PAPER B2

Purpose : for Decision

REPORT TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Date : TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2004

Title : HR POLICIES

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : IMMEDIATE

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. This report seeks approval for and adoption of new policies for Redeployment and e-Communication and a revised Redundancy Policy.

CONFIDENTIAL/EXEMPT ITEMS

2. This report is not confidential.

BACKGROUND

3. Clear and up to date HR policies, which reflect both the needs of the organisation and best practice, are essential for successful people management. Policies should be purposive and offer sufficient clarity for managers to take people management decisions which are not only consistent but also with a high degree of certainty that they are compliant with employment legislation. The HR Manager (Employment Strategy) whose main task is to review all the Council HR policies and procedures as well as identify new areas in need of HR policy formulation, has, as a matter of priority, reviewed the Council’s Redundancy Policy and developed new policies for Redeployment and Electronic Communications. The three policies are attached at appendix 1, 2 and 3 respectively to this report.

4. It is more than ten years since the Redundancy Policy was first approved reflecting the good practice of the time. In the past nine or so years since local government reorganisation, ‘downsizing’ or ‘right sizing’ has never presented the Council with any real problems and compulsory redundancies have always been a last resort. The revised version brings the policy up to date. Members’ attention is particularly drawn to paragraph 27 of the document which modifies and provides clarity to the application of what is euphemistically known as the revolving doors policy.

5. If compulsory redundancy should only be used as a last resort, then a sound and robust Redeployment Policy is needed. However, redeployment is not only something that is considered when redundancies are contemplated. Where an employee has a health problem or disability redeployment can play an important part in that employee’s rehabilitation. Whilst the Council’s sickness absence rates are better than the national average for local government, the number of early retirements on health grounds is relatively high due in large part to our attempts to reduce the levels of long-term sickness absence. Redeploying staff at risk of redundancy or who have health problems etc, has always been applied as good practice but has never been set out as a formal policy and procedure to be applied. The redeployment policy will therefore help to find and secure alternative employment for staff at risk, reducing costs of redundancy and pressure on the pension fund through early retirements.

6. With the increased use of ‘electronic’ means of communication, there is, of course, greater opportunity for inappropriate use. The Electronic Communications Policy sets out, in a single document, what constitutes acceptable use of email, the internet/intranet and mobile phones. It is vitally important that employees are aware of what they may or may not do and for what purposes email systems, the internet etc may be used so that they do not breach any conduct rules and find themselves facing the prospect of disciplinary action.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

7. The review and modernisation of current HR policies and procedures to ensure they meet the Council’s future business needs together with the development of new policies is a key part of the Council’s People Management Strategy and included in HR’s service plan.

CONSULTATION

8. The policies have been the subject of consultation with trade unions represented on the Joint Consultative Board and suggestions for improvement, where appropriate, have been included.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

9. There are no direct additional budget implications arising from the introduction of these policies.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

10. The policies comply with relevant employment legislation.

OPTIONS

11. (i) Approve the policies as set out in Appendices 1, 2 and 3.

(ii) Refer the documents back for further amendment.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

12. By adopting these HR policies and procedures, the risk of a successful challenge at an Employment Tribunal or other Court will be minimised.

RECOMMENDATIONS

13. Option (i).

BACKGROUND PAPERS

14. Various Employers’ Organisation and CIPD publications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

15. None.

Contact Point : Max Burton. Tel: (01983) 823121 email: [email protected]

Max Burton

Head of Human Resources

APPENDIX 1

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL

REDUNDANCY POLICY

THE POLICY	1.	The Isle of Wight Council (‘the Council’) is subject to many varying external pressures, particularly in relation to organisational change and demands for efficiency and effectiveness. For this reason it is inevitable that from time to time review and reorganisation of the functions carried out by the Council will occur, with implications for the staff of the Council. When such reorganisations make it necessary to reduce the numbers of staff employed via a redundancy exercise, this policy and procedure will come into effect in order to: · avoid compulsory redundancy wherever possible; and · clarify the steps to be taken where such compulsory redundancy becomes unavoidable.
summary	2.	Council management will: · avoid where possible making staff compulsorily redundant; · consult with both trade union representatives and staff themselves; · make every effort to identify suitable alternative employment for staff at risk of redundancy.
Terms used	3.	A number of terms will be used throughout this document which have specific meanings in the context of the policy. For the avoidance of doubt, those terms, and the way they are to be interpreted, are as follows:
		dismissal:	the word ‘dismissal’ will be used in its statutory context: that is to say, under the relevant provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 there are five potentially fair reasons for dismissal, of which redundancy is one. The word ‘dismissal’, therefore, will be used within this procedure to imply termination by reason of redundancy;
		establishment:	for the purposes of this procedure, the term ‘establishment’ will be taken to mean the Council as a whole.
		‘at risk’	staff whose posts have been identified as potentially redundant – in other words, the need for that post within the organisation has ceased or diminished or is likely to cease or diminish – will be identified as ‘at risk’ of redundancy. Staff who are ‘at risk’ are not automatically under notice of dismissal until and unless consultation has been concluded and no alternative opportunities have been identified.
CONSULTA-TION The purpose	4.	The purpose of consultation is to provide as early an opportunity as possible for all concerned to share problems and explore options. The Council acknowledges its obligations under the relevant legislation and will take every opportunity to carry out relevant and meaningful consultation via the relevant recognised trade unions with the staff affected by any redundancy exercise, with the intention of stimulating co-operation, reducing uncertainty and providing a forum for discussing alternative ways of tackling the problem. To this end, staff are encouraged to engage with the consultation process and to offer their views in the knowledge that the Council will take them seriously. It must be recognised, however, that when all other measures have been exhausted it may only be possible to achieve reductions through voluntary or compulsory redundancy or the redeployment of staff, or some combination of the two.
timescales	5.	Consultation will take place as soon as it is proposed to make any staff redundant, whether compulsorily or voluntarily. It will take place at the earliest possible opportunity, and certainly before any notices of dismissal are issued, within the following timescales (these consultation periods are the minimum required by statute. Where it is possible to begin consultation in advance of these periods, the Council will do so):
		· where fewer than 10 dismissals are proposed at one establishment, consultation will begin at the earliest opportunity;
		· where 10 or more but fewer than 100 dismissals are proposed at one establishment within a period of 30 days or less, consultation will begin at least 30 days before the first of the dismissals takes effect;
		· where 100 or more dismissals are proposed at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less, consultation will begin at least 90 days before the first of the dismissals takes effect.
consultation with trade unions	6.	As soon as a redundancy situation is anticipated the appropriate trade union will be notified, even if it is believed or known to be the case that none of the employees concerned is a member of a trade union.
	7.	Consultation will take place with a view to reaching agreement with trade union representatives on the issues disclosed by the Council. For the purposes of consultation, and in order that the trade unions may play a constructive part in the consultative process, Council management will disclose in writing reasonably full information (as far as is known at the time) about their proposals for dealing with the redundancy situation, and specifically:
		a) the reason for the proposed redundancy(ies); b) the number and description of employees whose job security may be at risk; c) the total number of employees of such description employed at the establishment and/or sections affected; d) the proposed selection method of employees who may be at risk; e) the proposed method of carrying out any action on staff changes (taking account of this procedure) and the period over which any dismissals will take place; f) the proposed method of calculating the amount of any redundancy pay other than as prescribed by statute.
	8.	During consultation the Council management and the trade union representatives will also consider ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the number of employees to be dismissed and mitigating the consequences of the dismissals.
consultation with employees	9.	The first stage of consultation will involve a meeting of all the employees in the areas likely to be affected, whether or not they are likely to be selected for redundancy. At this meeting, Council management and a representative of HR will give the staff as much information as possible, and trade union representatives will also be encouraged to be present.
	10.	Following this collective meeting, the relevant manager(s) will meet with each member of staff individually, whether or not each is at risk of redundancy. At this meeting each individual’s position will be discussed and clarified.
staff at risk of redundancy	11.	Staff who have been identified as ‘at risk’ of redundancy will be notified at these individual meetings. Their position will be explained to them and a formal letter confirming it will be given to them. However, it must be emphasised that the process of consultation is intended to allow time for discussion of the implications and identification of possible alternative ways to deal with the problem, and only if this process is unsuccessful will formal notice of dismissal be given.
Ways of avoiding redundancies	12.	As part of this redundancy policy, Council management will make every effort to explore ways to avoid or minimise compulsory redundancies. Measures to be considered may include (this list is not exclusive or exhaustive):
voluntary redundancy		· as a first step, volunteers for redundancy will be called for. However, the management reserves the right to decide whether or not to permit an individual to leave on redundancy terms, taking into account the Council’s ongoing need for particular skills and/or experience and the continued efficient running of its services; and therefore volunteers may be in the wrong sort of job, or may work at the wrong place to be treated as redundant. Each application will be considered on its merits;
other alternatives		· reducing or eliminating avoidable overtime where this would create employment opportunities for employees whose jobs are at risk; · reviewing and wherever possible eliminating the use of agency or other temporary staff (for instance, contractors or consultants) where this would create employment opportunities for employees whose jobs are at risk; · seeking applicants for early retirement (where possible) and reviewing the employment of staff over the normal retirement age (as defined by the Local Government Pension Regulations); · temporary secondment of displaced staff on a supernumerary basis if it is foreseen that they could be absorbed into a suitable substantive post within three months; · a ‘moratorium’ on recruitment in the employee categories concerned and in any other area of work where ‘at risk’ employees might be redeployed
SELECTION FOR REDUN-DANCY	13.	Where no or insufficient volunteers come forward and can be accepted, Council management will be obliged to select for redundancy in such a way as to ensure the future viability of the Council’s services.
Posts held on an individual basis	14.	Many posts within the Council are discrete posts, held by one individual on a personal basis. Where such posts are identified as potentially redundant, the ‘pool’ for selection will be restricted to the postholder and no competitive selection will be necessary.
The ‘pool’ for selection	15.	Where there is a need to reduce the number of posts which are similar to each other, a ‘pool’ for selection will be identified which comprises the total number of such posts in the particular section within the Council. The ‘pool’ may also include other sections which are closely related in form and/or function to the section directly affected. For the avoidance of doubt, managers and staff will be included in separate ‘pools’, but it will be open to a manager who is not selected for a managerial role to opt to be included in the lower-graded ‘pool’. However, the fact of having been a manager will not imply automatic selection in the second pool and all candidates will be treated on their merits.
The selection process	16.	A two-stage selection process will then take place, based on selection criteria which will be focussed on the ongoing needs of the service. The relevant trade unions will be consulted on these criteria, which will be made known to the staff affected beforehand. The criteria may include (this list is not exhaustive nor inclusive): · the skills and abilities of the individuals in relation to the needs of the Council and the work available after the redundancy exercise; · absence records (but disregarding maternity-related absence and absence related to a disability in respect of which a reasonable adjustment can be made); · conduct and disciplinary records; · evidence of working relationships with colleagues and management.
stage one	17.	In the first instance, the staff affected will be required to complete a shortened application form, outlining their skills and abilities and how they perceive them to match against the requirements of the jobs available in the new structure.
stage two	18.	Stage two will involve interviews with all the staff affected against the criteria for selection.
	19.	Staff thus selected will be identified as ‘at risk’ of redundancy.
REDEPLOY-MENT	20.	The Council is required by statute, and committed in the interests of staff welfare, to investigating opportunities for suitable alternative employment within the organisation for staff who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy. Where redundancies are proposed, the Council’s policy on redeployment will come into force and staff identified as ‘at risk’ will become entitled to consideration for redeployment with ‘priority two’.
NOTICE OF DISMISSAL	21.	Notice of dismissal by reason of redundancy will be issued to the staff affected only when: · staff ‘at risk’ of redundancy have been identified and/or selected; · the consultation period has elapsed and has failed to affect the proposed outcome; and · efforts to redeploy have been unsuccessful. Such notice will comprise their statutory or contractual notice of dismissal, whichever is the longer.
ENTITLEMENT TO REDUNDANCY PAY	22.	Under the provisions of the relevant legislation, only employees with two or more years’ continuous service will qualify for a redundancy payment.
continuous service	23.	For the purposes of redundancy payment calculation, ‘continuous service’ means employment which is not broken by: · a period of non-employment; and/or · employment with another employer, unless that employer is another local government organisation or an employer listed in the Redundancy Payments (Local Government) (Modification) Orders 1993 (as amended). Staff who are unsure whether a break in service has occurred should consult HR at the earliest opportunity.
calculation of redundancy pay	24.	The amount of any redundancy payment is based on an employee’s: · age at the date of dismissal; · length of continuous service; · average weekly pay over the six weeks immediately preceding the date of dismissal. The employee’s payment will be calculated using his or her actual weekly pay; in other words, it will not be limited by the statutory maximum for a week’s pay.
	25.	In addition, staff aged over 50 who have been members of the Local Government Pension Scheme for at least two years will become entitled to immediate payment of unreduced benefits. Full details are available from the pensions section, and this benefit may change according to the Scheme regulations in force at the time.
final payment	26.	At the date of leaving, employees will receive a payment comprising: · the redundancy payment calculated as above (this payment will be made without deductions for tax and National Insurance unless and until it exceeds £30,000); · an amount equivalent to the annual leave the employee has accrued but not taken during the period up to the last day of employment.
re-engagement after redundancy	27.	An employee who is dismissed by reason of redundancy may under certain circumstances return to work at the Council after dismissal. During the first two years following his or her redundancy, the following requirements must be satisfied before such re-engagement (whether as an employee or as a non-employed worker such as a consultant) can be confirmed: any return to an employed post must be via the normal process of competitive selection; the return must not be to the same or a closely related post, as this would call into question the original decision to declare the post redundant (HR will be happy to advise on this issue if managers are in doubt); the employee must take up his or her new post (if s/he is to be employed) more than four weeks after the date of dismissal for redundancy, or s/he will forfeit the original redundancy payment; an offer of engagement to a former employee who has been dismissed by reason of redundancy must not be made until the following issues have been formally considered and the decision approved by the Head of Human Resources: o reasons why the post cannot be filled by other means; o the individual’s former post and rate of pay; o any financial benefits which s/he has received by reason of redundancy (including compensation, ongoing pension and redundancy payment); o the circumstances under which s/he is to be re-employed; o the post to which s/he is to be re-employed. For the avoidance of doubt, an employee who applies for a post after his or her dismissal will no longer qualify for priority status.
repayment of relocation or other allowances, loans etc.	28.	If on the date of dismissal an employee who is dismissed by reason of redundancy owes an amount of money to the Council for, for example: · relocation allowance (where the elapsed time since the relocation entitles the Council to require repayment of all or a portion of the allowance); · the unrepaid element of a car or other loan; · training (where repayment of all or a part of the amount of funding is required because of the length of time the employee has served since the training was completed); the Council may exercise its discretion not to require full repayment if the individual is made compulsorily redundant (i.e. where the reason for leaving is outside the employee’s control). In other circumstances repayment of the full amount will be required.
mergers with other organisations	29.	During a time of organisational change where mergers are proposed with other public service bodies – for example, NHS trusts – it is possible that duplication of posts will lead to redundancy situations. In these circumstances, a process of cross-matching will take place between the posts in the two organisations, as follows: · where two posts are identical or very similar when considered as a whole, the two individuals currently holding the posts will be considered to be ‘at risk’. A ‘pool’ for selection will be identified which comprises only these two, who will then go through the selection process as outlined in paragraphs 16 to 18; · where the newly-merged organisation does not require particular posts held in one or other of the former organisations, those individuals will be immediately declared ‘at risk’; · where two groups of staff carrying out similar duties exist in both organisations, the newly merged body will decide on its requirements for such staff; if this number is lower than the staff in the two groups, all those involved will be designated ‘at risk’ and will go through the selection process as outlined in paragraphs 16 to 18. Thus the ‘pool’ for selection will comprise only those staff designated ‘at risk’. Council employees who are ‘at risk’ will be entitled to consideration for redeployment with ‘priority two’ under the terms of the Council’s redeployment policy.
APPEAL	30.	Employees selected for compulsory redundancy have the right of appeal at two points in this procedure: · against their selection; · against dismissal (see paragraph 3). Appeals must be made according to the Council’s appeals procedure.
reasons for appeal against selection	31.	Appeal against selection for redundancy can be made only on the following grounds: · that the decision to select was perverse (in other words, that no reasonable employer would have selected the employee, given the selection criteria); · that the decision to select was unfair (in other words, that the selection criteria actually pointed to other employees and not to the appellant); · that the decision to select was unreasonable (in other words, that the appellant believes that the selection was made on other grounds than the criteria).
levels of appeal	32.	Appeal against selection may be made only to the manager at the next level above the manager who made the selection. S/he will review the selection criteria and the way the manager has applied them in the context of the whole ‘pool’ and give a decision on whether to confirm or change the manager’s decision. This manager’s decision is final.
appeal against dismissal	33.	Appeal against dismissal can only be made when the selection and consultation processes have run their course and the decision to dismiss has been confirmed to the employee.
	34.	Appeal against dismissal will follow the same procedure as that set out in the Council’s disciplinary and capability procedures.

