News for Derbyshire County Council employees
Issue 11
Message from our Chief Executive, Ian Stephenson
Thank you to everyone who filled in the survey about Our
Derbyshire. More than 900 of you had your say. The
results were really positive with 86% of you saying that
you found the newsletter useful or very useful and 73% of
you said you read all of it or most of it. We’re still looking at
your comments and we’ll have a full report in the next
edition.
You may remember that everyone who completed the
survey was entered into a prize draw to win a £25 Amazon
voucher and Nicola Bird from our adoption team was the
lucky winner – congratulations Nicola! The vouchers were
donated by Pete Handford, our Director of Finance who
won them by taking part in a national survey on local
government finance.
You don’t have to wait until the next survey to give us your
views or suggest ideas for articles in Our Derbyshire,
simply email [email protected].
Kind regards
Ian
Praise for our adult care staff
Our adult care team has been praised about the standard of care and support it provides to
people across Derbyshire in a recent survey.
The survey showed that 95% of the 500 residents who took part feel our support services
help them have a better quality of life.
70% of residents who use our services were extremely or very satisfied with the standard of
care we provide and that our care and support helps them feel less isolated in the
community.
And 93% agree that our services help them have control over their lives.
Joy Hollister, Strategic Director for Adult Care said: “This is another great piece of news
which shows how dedicated our staff are. We’re working in difficult times but staff still give
their best to make a difference to the lives of people that need our care.”
You can find out more about what people thought by clicking on the graphic below.
Are we a good LGBT employer?
We’re taking part in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index
for 2017 to measure our achievements and progress on
LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans) inclusion.
Stonewall is the largest LGBT rights organisation in the UK
and Europe.
To help them judge our entry, they’d like as much feedback from our staff about how they
feel the council values LGBT staff and how informed they are on LGBT issues.
Anyone can take part in the survey – you don’t have to be an LGBT employee.
The survey closes on Friday 4 November, so please have your say. You’ll need to input the
code 1177.
Get 20% off new mobile contracts with EE
Our corporate mobile phone contact with EE means
employees can get a 20% discount on certain contracts taken
out online.
The discount applies to new and also existing customers. If
you’re already with EE, you can get the discount on upgrades
and new contracts where you sign up to a minimum term of
12 months.
You can find out more on the EE website. You’ll need our
discount code which is employee20dcc1.
Deaf Charter
We’re holding an event for our deaf and hard of hearing community, employees and
community groups who work with deaf and hard of hearing people.
The event is on 24 November at County Hall, between 5.30 and 7.30pm. It will give an
update on how we are performing against the five pledges we set in the deaf charter which
we signed two years ago.
Please contact John Cowings - 01629 538304 if you would like to attend.
Opportunities for management training
Twenty four of our managers have successfully completed the Chartered Management
Institute (CMI) Awards this year. And there is now another opportunity for managers who
have taken part in the Derbyshire Manager workshops, to use this learning as evidence
towards a CMI Award.
The award takes three months and you will need to complete 20 hours of learning in total.
There are two levels, depending on whether you’re a supervisor/first line manager or middle
manager.
The CMI level 3 award is available for supervisors and first line managers. It recognises the
communication and motivational skills you have developed to improve efficiency.
The CMI level 5 award is for middle managers and those wanting to progress to senior
management. It recognises performance management skills used by middle managers to
improve individual and team performance.
For more information, contact Aileen Hammerton – 01629 56939.
Discounted bus and train tickets
If you travel to work by bus, you can get discounted tickets with some bus companies.

Stagecoach offers Derbyshire County Council employees a 20% discount off their
weekly Chesterfield, Chesterfield Plus and Megarider Gold tickets. These can be
bought from the reception desk at Chesterfield library – you must show your ID to
get the ticket at a discounted rate. The Megarider Gold can be bought at County
Hall – contact Liz Adams on 01629 538317.

Trent Barton Super Commuter season tickets can be paid for through salary
deductions.

Littles Travel offers employees six days unlimited bus travel for just £20 between
Clay Cross, Alfreton, Ripley, Belper, Nether Heage, Crich and Matlock.

You can also apply for an interest-free loan to buy an annual season ticket for bus
and selected train travel. East Midlands Trains season tickets bought this way are
10% cheaper than buying direct.

Other discounted monthly or annual tickets are also available to buy direct from
other bus companies including Arriva, High Peak buses and Trent Barton (Mango
card).
You can find out more information about travelling to work more cheaply on the Miles Better
section of our website.
Extra leave if you’re adopting a child
If you want to adopt a child and have completed the initial enquiry process you are now
entitled to pre-adoption leave.
Employees can take up to five days paid and five days unpaid leave, pro rata, for preadoption activities like medical checks, training, introductory meetings and assessments.
The entitlement is calculated on a rolling 12-month basis and should be agreed with your
manager in advance just like with any other leave.
Lea Green wins accessibility award
Lea Green, our outdoor activity centre near Matlock has won
an award for hosting ‘Accessible Event of the Year’ for Super
Sunday 2015. Staff welcomed more than 500 visitors to the
family festival which provided a day of fun for children and
families with additional needs.
The award was presented by Accessible Derbyshire as part
of their two-year project to make Derbyshire and the Peak
District the most accessible national park and county in the country.
Pictured at the award presentation: Derbyshire County Council Vice-Chair Janet Hill,
Centre Manager Paul Smith and Jane Carver and Gillian Scotford from Accessible
Derbyshire.
You can find out more about Lea Green on their website.
Council news straight to your inbox
As well as Our Derbyshire, did you know that you can get regular news and updates from
the council by email? This is part of our commitment to open and transparent
communication with residents and employees.
You can choose which topics you’re interested in, from news releases and cabinet reports
as soon as they go online, to the Your Derbyshire eNewsletter for residents and news about
social care, health and leisure.
You can sign up by entering your email address on our sign up page and choosing which
areas you’d like to hear more about.
Missed an edition?
If you missed any editions of Our Derbyshire, you can find them on our website.
Employees without a council email address
If you are responsible for employees who do not have a Derbyshire.gov.uk email address
please share the contents of this newsletter with them. Employees can also sign up to
receive this newsletter using a private email account. You can do this here.
More information
If you’d like any further information about any of the stories please call Jennie Hodgkinson
on 01629 538234 or Annabel Holden on 01629 538216 or email
[email protected]