STREETSCENE - CLEANSING
Streetscene
-Cleansing
Employee Information Book
CONTENTS
Page No.
Introduction to Streetscene - Cleansing 3.
Streetscene - Cleansing Organisational Chart 4.
The Councils Vision 5.
· High Quality Services 5.
· Good Customer Care/Customer Focus 5.
· A Healthy, Safe and Sustainable Environment 5.
· Managing Performance 6.
· Equality and Diversity 6.
· Health and Safety 6.
· Attendance at Work 7.
Absence From Work Due to Sickness or Industrial Injury 8.
· Healthy Lifestyle 9.
· Healthcare Support 9.
· Employee Support 9.
Team Working 10.
Wages 10.
Holidays 10.
Trade Unions 10.
Streetscene – Cleansing – Our Values 11.
Streetscene – Cleansing Standards For All 12.
List of Corporate Policies and Procedures 13-16.
Induction for Streetscene – Cleansing Employees 17-20.
Dealing with discarded needles 21.
Injuries due to sharp item 21-22.
Accident Reporting Procedure 23.
INTRODUCTION TO STREETSCENE - CLEANSING
Streetscene – Cleansing is responsible for delivering refuse collection and other cleaning services to the residents of Kirklees.
Operations are carried out from two depots:
· Vine Street, Huddersfield
· George Street, Dewsbury
REFUSE COLLECTION
There are 180,000 domestic properties within Kirklees. It is Streetscene – Cleansing’s responsibility to remove household waste from these properties on an alternate weekly collection; Domestic household waste one week and recyclable waste the week after.
Glass is collected from these properties on a four weekly basis.
Trade waste is collected from a wide range of commercial properties including schools, restaurants and public houses.
A skip service is provided to commercial and domestic properties.
OTHER CLEANING
Through allocating scheduled routes 2,014 miles of pavement is cleaned weekly in Kirklees. The method of cleaning is by manual sweeping, mobile sweeping, applied sweeping and litter patrol. 682 miles of road is swept weekly by mechanical sweepers. 18,000 litter bins are emptied each week.
PUBLIC CONVENIENCE CLEANING
17 public conveniences are cleaned at a frequency of weekly to three times per day.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
SENIOR MANAGER
ADMIN OFFICER/
SUPERVISOR
CLEANSING MANAGER
AREA MANAGER X 3 / MANAGEMENT/ CUSTOMER SERVICES OFFICER/H&S LEAD OFFICER / FINANCE OFFICER
CLEANSING OFFICER X 12
TECHNICAL
MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
ASSISTANT / OFFICER
WORKFORCE X 350
THE COUNCIL’S VISION
The overall aim of the Council is to support a diverse and confident community with access for all to high quality services, good customer care, a thriving economy and a healthy, safe and sustainable environment. The community is made up of many individuals from many backgrounds. We recognise that they are all our customers, we respect their differences and will strive to meet their needs. Our vision is that people are open, honest and friendly towards each other.
High Quality Services
The quality of our services will be obvious to our customers, they will receive skilled and professional help in the range of contacts they have. It is at the point of service delivery that people have their most direct experience of the Council. We must work together to ensure our services are perceived as being of the highest quality by our customers. We want you to provide the best services possible to all customers.
Good Customer Care/Customer Focus
The Council serves the needs of all the people in Kirklees and because of this customer care is very important. Having a strong customer focus is essential in providing high quality services to the diverse community we serve. Our services must be delivered in a friendly manner to all our residents no matter whom or where they are. Providing good services is only part of the job. Whatever job we do customer care must be our priority at all times. Our customers need to know they will receive a polite and efficient service. No matter how good a service we provide we will on occasions receive complaints from customers who feel our services could be better. By listening and improving what we do, customers will get a better service and our reputation will improve. Kirklees Direct provides an easy access point to the services of the Council. This will improve the level of customer care.