APPENDIX 2

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL

REDEPLOYMENT

THE POLICY	1.	Throughout the Council individuals may from time to time be identified who for specific reasons have a right to be considered for redeployment within the organisation. Such individuals will have the benefit of the protection and special arrangements set out in this document.
SCOPE	2.	This policy applies only to employees of the Isle of Wight Council. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘employees’ are individuals who have a contract of employment with the Authority or some other working arrangement which either by custom and practice or by normal legal definitions can be regarded as ‘employment’. It does not apply to casual workers, agency staff, contractors or any other workers who fall outside the definition above; nor to teachers and firefighters, who have their own specific arrangements.
What is redeployment?	3.	‘Redeployment’ has a very specific meaning in relation to the Council’s people management policies and procedures. For the purposes of this document, the meaning is: the process of placing or attempting to place employees in alternative posts when they can no longer, for very specific reasons, continue to work in their own. The reasons are set out in this policy document.
What is not redeployment?	4.	The Council has a very substantial workforce and individuals move between posts on a regular basis for various reasons: for example, to gain different experience, or to work in a different location, or perhaps because they find their work uncongenial and seek a change. Whatever the reason, individuals can choose whether to apply for alternative posts through the normal process of fair and open competition.
	5.	From time to time, however, individuals ask for a ‘transfer’. For the avoidance of doubt, it is not the Council’s policy to move individuals from one post to another without going through a competitive selection procedure unless there are exceptional circumstances; in which case the redeployment arrangements set out in this policy would normally apply.
	6.	Individuals also occasionally ask for redeployment because they have a difficulty in their current workplace, normally involving a disagreement with their manager or colleagues. Once again, this does not qualify the individual for redeployment other than in the rare circumstances where the only solution to a difficulty involves moving one or other of the parties to another post. This situation is discussed in paragraphs 54-59 below. The Council has a policy on harassment and bullying in the workplace, which individuals should consult if they have a difficulty with their work colleagues.
Who is eligible?	7.	Employees who are eligible for redeployment have the benefit of ‘priority status’ in relation to alternative posts. For this reason, the categories of such staff are limited to the following (in order of priority):
		priority 1	individuals who by reason of a disability can no longer work in their original job;
		priority 2	individuals who are at risk of redundancy;
		priority 3	individuals who by reason of ill-health can no longer work in their original job;
		priority 4	individuals who, following a formal investigation, are found to be involved in a situation of harassment or bullying and a reasonable solution is to move him or her to an alternative post.
precedence	8.	In the rare situations where a number of individuals who all have priority status apply for a particular post, ‘priority 1’ employees would take precedence over ‘priority 2’ and so on. In other situations, the fact of falling into one of the priority categories would be sufficient to give an individual precedence over non-priority applicants. Individuals with priority status 1 and 2 have an automatic right to first consideration for suitable alternative posts (provided that they satisfy the essential criteria for the post), whether the vacancy has been advertised or not. Those with priority status 3 and 4 should be actively and positively considered for such posts.
Who is not eligible?	9.	As discussed above, the following staff are not eligible for priority status in relation to redeployment: a) staff who would like a change of job but are not successful in applying for alternatives; b) staff who would like to move location (other than for health-related reasons); c) staff who do not get on with their manager or colleagues and there is no evidence of inappropriate behaviour on either side; d) staff who have been through the capability procedure and whose managers consider that they might be able to carry out an alternative job satisfactorily (here, any move to another post must be done via the normal process of fair and open competition); e) any other staff who do not fall into any of the priority categories listed above.
BASIC PRINCIPLES	10.	While different procedures may apply to the different priority areas, a number of basic principles apply in all redeployment situations. They are set out below.
obligations on all parties	11.	It is important to emphasise that, while the Authority will make every effort to assist employees who are entitled to be considered for redeployment, all participants in the process are expected to participate positively: Ø the employees themselves are expected actively to engage in the process, by: o making efforts to identify suitable posts, for example by consulting the weekly vacancy sheets (which will be sent to home if the individual is absent on a long-term basis); o attending appointments with Occupational Health advisers or other medical practitioners if required; o keeping in touch with their managers, particularly if they are absent on sick leave; o undertaking appropriate training, where this is considered necessary; Ø managers are required: o to be flexible when considering possible changes to jobs, locations and so on; o to monitor and review on a regular basis employees who are redeployed to their sections, offer constructive feedback and training and make a judgement as to the suitability of the individual for the post; Ø Heads of Service are expected proactively to: o circulate details of employees who need redeployment (see paragraph 22), ensuring that careful consideration is given to individuals from all parts of the organisation; o encourage their managers to consider such individuals for any vacant or potentially vacant posts; Ø schools: while this policy does not automatically apply to schools, they are expected to give positive consideration to applicants for redeployment where at all possible.
	12.	For the avoidance of doubt, the term ‘Heads of Service’ throughout this policy document should be taken to include those within the Fire & Rescue and Children’s Services Directorates (including managers/head teachers in schools).
consultation	13.	The employee must be informed and consulted over the whole process of redeployment. The first stage will involve a meeting at an early stage between the employee, his/her manager and the relevant HR Officer, where as a minimum the following should be discussed: Ø the process of redeployment; Ø the individual’s obligations during the process; Ø the opportunities available and the method of identifying them; Ø the period during which redeployment will be actively pursued, and the outcome if it is unsuccessful. For the avoidance of doubt, the pursuit of redeployment opportunities – for all levels of priority – will normally continue for a maximum of three months, unless there are exceptional circumstances which make it appropriate to continue beyond this time; Ø (priority 1 and 3 only) the medical practitioner’s recommendation; Ø (priority 1 only) any proposed adjustments, to ensure that they are appropriate.
grading issues promoted posts	14.	For the avoidance of doubt, the right to redeployment relates only to posts at the same or a lower grade than that currently held by the employee. There is no right to redeployment to a higher grade; employees who wish to be considered for such posts must apply through the normal process of competitive selection. In most cases, redeployment involves a move to a post at the same grade as the employee, and that is the objective of all redeployment efforts.
lower graded posts	15.	If no suitable alternative post becomes available, it is open to the employee to accept redeployment into a post which, while suitable in terms of duties and responsibilities, is graded lower than the post s/he currently holds.
priority one	16.	Employees designated priority one may be offered a lower-graded post than the one they currently hold, if this is part of a ‘reasonable adjustment’ to their working arrangements: for example, if an employee, by reason of his/her disability, is unable to carry out all the duties of his/her post, consideration might be given to removing some of the duties of the post and downgrading it to make it possible for the employee to continue working. Pay will not be protected.
priority two: ‘mark time’ arrangements	17.	In the circumstances outlined above, employees designated priority two only will have their salary and grading protected for a maximum of three years (or until they voluntarily move to an alternative post, whichever is the sooner). During this time, their salary will be frozen on a ‘mark time’ basis: that is to say, for the period of protection (three years) they will retain their salary as it was at the date of redeployment, but neither ‘cost of living’ increases nor incremental progression will apply until and unless the salary of the new job catches up with the protected salary. At the end of the protected period, the salary will revert to the pay level appropriate for that post. In these circumstances, the redeployee’s originating department will be required to reimburse the new department for the difference between the salary for the post and the protected salary.
priority three and four	18.	Employees designated priority three and four may accept a lower-graded post if they choose (for example, if a post at their own grade does not become available during the redeployment period); other than in exceptional circumstances, in these cases their pay and grading will not be protected and they will move to the pay for the post at the date of redeployment (but see paragraph 56). Downgrading may be seen as a sanction in certain circumstances related to complaints of harassment or bullying (see paragraphs 54-59).
car user and other allowances	19.	‘Essential’ and ‘casual’ car user allowances relate solely to the post held by an individual, rather than to the individual him/herself. If s/he is redeployed to a post which does not attract the same allowance as his or her former post, the allowance applicable to the new post will apply from the date s/he takes up duty in it. In the same way, an employee who had a Council-issued mobile phone in his/her former job is not entitled to retain it unless the new post justifies it.
representation	20.	At any meetings in relation to redeployment the employee may if s/he wishes be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.
identifying the employee’s skills and abilities	21.	In all cases, where an employee requires redeployment, the relevant HR Officer or Occupational Health nurse (if appropriate) will meet with him or her and draw up an outline of his or her abilities, skills and background, as well as any limitations which apply (see Appendix A for an outline of the areas to be covered). The HR Officer will then make contact with all Heads of Service, outlining the individual’s situation and asking for help in identifying potentially suitable posts.
	22.	Heads of Service will circulate the individual’s details to all their section heads, managers and team leaders, with the instruction that they are actively to consider whether s/he could fill any actual or forthcoming vacancies. If there is a positive response, the Head of Service should then contact the relevant HR Officer to discuss the next steps.
	23.	Where a potentially suitable vacancy is identified, either by the employee or the HR Officer, or where it is known that one will shortly occur, the employee and the HR Officer will discuss the post. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘suitable’ means employment: · which the individual is physically able to carry out; · for which s/he has appropriate skills, experience and/or qualifications (or can obtain them with a relatively small amount of training); and · whose pay level is appropriate to the individual.
interview	24.	If, after discussion (and consultation with the OH adviser if necessary to establish whether the post is appropriate, in cases of disability or ill-health), the post appears potentially suitable, an interview will be set up with the relevant manager to discuss the detail of the job. The employee will not be required to complete a formal application form, but the initial assessment form will be available to the manager. At the interview the employee may if s/he wishes be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative. If the interview is unsuccessful, the manager should offer feedback to the employee and to the relevant HR Officer, to ensure that the decision not to select was made on reasonable grounds.
trial/ rehabilitation period	25.	It is often easy to forget that when an individual has been absent from the workplace for a long period of time, particularly on sick leave, it can be very difficult to return to work. Managers should be sympathetic to this and make arrangements, in consultation with the individual and, where appropriate, an Occupational Health adviser, to put in place appropriate arrangements to help him or her get back into the discipline of work. A variety of possible ways to do this can be considered, including for example: Ø a ‘phased return’ to work: here, instead of returning immediately to full-time work, the individual returns on a part-time basis, slowly working up to full-time (or whatever are his or her normal working hours) over a period of time. This period would normally be approximately six weeks, but could be longer or shorter according to the needs of the individual and the circumstances of the case; Ø a return to part-time working on a permanent basis.
	26.	Whatever arrangements are agreed, however, regular review meetings between manager and employee are essential: very frequently when the employee first returns, slowly tapering off as s/he becomes ‘acclimatised’. At these meetings, all aspects of the individual’s return should be discussed: the employee must ensure that if s/he has concerns, they are raised immediately to enable the manager to deal with them, and the manager must listen constructively, be sympathetic to the employee’s needs and make every attempt to resolve any difficulty s/he may be experiencing, with the objective of achieving a smooth return. Other team members must also be kept informed, to ensure that they do not place additional demands on the individual.
	27.	For the avoidance of doubt, the three-month redeployment period covers the time during which efforts are made to find suitable alternative employment for the individual. It does not include the trial period. For example, if redeployment opportunities have been sought for an employee with a health problem and a potentially suitable post is identified after two months, the individual is offered the post on a trial basis and the post proves unsuitable after a month’s trial, it would be reasonable to continue redeployment efforts for a further month before bringing it to an end.
pay during rehabilitation period	28.	The fundamental principle of pay during a rehabilitation period is that the employee should not be worse off than if s/he had remained off sick. Thus: Ø if an employee has exhausted sick pay and returns to work on a ‘phased’ or part-time basis, his/her pay will reflect the actual hours s/he works; Ø if s/he has moved from sick pay at full rate to sick pay at half pay rate, s/he will remain on that rate of pay unless and until the hours s/he works exceed ‘half time’ (unless it is agreed that s/he will return to work part-time on permanently fewer hours); Ø if s/he is still absent on full pay, s/he will remain on that rate of pay during the rehabilitation period (unless and until it is agreed that s/he will return to work part-time permanently). The above arrangements apply during the rehabilitation period, the length of which must be agreed before the employee’s return to work (in other words, the arrangements will not be permitted to continue indefinitely). If the period expires without a successful return to full-time or other permanent hours, the employee’s pay may change to recognise the hours worked.
termination of employment	29.	If all attempts to redeploy an employee are unsuccessful – whatever his/her priority status – s/he will be given notice of termination of employment (following the normal dismissal procedure), and efforts to redeploy will continue during the notice period. S/he will have the opportunity to appeal against this decision. Under these circumstances the normal appeal procedure will apply: Ø the employee must write (or if this is not possible because of a disability, must speak personally) to the Head of Human Resources within ten working days of the decision to dismiss him or her, stating that s/he wishes to appeal against that decision and outlining the reason(s) for the appeal; Ø the Head of HR will set up an appeal hearing according to the normal procedure and remind the employee of his/her right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative; Ø the appeal hearing will be held as soon as possible and the panel’s decision will be final.

