December 2000 EM report

Report of the 11 December 2000 East Midlands liason meeting held at Nottingham.

Craig Henderson (HRLP) announced that he had been offered a new position in Birmingham and that Allison Ford would be appointed HRLP in the new year.

Epic House

Craig said that security improvements to safety at Epic House had been agreed. Cages would be put in place to prevent access to the lower floors; a security guard would be on duty in the mornings and late evenings and would escort staff to their cars; a television camera would be installed so that reception could see who was at the door; and CCTV would be installed on the BBC floors and recordings made.

Health and safety

Risk assessments

Following the "bell ringing" accident, the safety advisors would issue a guidance note which would clarify the point at which a risk assessment became necessary. There was also a need to clarify the reasons for doing risk assessments.

Driving courses

Craig would be talking to his management team to gauge interest in driving courses.

Stress

Carol Smith informed the meeting that the counseling service had suggested half day sessions for courses on dealing with stress. This would be considered by management with a view to a pilot scheme in the new year involving Nottingham staff only. After evaluation, it could be rolled out over the rest of the cluster. It would be opened up so that individuals could not be identified.

Equal opportunities

Carol Smith (Personnel Manager) said there had been 350 applicants for the Derby traineeship. These would be shortlisted in the new year. Management had appointed an access researcher for eight months from January.

Training

The cluster had been successful in its bid for the investors in people award. A training plan had been drawn up from the appraisal round. There would be personal effectiveness courses for staff in the Asian Network.

Staffing

Advertisements had been placed for two correspondents. Current staffing levels were at the optimum level with an extra person in radio.

Personnel restructuring

The meeting expressed concerns that the reduction in Personnel Managers at sites would be unfortunate.