A Healthy, Safe and Sustainable Environment
Cleanliness and attractiveness of the area and fear of crime are of high concern in Kirklees’ opinion surveys. There is a link between the two, as low level anti-social behaviour including littering, noise and nuisance give rise to perceptions of a poor environment which is unsafe. It is the Council’s aim to invest in lasting improvements to people’s immediate environments so that they feel better about where they live and play.
The Council’s vision gives us a picture of where we want to be. To achieve this vision six values have been developed:
· Customer Focus – delivering services which meet the needs of local people.
· Continuous Improvement – seeking continuous improvement in services.
· Improving Team Working – working together to meet common objectives.
· Promoting Equalities – acting positively to ensure equality and fairness for all.
· Valuing Employees – treating people who work for us fairly and providing opportunities
for them to be more effective.
· Better Communication – promoting two way effective communication between people.
Managing Performance
During your induction to the service your manager will discuss with you what is expected of you in your role. You should be clear what is required of you at work and how this fits into what the service is trying to achieve.
If you join the Council without Local Government continuous service you will be expected to complete a probationary period. This is usually six months long. During the probationary period you will have three formal meetings to check on your performance.
Equality and Diversity
‘Equality and Diversity’ is central to the way we deliver our services and treat our employees. It should be considered as integral to everything we do - acting positively to ensure equality and fairness for all. We want you to take responsibility to act in a way which makes people feel they have been treated with dignity, respect and fairness and their needs have been understood and addressed. We want to provide services that meet the needs of all our customers in a way which makes them feel valued. Employees and customers must not be treated unfairly because of their race, gender, marital status, gender identity, age, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, responsibility for dependants, social class, trade union or political activity.
Health and Safety
The Council, as your employer, has a legal duty to protect you at work and we take this statutory responsibility seriously. To achieve a high standard of health and safety we need commitment from all parties. Health and safety is not just important, it is fundamental to your wellbeing. You have a valuable role to play in managing health and safety. Every employee is responsible for co-operating and complying with all health and safety policies, procedures and guidance about their work.
This includes:
· Taking action to avoid, remove or minimise risks associated with your work.
· Following all safety procedures, standards and risk assessments.
· Reporting all accidents and incidents.
· Using safety and protective equipment correctly.
Your manager is responsible for the health and safety of all employees they manage.
They are responsible for ensuring work is carried out to safeguard and promote health and safety.
Suitable instruction of training in safe systems of work should be given to each employee.
All employees within Environmental Waste receive a health and safety employee book, within the book are risk assessments relevant to the employees duties. In addition there are assessments for manual handling, mobile phones, collection of discarded hypodermic needles, syringes and other sharps.
Attendance at Work
Absence from work can sometimes be unavoidable however, not attending work can result in additional workloads for colleagues and reduces our ability to maintain and improve service delivery.
Attendance at work is monitored through the Kirklees Attendance Management Policy, this measures individual’s sickness absence, any poor attendance will then be addressed.
New Triggers to measure an Individuals Sickness Absence are:
8 days over a rolling 12 month period
4 occasions over a rolling 12 month period
Any patterns of Sickness Absence
You should always have a Return to Work discussion with your Manager following any period of sickness absence.
Managers may ask you to attend formal meetings if you meet any of the above triggers or have a period of absence of more than 20 days (Long Term Absence).
Any formal meetings will be reviewed by Managers on a regular basis.
The aim of the policy is to improve attendance, support employees and therefore improve the provision of service.
When an employee is absent from work due to sickness or injury the correct procedure must be followed.
The procedure is listed on the following page
ABSENCE FROM WORK DUE TO SICKNESS OR INDUSTRIAL INJURY
Employees are reminded that they SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED to Sickness/Industrial pay UNLESS ALL OF THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES ARE COMPLIED WITH:
1. NOTIFICATION OF YOUR ABSENCE MUST BE RECEIVED BY 10.00 AM ON THE FIRST DAY
Telephone numbers are:Vine Street / - / Huddersfield 223128, 223132 before 8.30 am
- / Huddersfield 223128, 223182, 221000 ext 860-3131, 860-3133, 860 3128 after 8.30 am
Dewsbury / - / 01924 325003 / A telephone answering machine is connected and a message can be left for your Inspector.