PRIORITY 1: disability	30.	Employees who by reason of a disability can no longer work in their substantive post have the right to be considered for redeployment with ‘priority one’ status. For the purposes of this policy, the definition of ‘disability’ is that set out in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended): ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [the individual’s] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. In practice, however, the Authority will always consult with an appropriate health practitioner to establish whether an employee’s health problem constitutes a disability.
	31.	When it becomes clear that an individual is experiencing difficulty in carrying out his or her normal work, or has taken substantial amounts of sickness absence, he or she will be referred to the Occupational Health adviser for assessment. If the OH practitioner and/or the individual’s own GP determine that his or her condition constitutes a disability which prevents him or her carrying out the job, or severely restricts his or her ability to do so, appropriate steps will be taken to make a reasonable adjustment to the individual’s current work, or to find suitable alternative employment, to enable him or her to remain in work.
Making a reasonable adjustment	32.	In the first instance, the HR officer who has been dealing with the individual’s case, or alternatively the Authority’s Occupational Health nurse, will consult with the employee’s manager to consider whether reasonable changes can be made to the work or the workplace which will enable him or her to continue his or her current job. Such changes are not expected to change the nature of the job completely, but could include such things as relocating the individual to another office, purchasing specialist software, making changes to the job content and so on. Grants for such changes can sometimes be accessed via the Department for Work and Pensions; in these circumstances advice should be obtained from the HR department.
	33.	Any changes to the job must be ‘reasonable’ in two ways: Ø in terms of the resources of the Authority: for example, it would be reasonable to purchase a special chair worth £200, while it would not be reasonable to expect an employer to commit itself to putting a lift into a building at a cost of £20,000; Ø in terms of the job itself, when the individual can literally no longer do the job in any reasonable way: for example, a receptionist who develops a mental impairment which makes it impossible for him or her to deal with people face to face could clearly no longer continue in that role. In these circumstances it will be necessary to consider finding alternative employment for him or her.
Finding alternative employment	34.	It must be emphasised that the Authority cannot commit itself to creating a new job specifically for a disabled employee. However, the employee does have priority where: Ø a vacancy exists, or can be foreseen; and Ø s/he has a reasonable likelihood – given his/her skills and experience, and after appropriate training where necessary – of being able to carry out the duties involved (it may be necessary to consider making reasonable adjustments to the alternative post); and Ø the Occupational Health adviser or other medical practitioner indicates that redeployment is recommended.
trial period	35.	If it is agreed that the work is suitable or potentially suitable, the employee will take up a formal trial period in it. The purpose of this trial period will be to establish whether the individual is physically or mentally able to carry out the duties of the job, whether any reasonable adjustment is necessary, whether s/he enjoys it and gets on with his/her colleagues and so on.
	36.	Before the employee starts the trial period in the new job, the manager (in consultation with specialists such as the health & safety manager and/or the OH adviser) will carry out a risk assessment and ensure that any necessary adjustments are made.
	37.	The length of the trial period will depend on circumstances, but will normally not exceed three months. During this time, the individual’s ability to carry out the new duties will be carefully monitored and assessed by his/her manager, and regular review meetings will be held with the individual and with the HR Officer and/or OH adviser if appropriate. Any reasonable additional training or support which may become necessary will be arranged as soon as possible.
successful trial period	38.	Where all goes well during the trial period, the manager, in consultation with the employee, HR Officer and OH adviser, will confirm that the employee formally transfers to his/her new post. Formal confirmation will be given from HR.
unsuccessful trial period	39.	If the trial period is not successful – and the individual must be given sufficient time, support and training to give him/her the opportunity to demonstrate whether s/he can do the job within a reasonable timescale – consideration will be given to whether alternative employment opportunities exist, or whether realistically it is not possible to maintain the person in employment. These issues will be discussed at a ‘case conference’ meeting between HR, Occupational Health, the individual’s manager and any other individuals who have been involved in the process.
termination of employment	40.	This is the stage of last resort, and will only be considered when the above stages have been carried out and no other reasonable options are available. There are two issues for consideration: Ø dismissal by reason of capability; Ø early retirement on the grounds of ill-health. ‘Early retirement’ and ‘dismissal’ are two separate things and are explained below.
	41.	Ø Dismissal on capability grounds takes place when, by reason of ill-health, an employee cannot carry out the duties of his or her normal job, no suitable alternative job can be found within the organisation and the only realistic alternative is that the individual should leave the employment of the Authority. This is a management decision, taken in the light of available medical advice; Ø ‘early retirement’ – in other words, the early release of pension benefits – may or may not come into effect at the time of dismissal, but this is not an issue which affects the decision to dismiss. The Council as an employer does not have control over the decision to grant early release of benefits on the grounds of ill-health: the Regulations which govern the Local Government Pension Scheme require that decision to be taken by medical professionals and the Authority does not have the expertise or the authority to over-ride it.
early retirement	42.	If, therefore, termination of employment seems the only possible outcome, the Occupational Health service will be asked to consider whether the employee qualifies for early retirement. If the answer is ‘yes’, this will take place at the earliest possible opportunity. Under these circumstances, the retirement is treated as a ‘dismissal’.
	43.	If the Occupational Health service cannot confirm that the employee will qualify for early release of pension benefits, he or she will be dismissed on capability grounds with the appropriate notice period. In most cases s/he will not be required to serve his/her notice period and will receive a payment in lieu; however, if the employee prefers, s/he can remain employed for the duration of the notice period and efforts will continue to find him/her alternative employment during that time.

PRIORITY 2: redundancy	44.	Employees who by reason of redundancy can no longer work in their substantive post have the right to redeployment with ‘priority two’ status.
	45.	When an employee is identified as being ‘at risk’ of redundancy (see the Council’s redundancy policy for more information on this), his or her status will be formally notified to him/her. At that point s/he becomes entitled to the same preferential consideration as ‘priority one’ individuals, with certain important differences: for example, there is no requirement to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace, and the trial period is substantially shorter.
	46.	If a post is identified which is considered suitable, and the employee without good reason refuses to apply for it, or on being offered it, refuses to try it out, s/he will cease to qualify for preferential redeployment arrangements and will be dismissed with appropriate notice. Under these circumstances the employee will not qualify for a redundancy payment.
	47.	If it is agreed that the new post can be defined as ‘suitable (or potentially suitable) alternative employment’ and the employee is successful at interview, s/he will take up a formal trial period to establish whether s/he is able to perform the duties of the post to an acceptable standard. Under these circumstances, the following will apply:
		a) s/he will serve a ‘trial period’ of four weeks in the new post. The length of the trial period can be extended by agreement (particularly if there is a need for more training); if the employee has a period of absence during that time, the trial period will normally be extended by a period equivalent to the length of the absence; b) during the trial period the employee’s performance in the job will be assessed and appropriate advice and guidance will be offered to help him/her to carry out the duties of the post to the best of his/her ability; c) if at the end of the trial period the manager confirms that the employee’s performance has reached a satisfactory standard s/he will be confirmed in post. If there is a salary differential between the new job and the old, the individual will remain on his or her substantive salary until s/he is confirmed in post, at which time s/he will move to the salary for the job; d) if at the end of the trial period the employee considers that s/he does not wish to continue in the job, s/he may say so. If his/her reason for turning down the job is considered reasonable, efforts to redeploy him/her will continue in the normal way. If the reason is not considered reasonable, s/he will be dismissed with appropriate notice and will not qualify for a redundancy payment; e) if at the end of the trial period the manager considers that the employee has not achieved an acceptable standard of work in the new post, s/he will be notified and efforts to redeploy will continue until the end of the three-month redeployment period. If such efforts are unsuccessful, his/her employment will terminate by reason of redundancy with the appropriate notice.

PRIORITY 3: ill-health	48.	Employees who by reason of ill-health can no longer work in their substantive post have the right to redeployment with ‘priority three’ status.
	49.	When an employee is having difficulty carrying out the duties of his or her job because of ill-health (see the Council’s absence management policy for more information on this), s/he will be referred to an Occupational Health adviser for an opinion on his or her ability to continue in his/her post; and on whether s/he qualifies as ‘disabled’ under the relevant legislation. If s/he is considered to be disabled, s/he will benefit from the arrangements applicable to ‘priority one’ individuals, as set out in this policy. If, however, the OH adviser recommends that the employee is not disabled but might be able to give good service in a different post, s/he becomes entitled to ‘priority three’ status.
	50.	This status entitles the employee to certain preferential arrangements, but there is no obligation on the Authority’s part to make a reasonable adjustment to the workplace (other than minor changes which might make a difference to the employee’s ability to do his or her job: for example, agreeing a different start or finish time or moving a desk).
	51.	The process of trying to identify alternative posts will continue until either a suitable post is identified for the individual or the redeployment period has expired. If a suitable post does become available and the individual returns to work in it after a long period of absence, a trial period will be appropriate.
trial period	52.	If a potentially suitable post is identified, the employee will have an interview with the manager in the normal way and medical advice will be sought from Occupational Health and/or the employee’s GP or other specialist to confirm that the post is appropriate. The employee will then take up a formal trial period in it to establish whether s/he is able to perform the duties of the post to an acceptable standard. Under these circumstances, the following will apply:
		a) s/he will serve a ‘trial period’ in the new post. The length of the trial period must be agreed beforehand and any other issues – for example, the need for training – discussed (it is recommended that the trial period be in the region of four to six weeks, and if the employee has a period of absence during that time, the trial period will normally be extended by a period equivalent to the length of the absence); b) during the trial period the employee’s performance in the job will be assessed and appropriate advice and guidance will be offered to help him/her to carry out the duties of the post to the best of his/her ability; c) if at the end of the trial period the manager confirms that the employee’s performance has reached a satisfactory standard s/he will be confirmed in post. If there is a salary differential between the new job and the old, the individual will remain on his or her substantive salary until s/he is confirmed in post, at which time s/he will move to the salary for the job; d) if at the end of the trial period the employee considers that s/he does not wish to continue in the job, s/he may say so. If his/her reason for turning down the job is considered reasonable, efforts to redeploy him/her will continue in the normal way. If the reason is not considered reasonable, s/he will be dismissed with appropriate notice on the grounds of capability; e) if at the end of the trial period the manager considers that the employee has not achieved an acceptable standard of work in the new post despite appropriate training, s/he will be notified and efforts to redeploy will continue until the end of the three-month redeployment period. If such efforts are unsuccessful, his/her employment will terminate by reason of capability with the appropriate notice.
	53.	If at the end of the redeployment period no suitable post has been identified, the individual will be given notice of termination by reason of capability, on the grounds that because of his/her ill-health s/he is no longer able to carry out the duties of his/her job, and efforts to identify a suitable alternative job which s/he can physically do and for which s/he has the skills and experience have been unsuccessful.

PRIORITY 4	54.	Employees who have the right to redeployment with ‘priority four’ status are those who, following a formal investigation, are found to be involved in a situation of harassment or bullying; where dismissal of one or other party is not appropriate and where a reasonable solution is considered to be to move one or other party to an alternative post.
	55.	These situations are always extremely delicate: feelings invariably run very high on both sides, and it is not unreasonable to use redeployment as a useful ‘tool’ to help facilitate as early a return as possible to normal working. However, managers must consider this as an outcome of last resort, and must consult HR before proposing it. It must be made absolutely clear that such a proposal is in no way a judgement on either party, and both must be consulted carefully if it is considered.
	56	While each situation is likely to be different according to the circumstances of the case, a basic ‘rule of thumb’ in relation to redeployment is that, while downgrading may be seen as an appropriate sanction where harassment or bullying is found to have taken place, the recipient of such behaviour will not suffer a detriment if redeployment takes place.
confidentiality	57	Confidentiality is of paramount importance in such situations. Only the absolute minimum of people must know the reason for the redeployment, on a ‘need to know’ basis: thus, the parties to the dispute and their manager(s), the relevant HR officer or manager involved in the matter and the relevant trade union representative would clearly know the detail, but even the manager to whose team the redeployed employee is transferred need only know the outline of the situation.
	58	In other respects, however, the process of redeployment will follow the steps outlined in this procedure: the individual will discuss his/her skills and abilities with the relevant HR officer/manager (see Appendix A), Heads of Section will be asked to encourage their managers to identify appropriate posts, an interview will be arranged with the appropriate manager and a trial period will be set up for the employee in the new team.
	59	If such a trial period is unsuccessful, further careful consultation will have to take place, and any solution will be the outcome of discussions which are likely to be unique to each set of circumstances.

