GRANT TO CONTINUE JACS OUTREACH ADVICE SERVICE
Overview
In September 2013, an outreach advice service was established by the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) on a pilot scheme basis[1] with the intention of helping employers to comply with the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the ‘Employment Law’).
A review of the decisions of the Jersey Employment Tribunal[2] in 2013 had indicated that some businesses, particularly small businesses, would benefit from additional support to help them address their responsibilities under the Employment Law. The intention of the outreach service is to proactively offer assistance to employers at an early stage in order to avoid employment disputes and remove the perceived barriers to continuing to employ existing staff and employing new staff.
JACS was provided with a ring-fenced budget to enable it to employ an additional member of staff to offer the service on a pilot scheme basis. Over the past two years, the service has proved to be a success and so the Minister has decided to subsume the funding into the JACS annual grant so that JACS can continue to provide the service with more certainty in the future.
JACS role and service provision
The main emphasis of the JACS service is to help prevent employment related problems arising. A large number of employers, including small business, are using JACS services. According to its Annual Report for 2014[3], in that year JACS dealt with 2731 employer contacts, most of which were instigated by an employer making contact for advice and guidance.
Significant JACS resource is already invested in developing business support services to ensure that employers recognise the benefits that good employment relations can bring. JACS provides public and private training courses, a telephone enquiry service and a more extensive advisory assistance for more complex employment matters. The JACS training sessions, website and guidance notes provide good sources of advice and information.
These resources, most of which are free, are valuable to employers who seek them out and take advantage of them. However, some employers do not contact JACS until a problem or a dispute arises. For other employers, it may not be possible to take time away from managing the business to attend training sessions, or more bespoke, one-to-one support may be required to deal with specific (rather than general) issues and questions.
Outreach advice service
The JACS service is typically offered to employers that have ten or fewer employees, however the service is also available to larger organisations that do not have dedicated human resources support. The officer pro-actively contacts employers to offer impartial advice and visits employers on-site at times that are convenient to the business. The officer analyses the employer’s needs, including reviewing and updating the existing documentation, and producing essential employment documentation, customised templates (e.g. employment contracts and pay slips) and model policies and procedures. Clients are also generally advised on different contract types (full time, zero hour, variable hour and fixed term) and are encouraged to use appropriate types of contract for their business needs.
In 2014, the outreach service provided significant assistance to 341 employers, particularly focusing on terms of employment and written procedures. According to JACS, there has been no reduction in the demand for this service and with new employment and discrimination legislation planned to be introduced in 2016, that level of demand is expected to continue.
The quality of the outreach service is monitored by a questionnaire. The JACS Annual Report for 2014 reported that “Without fail all respondents have stated they are pleased with the service in terms of timeliness, documentation and general information provided. Feedback continues to be highly favourable about this service and employers find the Outreach Officer to be efficient, clear, understandable and friendly. …The fact that employers are happy to make an approach to JACS – whereas they had not done so previously – is a reflection of the value this service delivers.”
The feedback has revealed positive responses from clients in relation to –
- the flexibility around venue and appointment times
- not being seen attending JACS offices
- feeling supported in meeting current statutory obligations
- feeling able to be proactive in preparing for new legislation
- feeling reassured by the follow-up contact from the officer
The JACS Annual Report for 2014 stated, “It is encouraging to see smaller employers coming to terms with the employment legislation and for some it not being the struggle they had anticipated it would be, which is likely to be due to the time spent by the Outreach Officer getting to understand the business as well as the employer and looking at the ensuring the right documentation is in place which is understood by the employer, rather than a generic set of documents that the employer is unable to operate. Funding has been requested for 2015 as part of the general budget application process as the success of this scheme can be clearly seen and therefore as a highly valued and successful part of our service and therefore JACS would wish to be able to continue to deliver this.”
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Two service level agreements (SLA) currently exist between JACS and the Social Security Department. One relates to the provision of JACS general services to employees, employers, trade unions and business associations in respect of employment relations advice, guidance and dispute resolution. An additional SLA sets out the terms in relation to the outreach advice service pilot scheme[4].
Both SLAs make provision for service availability, standards and reporting, as well as financial reporting and controls that meet the requirements of the States of Jersey Financial Directions for the Purchasing of Goods and Services (FD 5.1) and for the Management of Grants (FD 5.5). For 2016 and beyond, the service level agreement for the outreach service will be subsumed into the general service level agreement between the Department and JACS.
Budget
The Social Security Department provided JACS with a lump-sum, ring-fenced grant of £50,000 in September 2013 to provide this additional advisory service on a one-year pilot scheme basis. The grant covered staff costs and all necessary equipment and expenses. Following the success of the service in the first year, the Department provided additional funding of £50,000 to enable JACS to continue the outreach service pilot scheme for one further year. The Minister has decided that JACS should continue to receive a grant to provide its outreach service in 2016 and beyond. Rather than treating the outreach service as a separately funded service, from 2016, the overall annual grant for JACS will increase.
It has been agreed that the total JACS annual grant will be reduced by 2% for each of the 4 years of the Medium Term Financial Plan, leading to a recurring reduction of 8%.
The portion of the annual grant that is paid to JACS each year in respect of the outreach service will therefore be as follows: 2016: £49,000, 2017: £48,000, 2018: £47,000, 2019: £46,000.
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