Committee as to how the matter should be taken forward or it may agree that the Board deals with the matter itself.

Where the Board wants greater assurance on any matters that are within the remit of the Terms of Reference of the Committee the Board may ask for these to be looked at in greater detail by the Committee. The table below outlines the dates that the assurance and escalation reports were presented by the Chair of the Workforce Committee to the Board of Directors’ meetings.

9. The work of the committee during 2024/25

During 2024/25 the Committee has carried out its role in accordance with its Terms of Reference. Further details of all these areas of work can be found in the minutes and papers of the Committee.

A high-level overview of the areas of work on which the Committee has received information and assurance during 2024/25 are set out below.

• Workforce performance data, with a focus on Personal Development Reviews, clinical supervision, and compulsory training compliance
• The development and delivery of the Trust’s People Plan and review of the performance dashboard
• NHS Staff Survey and Bank Staff Survey results for 2024
• Overview of the Intention Planning process and the commitments to support improvements in staff experience
• The actions and progress undertaken within the Wellbeing Guardian Report
• The Board Assurance Framework and the management of Strategic Risk 3
• Assurance on incident response arrangements via the People and Organisational Development Governance Group Chair’s Report
• Updates on efficiency and productivity
• Workforce Race Equality and Workforce Disability Equality Standards and Gender Pay Gap Report for 2023/24
• A report on the actions to understand and address the Ethnicity Pay Gap
• Updates on compliance with the Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard
• A report on Health and Safety which included an update on reducing violence and aggression
• Updates on the Collective Leadership programme
• Updates on Civility and Respect
• Received the Trust’s refreshed Values and Behaviours Charter
• Reviewed data on how the new Spotlight platform for reward and recognition was being used across the Trust
• A report on the Trust’s Retention Strategy for 2024-25 including an update on the high-level action plan and an overview of new starters, leavers and turnover data from April 2021 to March 2024
• An overview of the leaver data for the Trust over the last 12 months drawn from the national Electronic Staff Record system and the findings of the six month Exit Interview Pilot
• An overview of workforce mobilisation plans for 2024/25
• An update on absence rates within the Trust in respect of the target to reduce sickness absence by 1% by the end of 2024/25
• A report which outlined the work taking place within the Medical Directorate to improve compliance with job planning and compulsory training
• Received the Trust’s annual multi-professional NHS England Workforce Training and Education Self-Assessment Return for information

10. Conclusion

The Chair of the Workforce Committee would like to assure the Board of Directors that the Committee has fulfilled its Terms of Reference during 2024/25. Throughout the year the Committee has monitored the pressures on the workforce and gained assurance on how workforce matters are considered and addressed. It has added value by maintaining an open and professional relationship with officers of the Trust and has carried out its work diligently; discussed issues openly and robustly; and kept the Board of Directors apprised of any possible issues or risks.

Members of the Workforce Committee would like to thank all those who have responded to its requests during the year and who have supported it in carrying out its duties.

Zoe Burns-Shore

Non-executive Director and Chair of the Workforce Committee

April 2025

Appendix 1 – Terms of Reference

A link to the current Terms of Reference of the Workforce Committee can be found here.