APPENDIX A: SKILLS ASSESSMENT

NAME
CURRENT POST
REASON FOR REDEPLOYMENT	PRIORITY 1: disability	PRIORITY 2: redundancy		PRIORITY 3: ill-health		PRIORITY 4: special circumstances
QUALIFI-CATIONS	NAME OF QUALIFICATION				LEVEL/GRADE		DATE ACHIEVED
WORK EXPERIENCE	EMPLOYER		JOB TITLE				DATES FROM/TO
OTHER SKILLS and how you obtained them
WORKPLACE RESTRIC-TIONS (HR/OH to complete)

SIGNED (HR/OH)	SIGNED (employee)
DATE (start of redeployment period)

APPENDIX 3

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL

ELECTRONIC

COMMUNICATIONS

POLICY

CONTENTS:

		page
1.	Email ‘acceptable use’	2
2.	Internet ‘acceptable use’	14
3.	Appendix A: ‘mass mailings’ policy statement	20
4.	Appendix B: guidelines for email use	21
5.	Appendix C: mobile phone use	24
6.	Appendix D: flowchart for investigations of email or Internet abuse	29

		EMAIL: ACCEPTABLE USE
INTRODUCTION	1.1	The Isle of Wight Council (‘the Council’) makes extensive use of electronic mail (‘email’) both within the organisation and with external organisations using the Internet email system.
	1.2	The Council commits considerable resources to providing this system, including telecommunications, networking, security, software and support and significant costs. However, serious risks can arise if the facility is not used correctly.
	1.3	This section outlines the conditions under which the Council email systems may be used and the sanctions for inappropriate use.
SCOPE	1.4	This policy applies to all users of the Council’s email services including, but not limited to, employees, workers and elected members.
	1.5	The policy applies equally to basic email messages and to any attachments sent with messages. For the avoidance of doubt, the term ‘email’ is used to refer to both basic messages and any attachments and other associated files throughout this document.
PROVISION OF SERVICE	1.6	The Council will where reasonably practicable provide email services to all staff who have signed the ‘user agreement’ (see paragraph 1.59).
withdrawal of the facility	1.7	The Council reserves the right to withdraw this facility in the following circumstances: · in the event that the facility becomes uneconomic; and/or · at the reasonable request of service managers; and/or · if the service is being abused or the manager has the reasonable belief that it is being abused or is likely to be abused or the user is in contravention of this policy.
THE USE OF EMAIL	1.8	Email users are responsible for the content of all text, audio and images that they send over the Council's email systems. Users must be aware of and alert to the danger of informal working practices and use the email system accordingly.
	1.9	Users using the email system to access Internet newsgroups and other Internet services must ensure that they comply fully with the requirements of the Council's ‘Internet/Intranet Acceptable Use’ policy which covers the use of these services.
disclosure	1.10	As email messages may have to be disclosed in litigation or as part of internal Council procedures, users should ask themselves before sending an email message how they would feel if it were made public.
legal status of email	1.11	An email message may be treated as a publication for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 or the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and therefore the Council may be required to disclose this information if it is requested unless an exemption applies. Users must therefore note that unless the information is exempt the contents of emails should be suitable for disclosure to a third party. An email may also be treated as a publication under alternative legal requirements, such as defamation or restrictions on copyright. Users should therefore employ the same scrutiny to emails as to letters, faxes and similar communications to ensure that no offending material is transmitted. An automatic digital signature is attached to all external emails, making these points.
data protection	1.12	Data within emails may constitute personal data, and as such will be subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (such as subject access requests, etc). Users must ensure that they are aware of the Isle of Wight Council’s Data Protection policy and understand its provisions in order to ensure compliance with the act. This policy is available on the intranet under the ‘Library’ section, or from the Data Protection Officer at Legal and Democratic Services, County Hall, Newport.
e-government	1.13	The printing of email messages is largely unnecessary (though it may not feel so initially). Users should be aware of the Council’s commitment to ‘e-government’ and where practicable deal with all correspondence electronically, including on-line filing of any messages they wish to retain.
AUTOMATIC ARCHIVING	1.14	All emails sent to or from external recipients are archived after a period of time by corporate ICT, using an automated ‘point of entry/exit’ system (see paragraph 1.22 for information about archiving your normal day-to-day emails). Access to this archive is restricted to authorised personnel.
retention	1.15	Archived messages will be retained for a period of time as stated within the Council’s corporate retention policy and automatically deleted after this period. Staff should be aware that archived emails are still information held by the Council and thus could be accessible under Freedom of Information or Data Protection legislation (see paragraph 1.11).
requests for archived material	1.16	Requests for retained archived emails of which the enquirer is not the recipient or sender should be made to the Data Protection Officer (Head of Legal Services), who will consider them according to the Council Data Protection policy.
GOOD PRACTICE	1.17	The cost of an email message to the Council is a fraction of the cost of an internal memo on paper or of any other form of communication, particularly when sent to multiple recipients. The use of email is also quicker than the use of the postal system.
	1.18	The Council therefore recommends the use of email wherever possible for any written communication. In a limited number of cases email may be inappropriate for one of the following reasons, and in these cases other forms of communication may be more appropriate: · where there might be a contractual or other legal need to prove the identity of the sender, or to demonstrate the receipt of the message. If service is required as a legal process, users are required to ensure prior to sending that the recipient will accept service by way of email; · if the sender is aware that for operational reasons the recipient will not receive the email.
staffing matters	1.19	Users should ensure that messages relating to staffing matters – for example, issues relating to performance, discipline, grading etc. – are marked with the ‘confidential’ flag and archived as soon as they have been actioned.
‘tone’ of email messages	1.20	The informal nature of e-mail means that it is easy to cause offence (see also paragraph 1.29). Users must therefore ensure that: · the tone of the message is clear - irony and humour for example may not be clear to the recipient unless it is someone whom the sender knows well; · the tone is respectful to recipients, irrespective of their role and status; · particular care is taken with remarks that are, or might appear to be, critical of the recipient or another person – these can come across as much stronger than intended and might in some instances be considered defamatory; · the originator of a message has no objection to it being forwarded before passing it on to a third party.
‘housekeeping’	1.21	Every e-mail message uses system resources, and while the drain on the system of an unnecessary message might be slight, the cumulative effect of such behaviour by several thousand users can seriously degrade system performance.
	1.22	Users should therefore contribute to effective performance by carrying out the following regular ‘housekeeping’ exercises: · deleting messages which do not need to be saved; · deleting saved messages which no longer need to be saved; · deleting messages from the 'sent mail' and ‘deleted items’ folders on a regular basis; · regularly archiving messages which may need to be kept (the ‘archive’ facility on individual PCs is outside the normal system capacity limits); · suspending receipt of messages from mailing lists if they will not be read, for example during holidays; · setting up automated ‘out of office reply’ messages to minimise repeated messages during absence; · not sending unnecessary copies of messages; · replying only to the original sender of a message, irrespective of the number of initial recipients, unless everyone needs to receive the reply; · not using the email system for personal adverts and similar purposes (the bulletin boards on the Council's Intranet provide the mechanism for such messages); · not forwarding ‘virus’ warnings (they may well be hoaxes, and in any event corporate ICT has the responsibility and the capacity to identify and deal with them). See also Appendix B for further guidelines on managing emails.
	1.23	Users should check their e-mail on a daily basis. Where this is not possible, the system should be configured to send an automatic warning message to advise the original message sender when the message will be attended to.
automatic forwarding	1.24	It is possible for any user to arrange automatic forwarding of their mail to another email address, either inside or outside the organisation; guidance may be obtained from the ICT Helpdesk on (82)3500.
attachments	1.25	When sending messages with large attachments it is advised that the sender determines the best file type to be used for the attachment. This can help dramatically to reduce the size of the attachment and therefore the resources being used. If you require assistance with this, please contact the ICT Helpdesk.
PERSONAL USE OF EMAIL	1.26	The Council's e-mail facility is intended to support the organisation's legitimate business requirements. However, in practice, limited use of the internal and Internet email systems for personal purposes is acceptable provided that: · the systems are not used for operating private businesses or other commercial purposes. However, the use of systems for personal purchases (e.g. books, travel etc.) is acceptable provided that it does not breach other parts of this policy; · excessive use of the systems does not interfere with the normal performance of users’ duties; · there is no breach of the prohibitions identified in this policy (see paragraph 1.29). It is not necessary to add a digital signature to external emails, as this is already done automatically by corporate ICT .
	1.27	All personal emails should be marked ‘personal’ in the subject heading if the content is not council work-related. Email messages, including those marked ‘personal’, will be examined in line with the monitoring of business practices as outlined in this policy (see paragraphs 1.34-1.41). However, the content of emails, whether personal or work-related, will not be checked unless there is reasonable suspicion that the policy is being contravened (see paragraphs 1.38-1.39). Such suspicion may result in examination of emails without prior notice to the individual and possible disciplinary action.
	1.28	When an individual leaves the Council's employment, his or her email address will be shut down and will no longer receive messages. The line manager will have access to that email account after the individual's departure; emails which remain marked ‘personal’ will not be accessed unless there are good reasons to suspect that they are work-related. Members of staff who know they are about to leave the Council should ‘housekeep’ their email account before they go.