Huddersfield Wages Office / - / 01484 225043 after 8.30 am
2. Further notification of your continued absence must be received no later than the fourth day of absence when an SC2 is required to cover you from day 1.
3. All Calendar days including Saturdays and Sundays are regarded as working days. Therefore if you are sick Friday and Monday, you would need to complete an SC2.
4. A Self Certification (SC2) or a Doctor's Statement must be received no later than the eighth calendar day of absence.
5. If you are sick more than seven calendar days you should see your doctor on the eighth day and the statement must be received no later than your eleventh calendar day of absence.
6. For periods of continued absence, further doctor's statements must be received no later than three days after the last statements expiry.
7. In cases where sickness absence is for a period of three weeks or more, the employee before returning to work must obtain a final doctors note stating they are fit to resume duties.
8. In cases of Industrial Injury the details must be reported immediately to your Cleansing Officer and recorded in an Accident Book kept at all depots.
9. Absence due to sickness, before or after a Public or extra Statutory Holiday must be supported by a doctors statement or private medical certificate. If you incur a charge for producing this you must obtain a receipt and you will be reimbursed on production of this.
Although not a requirement, it will be helpful to Management if notification of return to work is received prior to the day of return. Return to your normal duties cannot be guaranteed unless this prior notification is given.
Healthy Lifestyle
As an employee, you have to take responsibility for your own wellbeing whilst at work:
· Employee Healthcare provides flu jabs for key workers or you could ask your GP.
· Ensure you take lunch breaks, you will function better if you have a break.
· Plan your annual leave wisely so you have regular leave throughout the year.
The Council is committed to a smoke free working environment. Smoking and passive smoking are major risks to health, yours and those around you, including colleagues and members of the public. Smoking is not allowed in Council buildings, depot yards or vehicles at any time.
Healthcare Support
If you are thinking of changing your lifestyle, Employee Healthcare can offer you advice.
The Employee Healthcare team has a variety of health professionals – not just doctors and nurses. They provide a range of occupational health and support services including medical referral, health screening, face to face counselling, work place assessment, lifestyle improvement opportunities (Healthy Employees through Active Leisure, HEAL scheme) and health promotion. There are specialised health checks and vaccination and immunisation programmes for workers who are assessed to be at risk.
The HEAL scheme aims to help employees improve their health and feeling of wellbeing, improving their quality of life both in their leisure time and at work. HEAL will support you to develop a more physically active lifestyle, particularly if you are struggling to cope at work, having problems with your general health or have attendance problems. In addition it can help with healthy eating, improving energy levels, back care, weight and stress management and other health issues.
Employee Support
There may be times when employees need support due to work or personal problems. Hopefully, such problems can be discussed with your line manager however if this is difficult you could contact Personnel, Equalities Officer, Employee Healthcare, etc. There is also a facility called Care First which is an independent confidential telephone counselling and information service that is available to employees and family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by using the following free phone numbers:-
Care First Counselling and information 0800 174319
Care First Legal 0800 413631
Team Working
Team working is an integral part of Environmental Waste. Teams can be just two people or a large number of people. Team working plays a big part in how we deliver services. It is important you appreciate your key role in working with other colleagues and respect their opinions, working together efficiently to provide the best outcome for our customers.
Wages
Employees within Streetscene - Cleansing are paid 4 weekly, ie, 13 payments per year. If you have any queries regarding wages contact your Cleansing Officer.
Holidays
Holiday entitlement is 25 days + bank and public holidays. When you have completed 5 years continuous service you will be entitled to 5 extra days annual leave.
Refuse collection employees are required to work all bank and public holidays (excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day).