PROHIBITED USES SANCTIONS FOR INAPPRO-PRIATE USE	1.29	The Council’s email service may not be used for the transmission, retrieval or storage of any messages or attachments which are: · harassing – harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) affecting the dignity of men and women at work. Such conduct could relate to gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, disability or other similarly sensitive issues; · defamatory – ‘defamation’ is the publication of material which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company, and encompasses slander and libel; · copyright – copyright means that the owner of material has the exclusive right to determine how that material might be copied and used. Copyright material may not be transmitted if the owner’s permission has not been obtained. If you are in doubt as to the copyright of any material, advice may be obtained from the Council’s legal department; · obscene – ‘obscene’ means material which is offensive, indecent or pornographic, which means any material of a sexual nature. As there can be no possible legitimate business use for accessing or transmitting sexually explicit materials at work, all such material is prohibited. For the avoidance of doubt, material of a paedophiliac nature is not only contrary to this policy but also illegal; any suspicion that an individual is accessing such material will immediately be reported to the police; · offensive – ‘offensive’ means any material which might reasonably be expected to cause distress to the recipient. Use of the system to receive, access and/or transmit material of the types outlined in this section will lead to disciplinary action.
hidden identity	1.30	Users must not send email or other electronic communications which hide the identity of the sender or which represent the sender as someone else. In addition to being contrary to this policy, such action is contrary to the requirement of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and may render the user personally liable to prosecution.
unauthorised software	1.31	Users must not install additional email-related software on Council systems, or change the configuration of existing software, without the written authority of the Council’s Head of Organisational Development.
passwords	1.32	Users must not disclose their passwords to others or permit others to use their email accounts.
group emails SANCTIONS FOR INAPPRO-PRIATE USE	1.33	If users wish to send messages to large groups of users (50 or more) – for example, to ‘group message’ recipients such as ‘all County Hall’ or other large group-based mailing lists or to ‘all users’ – the email must be sent to ICT (ICT Dept - Networks Team) for authorisation and distribution. Emails of this nature will only be sent if they satisfy the ‘mass mailing’ policy guidelines (see APPENDIX A for the full policy). Users must not send ‘all user’ or ‘group messages’ themselves. Failure to comply may result in further investigation and disciplinary action.
MONITORING	1.34	‘Monitoring’ is defined as the collection of information about workers by keeping them under some form of observation for legitimate business reasons. The Council recognises that employees have a legitimate expectation to a degree of privacy in the work environment. However, the Council must monitor the use of the email systems for a number of purposes as outlined in this policy; this document seeks, amongst other things, to identify and make clear the nature, effect and extent of such monitoring.
‘covert’ and ‘overt’ monitoring	1.35	Any monitoring undertaken will be done covertly only for the purposes of crime prevention or detection or preventing disorder. All other monitoring is undertaken overtly and users must be aware that they may be monitored in accordance with this policy (for the purposes of this policy, ‘overt’ means ‘under the terms of this policy, which users are expected to have read and be familiar with’).
	1.36	The Council uses dedicated hardware and software which enables it to record (and if necessary view) all email messages sent and received. This monitoring process can disclose the subject and recipient of the message, but active checking of the content will not take place other than as set out in paragraphs 1.38 and 1.38. In addition, all emails sent to or from external recipients/sources are automatically checked for items such as ‘spam’, viruses or potentially pornographic or otherwise prohibited items. If the system detects such items, the email is automatically deleted; however, if the system detects ‘doubtful’ items, the email is ‘put into quarantine’ for checking by ICT staff.
	1.37	Users should not expect emails and the contents of files to be private. The Council carries out continuous monitoring of all emails for: · misuse of the system; · viruses (by automated process); · harassment or other inappropriate activity; · fraud or other illegal activity; · financial and contractual agreements entered into in the course of Council business; · business practices.
	1.38	If a possible misuse is reported, or if there is reason to suspect any use of email (including personal email) which contravenes this policy or other Council regulation, or which seems to represent a threat to the security of the facilities, the Council reserves the right to examine email messages without authorisation from or notification to the sender and/or the recipient.
	1.39	Email messages are the property of the Council and as such may be stored and accessed at any time without notice to ensure that users are complying with this policy and that no misuse is taking place. All personal emails should be marked ‘personal’ in accordance with paragraph 1.27. The Council will only examine the contents of such emails in exceptional circumstances such as: · suspected misuse of the system, including (but not limited to) excessive personal emails; · when investigating allegations of or following strong suspicion of harassment, fraud or illegal or inappropriate activity (such as accessing pornography); · subject access requests in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
	1.40	An activity log will also be kept of all email activity during any investigation into inappropriate working practices in contravention of paragraph 1.29. For the avoidance of doubt, monitoring may provide evidence as part of a disciplinary investigation (if appropriate) but is not a disciplinary investigation in itself.
	1.41	The results of monitoring will be held in confidence and only for so long as is needed by the ICT monitoring team. However, such material may be passed to the Human Resources department at their request or as a direct referral following a possible identification of a breach of this policy. This information will be treated as confidential, but the matter may be referred to the user’s line manager if disciplinary action is warranted.
	1.42	Messages may be returned to the sender if the content is deemed to be in breach of this policy.
CONFIDEN-TIALITY	1.43	‘Confidential’ information can be defined as either: · information not in the public domain and classified as such under any enactment; or · information the disclosure of which would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. · However, there may also be information which is not strictly confidential and unlikely to be exempt from disclosure but may still require certain protection.
	1.44	The nature of email, and in particular Internet email, is such that users should never assume the privacy or confidentiality of messages. ‘Private’ and ‘restricted’ material should therefore never be sent externally by email without appropriate protection.
	1.45	The only way to guarantee that an email message is not read by unauthorised persons is to ‘encrypt’ it. This can be done using third party products such as PGP (for technical advice and guidance, contact the ICT operations manager on extension 3505).
CONTRACTS	1.46	A contract is an agreement between two or more parties to create legal obligations between them. Contracts can be made orally and in writing.
	1.47	Email may appear to be informal but it can be used to create binding contracts, and users must not enter into contractual obligations without the usual care and attention to detail necessary to protect the Council's interests.
	1.48	No contract with a total value in excess of £75,000 (in relation to contracts for works) or £50,000 (in relation to contracts for goods or services) may be concluded by email, although contract negotiations may be carried out by this route (subject to the constraints set out below).
	1.49	Where contractual negotiations are carried out by email or where the use of email with third parties may cause a contract to be formed, users must include the statement 'subject to contract' in all such emails until such time as it is intended that a binding contract should come into existence.
	1.50	Where users intend that a binding contract should come into existence, the following statement must be included in the message: 'This contract is made in England and Wales and shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts'.
	1.51	Before entering into a binding contract via email, users must be satisfied of the legal entity of the other contracting party. Unless an established digital signature protocol is in a place, this requires a signed confirmation by the other contracting party that they will be bound by emails from, or purporting to be sent from, the user's email address.
	1.52	All contracts, including those made by email, must comply with the Council's Standing Orders relating to contracts, and users are particularly referred to paragraph 14 of the Standing Orders which requires certain conditions to be included. Users are also reminded that the advice of Legal Services should be sought before contracts are concluded.
	1.53	Where negotiations to settle a dispute are carried out by email, users must include the statement ‘without prejudice’ in all such emails until such time as it is intended that a binding settlement should come into existence.
	1.54	If users are in any doubt about their legal responsibility and/or liability they should contact the Head of Legal and Democratic Services.
BREACH OF THIS POLICY	1.55	This policy has been drafted in such a way as to protect both the Council and users. Any breach of the policy will be dealt with in accordance with the Council's general disciplinary procedures.
	1.56	Users who receive email which they regard as being offensive, potentially illegal or which otherwise appears to contravene this Council policy or statutory requirements should report the matter immediately as follows: · either to the Head of Organisational Development at County Hall (82 3502); or · via e-mail to [email protected] uk.; or · to the Head of HR.
	1.57	For the avoidance of doubt, failure to adhere to this policy will be considered to be a potentially serious disciplinary offence which could lead to dismissal. Breach of the policy could also lead to criminal or civil action if illegal material is involved or legislation is contravened and the Council will not hesitate to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities any use of its systems which it believes might be illegal.
UPDATES TO THIS POLICY	1.58	This policy will be amended from time to time in response to changing circumstances as email facilities develop and in response to operational and legislative requirements, and staff will be notified of amendments as they happen. The current version of the policy will always be available on the Council's Intranet site and in paper form from the Human Resources department. As a condition of use of the email system, it is the responsibility of users to ensure that they keep up to date with the latest requirements of the policy.
USER AGREEMENT	1.59	All email users are required to have signed the following statement as confirmation of their agreement to its contents before being allowed access to the email system, including allocation of a personal email address: ‘I have read the Council's ‘electronic communications’ policy and fully understand the terms and conditions and agree to abide by them. I understand that the Council's security systems will record for management use all email activity undertaken by me, including any material transmitted or received; and that the Council may monitor any and all material without prior notification. I understand that violation of this policy may lead to disciplinary action and could also lead to personal criminal prosecution.’
FURTHER INFORMATION	1.60	Further information on the contents of this policy, or on any matters relating to it, can be obtained from the Council’s Head of Organisational Development at County Hall (82 3505).

		INTERNET/INTRANET ‘ACCEPTABLE USE’
INTRODUCTION	2.1	The Internet is a world-wide communication network linking together thousands of computer networks and many millions of users through public and private telecommunication lines. The Council provides access to the vast information resources and facilities of the Internet to help staff and others do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
	2.2	The Council commits considerable resources to providing this system, including telecommunications, networking, security, software and support and significant costs. However, serious risks can arise if the facility is not used correctly. This section outlines the conditions under which the Council internet/intranet systems may be used and the sanctions for inappropriate use.
SCOPE OF THIS POLICY	2.3	This policy applies to all users of the Council’s internet/intranet systems including, but not limited to, employees, workers and elected members.
	2.4	The policy applies equally to the Council’s internal version of the Internet, the Intranet, which uses similar technologies and poses similar risks. For the avoidance of doubt, the term ‘Internet’ is used to refer to both services throughout this document.
	2.5	For the avoidance of doubt, this policy applies equally to use of Council-issued laptop computers; and employees who use such computers are deemed to be responsible for their use or misuse whether on Council premises or elsewhere.
PROVISION OF SERVICE	2.6	The Council will where reasonably practicable provide internet services to all staff who have signed the ‘user agreement’ (see paragraph 2.31).
withdrawal of the facility	2.7	The Council reserves the right to withdraw this facility in the following circumstances: · in the event that the facility becomes uneconomic; and/or · at the reasonable request of service managers; and/or · if the service is being abused or the manager has the reasonable belief that it is being abused or is likely to be abused or the user is in contravention of this policy. Users must ensure that they use the facility lawfully at all times.
	2.8	As a general policy, Internet access will only be made available through the Council’s data network. There are several reasons for this: · the Council uses a dedicated leased line at fixed costs to connect to the Internet and its charges are therefore predictable irrespective of usage level (although performance levels will decline as the line reaches capacity) · the Council can monitor usage levels and increase bandwidth as required to ensure an appropriate quality of service for all users at the most economic rates · the Council can route all traffic through its firewalls and other security systems to protect users and the Council from inappropriate material
stand-alone internet connections	2.9	Internet connections from stand-alone PCs via modems will only be permitted under very special circumstances and must be approved in writing annually by the Council’s Head of Organisational Development. The user is responsible for obtaining and keeping this permission up to date.
	2.10	Modem connections from networked workstations (including dual boot connections) are specifically prohibited. Any such existing connections must be terminated
PERSONAL USE OF INTERNET FACILITIES	2.11	The Council's Internet facility is intended to support the organisation's legitimate business requirements. However, in practice, limited use of the Internet for personal purposes is acceptable provided that: · the Internet is not used for operating private businesses or other commercial purposes. Use of the Internet for personal purchases (e.g. books, travel etc.) is acceptable provided that it does not breach other parts of this policy; · excessive use of the Internet does not interfere with the normal performance of users’ duties; · there is no breach of the prohibitions identified in this policy (see paragraphs 2.12-2.14); · no additional cost to the Council arises from personal use of the internet.
PROHIBITED USES	2.12	Use of the Council’s Internet facilities for the following purposes is prohibited: · to deliberately propagate computer viruses, worms, ‘Trojan horses’ or ‘trap-door’ programmes; · to disable or overload any computer system or network, or to attempt to disable, defeat or circumvent any system intended to protect the privacy or security of another user; · to download or distribute pirated software or data; · to upload software licensed to the Council, or to upload data owned by the Council without good reason; · to download entertainment software or games or to play games against others over the Internet.
	2.13	Users must not install additional Internet-related software or change the configuration of existing software without the written authorisation of the Council’s Head of Organisational Development.
SANCTIONS FOR INAPPRO-PRIATE USE	2.14	The Council’s internet facilities may not be used for the transmission, retrieval or storage of any communications or images which are: · harassing – harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) affecting the dignity of men and women at work. Such conduct could relate to gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, disability or other similarly sensitive issues; · defamatory – ‘defamation’ is the publication of material which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company, and encompasses slander and libel; · copyright – copyright means that the owner of material has the exclusive right to determine how that material might be copied and used. Copyright material may not be transmitted if the owner’s permission has not been obtained. If you are in doubt as to the copyright of any material, advice may be obtained from the Council’s legal department; · obscene – ‘obscene’ means material which is offensive, indecent or pornographic, which means any material of a sexual nature. As there can be no possible legitimate business use for accessing or transmitting sexually explicit materials at work, all such material is prohibited. For the avoidance of doubt, material of a paedophiliac nature is not only contrary to this policy but also illegal; any suspicion that an individual is accessing such material will immediately be reported to the police; · offensive – ‘offensive’ means any material which might reasonably be expected to cause distress to the recipient. Use of the system to receive, access and/or transmit material of the types outlined in this section will lead to disciplinary action.
exceptions to the above	2.15	Employees who have to monitor offensive material as part of their jobs, (e.g. Child Protection, Trading Standards, ICT, etc.) may access relevant material with their line manager’s permission. Permission will only be given to named individuals and a record of such permissions will be placed on the individual’s personal file. Each site visit made for such purposes must be recorded in a log which identifies the site, the date and time of the visit and the purpose. The log must be retained for a minimum of two years from the date of the visit.
BREACH OF THIS POLICY	2.16	This policy has been drafted in such a way as to protect both the Council and users. Any breach of the policy will be dealt with in accordance with the Council's general disciplinary procedures.
	2.17	The nature of the Internet is such that it may not always be possible to avoid accessing material which is prohibited by the terms of this policy. Users who are placed in this position should contact the ICT Help Desk on 82 3500 immediately so that their systems can be cleaned. Accidental access will not result in disciplinary action but failure to report it may do so.
	2.18	Users who believe that the Internet systems are being used in a way which they regard as being offensive, potentially illegal or which otherwise appears to contravene this Council policy or statutory requirements should report the matter immediately as follows: · either to the Head of Organisational Development at County Hall (82 3502); or · via e-mail to [email protected] uk.; or · to the Head of HR.
	2.19	For the avoidance of doubt, failure to adhere to this policy will be considered to be a potentially serious disciplinary offence which could lead to dismissal. Breach of the policy could also lead to criminal or civil action if illegal material is involved or legislation is contravened and the Council will not hesitate to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities any use of its systems which it believes might be illegal.
investigation	2.20	Concerns about the use of the internet or email systems will be investigated using the procedure outlined in the flowchart at Appendix D.
PUBLICATION OF MATERIAL	2.21	The Council has a corporate web site (iwight.com) providing information about all its services, and no user, section or directorate of the Council may establish or maintain a separate Internet or FTP site except where this is specifically authorised. This prohibition minimises the risks associated with the Internet and allows the Council to maintain the clarity, consistency and integrity of its image.
	2.22	Authorisation for separate web sites will only be given in exceptional circumstances (for example, multi-agency partnerships) and must be obtained annually from the Council’s Head of Organisational Development. The user is responsible for obtaining and keeping this permission up to date.
MONITORING	2.23	‘Monitoring’ is defined as the collection of information about workers by keeping them under some form of observation for legitimate business reasons. The Council recognises that employees have a legitimate expectation to a degree of privacy in the work environment. However, the Council must monitor the use of the internet system for a number of purposes as outlined in this policy, and this document seeks, amongst other things, to identify and make clear the nature, effect and extent of such monitoring.
‘covert’ and ‘overt’ monitoring	2.24	Any monitoring undertaken will be done covertly only for the purposes of crime prevention or detection or preventing disorder. All other monitoring is undertaken overtly and the user both by way of this document and any other training given is aware that they may be monitored in accordance with this policy policy (for the purposes of this policy, ‘overt’ means ‘under the terms of this policy, which users are expected to have read and be familiar with’).
	2.25	The Council uses special hardware and software to monitor and control use of the Internet which enables it to record (and if necessary view) all usage of the Internet. This includes, but is not limited to, user details, pages attempted, pages accessed, files downloaded, graphic images viewed and searches.
	2.26	Users should not expect their use of the internet and the contents of files to be private. The Council will monitor all internet usage for: · misuse of the system; · viruses (by automated process); · harassment or other inappropriate activity; · fraud or other illegal activity; · financial and contractual agreements entered into in the course of Council business; · business practices.
UPLOADING AND DOWNLOADING OF FILES	2.27	A significant benefit of the Internet is the ability to access and distribute files quickly and easily and the Council is keen to ensure that this facility is available to users. The Internet security systems implemented by the Council include virus scanning software which is designed to intercept any viruses in files (including e-mail attachments) and all files sent and received will be scanned. Any incidents regarding the detection of viruses in files uploaded and downloaded using the Internet services will be logged and appropriate action taken by the Council’s Head of Organisational Development.
NEWSGROUPS	2.28	Newsgroups offer a wealth of potentially valuable information and advice but can also consume inappropriately large amounts of time and energy. In addition, newsgroup messages often provide links to inappropriate web pages and users should be aware of the risk of inadvertently accessing unacceptable sites by this means. For this reason, users may only access newsgroups if so doing represents a reasonable return in terms of effort involved for the value received.
prohibited use of newsgroups	2.29	Users must not: · access newsgroups which are not work-related; · participate in discussions which are politically sensitive or controversial, whether nationally or locally; · give advice or information which they know to be contrary to the Council’s policies or interests; · reveal any information which might reasonably be considered sensitive or confidential (as newsgroups are by definition public fora).
UPDATES TO THIS POLICY	2.30	This policy will be amended from time to time in response to changing circumstances as internet facilities develop and in response to operational and legislative requirements, and staff will be notified of amendments as they happen. The current version of the policy will always be available on the Council's Intranet site and in paper form from the Human Resources department. As a condition of use of the internet system, it is the responsibility of users to ensure that they keep up to date with the latest requirements of the policy.
USER AGREEMENT	2.31	All internet users are required to have signed the following statement as confirmation of their agreement to its contents before being allowed access to the internet system: ‘I have read the Council's ‘electronic communications’ policy and fully understand the terms and conditions and agree to abide by them. I understand that the Council's security systems will record for management use all internet activity undertaken by me, including the addresses of websites visited or attempted to be visited and any material transmitted or received; and that the Council may monitor any and all material without prior notification. I understand that failure to adhere to this policy may lead to disciplinary action and could also lead to personal criminal prosecution.’

TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS

	In principle, employees of the Isle of Wight Council may make reasonable use of the telephone system for personal reasons. However, a ‘call logger’ system operates in a number of Council locations; this appendix sets out the parameters of this system.
What, where and why?	All Council locations where it is necessary to dial ‘9’ for an outside line are linked to the call logger. Its purpose is to gather management information on telephone use for reasons such as budgeting and recharging; however, it also collects data on specific telephone use, length of calls, call destinations and so on.
Private calls	Employees who wish to make a private call from a telephone attached to the call logger must dial ‘709’ before making the call. This will ensure that a bill is generated each month for their personal use of the telephone, which must be paid into their nearest cash office. Line managers must make this requirement known to their staff.
	In locations which are not linked to the call logger, managers are required to ensure that a) employees’ use of the telephone for personal calls is reasonable, and b) appropriate arrangements are made for payment.
Management reports	All nominated managers receive reports from the call logger on a regular basis to enable them to monitor telephone usage. Additional information may be obtained from the administrator within Customer Services. Managers are responsible for ensuring that the information held by the call logger is correct.
	Reports on specific issues – such as long-distance calls or other costly destinations – are automatically generated and scrutinised by the administrator. If s/he has concerns that calls might be non-work-related or otherwise unauthorised or inappropriate, further investigation will take place. Such investigation will initially be on a fact-finding basis, but if the information suggests abuse of the telephone system, HR and the individual’s line manager will be involved and disciplinary action may be taken.

APPENDIX A		‘MASS MAILINGS’ POLICY STATEMENT
	A1	The Isle of Wight Council (‘the Council’), as data controllers of personal data, have responsibility under the Data Protection Act 1998 to ensure that the way in which it processes information complies with the Act and its overriding principles to deal fairly with information. The Council accepts that emails may contain, or indeed constitute, personal information and therefore are protected under the Act. Equally, an e-mail address personal to an individual will be personal information held about that individual.
	A2	The Council will therefore not allow unsolicited ‘mass mailing’ emails to be made if the content in whole, or in part, relates to: 1. controversial or potentially controversial subjects, including political or religious matters; 2. advertising or commercial promotions with no specific benefit to the Council or its employees. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘mass mailing’ emails are defined as emails which are sent to a group of 50 or more employees, or a predefined building group, from the central database of email users of the Councils email facility.
	A3	However, the Council may choose to send unsolicited ‘all user’ emails if the contents are not prohibited above and if the information contained therein: 1. contributes towards a corporate objective or policy; and/or 2. is of benefit or potential benefit to the Council and all, or a majority of, users.
	A4	The Council will not send any unsolicited ‘mass mailing’ email unless it fulfils one of the conditions above unless in exceptional circumstances is sanctioned by a Strategic Director and reasons are given to justify the intrusion upon the subject.
	A5	The Chief Executive Officer delegates responsibility to the Monitoring Officer to determine any question as to the content of an email or its suitability.

APPENDIX B		GUIDELINES ON EMAIL MANAGEMENT
PURPOSE	B1	Many people complain about the amount of email they receive. These guidelines aim to address this by: providing guidance on how to reduce the amount of email you send out; providing guidance on handling the email you receive.
OUTGOING EMAIL	B2	Before sending an email you should ask yourself five key questions:
Question 1: Does this really need to be communicated?	B3	Ask yourself whether what you are planning to send needs to be communicated at all, as many of the emails that are sent around the organisation are unnecessary. In particular: don’t send chain letters, virus warnings, jokes or ‘urban legends’ without checking whether the recipient wants to receive that kind of email; and ensure that the content of anything you send is not prohibited (see paragraph 1.29 of the email use policy)
Question 2: Is email really the best way to communicate this?	B4	Email is a relatively weak medium for communicating and many people hide behind email on sensitive subjects which could be better communicated by other means. Consider using the following mechanisms first (from the ‘richest’ form of communication to the ‘weakest’): face to face (one to one) face to face (in a group) telephone voicemail handwritten note email You may want to use email to follow up or if it is necessary for documentation purposes rather than as the primary form of communication.
Question 3: Who really needs to know this?	B5	We typically copy far too many people in on emails and a couple of extra minutes thinking about who actually needs to receive the email can go a long way in reducing email ‘clutter’. as far as possible, only send messages to people who will take action on the item; only send a copy of a message to other people if they have a real need to know; be careful when using distribution lists and identify people who can safely ignore the email in the top line of the message; avoid sending messages as a ‘back-covering’ exercise.
Question 4: What’s the most appropriate content?	B6	Emails work best when the content is concise and focused; long, rambling emails with attachments are often disregarded. The following guidelines will help to avoid this: keep messages short and to the point; be polite - include a salutation such as ‘Dear Jane’ or simply ‘Jane –‘ and close either with your name (e.g ‘thanks, John’) or an automatic signature, as this helps people know that it’s not a virus-created note; when replying, don’t send the entire message - especially not the attachments. Send just enough text to provide context for your answers or comments; only send attachments to those who need to receive them. Where possible, refer to stored files (e.g. on the intranet) using hyperlinks rather than sending the full attachment.
Question 5: How can I best help the recipient take action on this?	B7	Too many emails have too much content or are poorly addressed. The worst are those which are sent to large distribution lists, contain attachments and require the recipients to open and read the attachments to decide whether the message is relevant to them. To avoid this: write a clear, succinct description in the ‘subject’ line; put keywords in the subject line to help recipients know how to handle the message; for example: - FYI (‘for your information’) - if no action is required - URGENT - if immediate action is truly required - EOM (‘end of message’) - where end of message indicates a simple thanks; ensure that the recipient can understand the message without having to open an attachment; if you require action or a reply by a certain date, put that in the ‘subject’ line.
INCOMING MAIL	B8	If you get large amounts of email, the following guidance will help in handling it effectively.
Is it spam?	B9	‘Spam’ can be defined as the electronic version of unsolicited ‘junk mail’, offering competitions, ‘prizes’, things to buy and so on. It can usually be identified from the subject line and can be deleted without reading. The Council’s systems do their best to block unwanted messages as they come in. If the problem persists, contact the ICT help team on 3500. You can also set up rules using the ‘tools/rules’ wizard and ‘action/junk mail’ options to help you with this.
Is it marketing literature?	B10	New European legislation means that marketing companies in Europe have to provide a genuine ‘unsubscribe’ facility. If you are receiving unwelcome marketing emails, use the ‘unsubscribe’ facility if it is included, or reply using the words ‘remove’ or ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
Were you on the ‘cc’ list rather than the ‘to’ list?	B11	It is the sender’s responsibility to ensure that all recipients can clearly identify what they are meant to do in response to an email. You can set up rules to help organise ‘cc’ messages. Colour-coding also helps identify messages which can be dealt with quickly and easily (the ICT section can help if you are not sure how to do this).
Managing incoming mail	B12	The above guidance should help keep the amount of incoming email that you need to deal with to a minimum. You can help yourself manage this further by: clearing your in-box on a daily basis. This enables you to see and process all new messages quickly and easily; using folders (View/Folder List) to store different categories of messages (e.g. ‘pending’); archiving your messages on a regular basis (contact the ICT help desk on 3500 if you need more information on this).

APPENDIX C		MOBILE PHONE USE
THE POLICY	C1	The Isle of Wight Council will from time to time issue mobile telephones to staff for work use.
SCOPE OF THIS POLICY	C2	This policy applies only to employees of the Isle of Wight Council and to elected members. It does not apply to casual workers, subcontractors, agency, self-employed or freelance workers unless they expressly agree to its terms.
CRITERIA FOR ISSUE OF MOBILE PHONES	C3	Managers have the discretion to decide which staff should be issued with a mobile phone. The criteria for identifying such staff include: · those whose jobs make it necessary for them to work away from their normal work base on a regular basis; · those who work either regularly or occasionally at locations which are not Isle of Wight Council buildings and are out of normal telephone contact when they do so; those whose work puts them into situations where they need to be in regular or emergency contact with their colleagues or other public bodies.
	C4	Certain elected members are entitled to a Council mobile phone by virtue of their office. Such entitlement is determined by the Leader of the Council in conjunction with the Democratic Services Manager, and in essence includes members of the Executive, Chairmen of Select and Regulatory Committees, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council, and leaders of political groups with more than 4 elected members.
USE OF MOBILE PHONES	C5	Mobile phones are issued for work purposes, using the criteria set out above, and remain the property of the Isle of Wight Council at all times. If an individual’s circumstances change – for example, if he or she changes job or location and the criteria cease to apply – the mobile phone will be withdrawn and the individual will no longer have the right to use it. Similarly, staff who regularly abuse the privilege of a Council-issued mobile phone or contravene this policy may have it withdrawn and/or face disciplinary action.
	C6	Users must make every effort to make most economical use of their mobile phone: for example, keeping conversations short and to the point and not carrying on long discussions which could equally well be held at the office. If a landline is available, it should be used in preference to a Council-issued mobile phone.
	C7	The above is guidance for employees of the Authority generally. In certain circumstances some workers may have alternative arrangements, such as the ‘COLT’ system within Social Services, which will supersede any general guidance.
	C8	Staff must always observe the legal restrictions governing the use of mobile phones whilst driving, for both their own safety and that of other road users and members of the public generally. For the avoidance of doubt, MOBILE PHONES MUST NOT BE USED WHILE DRIVING.
CONTRACT	C9	The Council’s current mobile phone service provider is Orange. The contract itself is part of the Office of Government Commerce’s GTM Framework Agreement. The contract is administered locally by the Council’s Procurement Section, who should be contacted for any further information or to report any problems with Council mobile phones. The relevant pages can be viewed on the Council’s intranet at http://wightnet2000.iow.gov.uk/directorates/corporate_services/procurement_section
BILLING	C10	Every month Orange sends an itemised bill to each mobile phone user (or to an alternative billing address if one has been previously requested). All invoices should be checked and passed for payment promptly in accordance with normal invoice certification procedures. Any payment for private calls (see below) does not affect the Council’s obligations to Orange itself, who should be paid the full amount on the invoice (other things being equal).
PRIVATE USE	C11	The occasional use of the Council mobile phone for making private calls is permitted on the strict proviso that the individual reimburses the Council for the cost of all such private calls. Employees and Councillors are required to repay the Council for all private calls, based on the actual call costs as shown on their itemised monthly invoice from Orange. Please note that VAT (17.5%) must be added to this to conform to Customs & Excise rulings. Your budget accountant will be able to provide details of the cost codes to be used when reimbursing the Council.
	C12	Although the Council has the facility to check (by reference to telephone bills) the extent of private usage, all mobile phone users are expected to keep records of their private calls and to pay for them on a “trust” basis, although spot checks may be carried out by the Audit Section.
‘LINE 2’	C13	There is an alternative option which may be used for private calls. ‘Line 2’ is a service which provides a second line for the Council mobile phone and thus enables users to keep work and personal calls separate without the inconvenience of having to carry two handsets. The user receives a separate second number and a different ringing tone, so everything is clearly segregated. Line 2 specifically constitutes a contract between Orange and the user, and all the bills go direct from Orange to the user’s home address, bypassing the Council system altogether. ‘Line 2’ is especially beneficial as no line rental is charged, and in addition, all call costs are at the competitive and highly favourable Business One Tariff. Meanwhile, ‘line 1’ operates exactly as any ’normal‘ Council mobile phone and it is billed direct to the Council in the usual way.
PROHIBITED USE OF ALL COUNCIL COMMUNI-CATION SYSTEMS	C14	Council-issued communications equipment must not be used for messages which are: · harassing – harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) affecting the dignity of men and women at work. Such conduct could relate to gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, disability or other similarly sensitive issues; · defamatory – ‘defamation’ is the publication of material which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company, and encompasses slander and libel; · obscene – ‘obscene’ means material which is offensive, indecent or pornographic, which means any material of a sexual nature. As there can be no possible legitimate business reason for transmitting sexually explicit materials at work, all such material is prohibited. For the avoidance of doubt, material of a paedophiliac nature is not only contrary to this policy but also illegal; any suspicion that an individual is transmitting such material will immediately be reported to the police; · offensive – ‘offensive’ means any material which might reasonably be expected to cause distress to the recipient. · frivolous – anything that otherwise might reasonably be deemed inappropriate use of the Council’s time, money or resources. Use of the system to receive, access and/or transmit material of the types outlined in this section will lead to disciplinary action.
MONITORING	C15	Use of Council mobile phones will be monitored on an occasional basis via random checking of user’s bills. This is carried out through Orange Billing Manager, which is a management information tool held by the Procurement Section and used to monitor the Mobile Phone contract and usage. The Audit Section may also carry out spot checks.
	C16	If there is a reasonable belief that an individual’s use of his or her Council-issued mobile phone contravenes the provisions of this policy, the individual will be informed and an investigation will take place, carried out by an appropriate senior officer and using any billing or other relevant information. Such investigation will be proportionate to establishing if a breach of this policy has occurred. The information will only used for the purposes of the investigation, and will be held by the investigating department in accordance with the Councils retention policy.
SANCTIONS FOR INAPPRO-PRIATE USE	C17	If an investigation concludes that a Council-issued mobile phone has been used inappropriately, consideration will be give to disciplinary action as well as possibly the recovery of any costs inappropriately incurred as a result of the misuse though the Court system. Any criminal offences committed may also be reported to the Police without further notice.
LOST OR STOLEN MOBILE PHONES	C18	Staff whose Council mobile phone is lost or stolen must report the fact immediately to the Procurement Section to minimise illegal use of it, and to arrange a prompt replacement under the terms of the insurance cover provided by the contract. Staff should advise the Procurement Section of the police incident number, which will be provided when the loss is reported at any police station. The police may also ask for an indicative value of the phone - an estimated retail value of about £95 would be a suitable figure to use as at the date of this policy (11/2004).
USE OF PRIVATE MOBILE PHONES	C19	An increasing number of staff own mobile phones themselves and carry them during working hours. To minimise potential disruption during the working day, the following ‘ground rules’ apply, and staff who disregard these rules may be subject to disciplinary action:
		· as far as reasonably practicable, and certainly in all customer-facing services, all private mobile phones must be switched off or turned to ‘silent’ during working hours and calls and messages should be made or received only during break times; · private mobile phones must be kept in bags, drawers or lockers to minimise the danger of their being stolen or lost, as the Isle of Wight Council cannot be held responsible for such loss; · messages on private mobile phones should, other than in emergency situations, be checked only during break times. Staff in customer-facing services must not be seen to be distracted by private calls or messages, and staff who need to give an emergency telephone number may use their work number; · private mobile phones should not be charged during working hours.

APPENDIX D:

PROCESS FOR INVESTIGATING ALLEGATIONS OF INAPPROPRIATE USE OF INTERNAL INTERNET/EMAIL SYSTEMS