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Important: As coronavirus cases continue to rise in the capital and London goes into Tier 3 (Very High alert) tomorrow, we must act now to stop the spread and save lives, including working from home if you can, keeping two metres apart from others, washing your hands regularly and reducing travel.
Need to know
Can you help us roll out Rapid testing?
Later this week, we will be rolling out rapid testing for Covid-19 to people who live or work in the borough and do not have symptoms. The tests are a helpful addition to all the other protective measures that people can follow to reduce risk and stay safe. We need staff immediately to help deliver this important programme. If you are interested in working overtime outside of your usual working hours – or if you can be released from your current role, including on a part-time basis, up until 8 January in particular – take a look at the roles available and apply. A flat fee of £40 per shift – on top of your usual pay (which is unaffected) – will be paid. We want all staff to have the opportunity to take part, so please help us to share this with your colleagues, especially those who do not have access to work emails or the intranet. Staff who work on site or live in Islington and who do not have symptoms can go to the centre to get a Rapid test.
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Senior Leadership Team restructure
Islington Council has an ambition to be the best Council in the country, tireless in our commitment to making Islington a fairer place. To achieve that, we need to ensure that our energy and resources are aligned around our key priorities. The Corporate Management Board (CMB) is proposing some changes to the senior leadership team structure that will focus capacity in the right places and help us to realise our shared ambitions, including on Fairer Together, Community Wealth Building and Zero Net Carbon. A formal consultation with all affected staff and unions is underway, and we have contacted those staff directly. If you haven’t been contacted, you are not affected, but you can read more below.
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Staff Christmas Party
Following the overwhelming success of the staff party on Zoom at the end of last month (for BHM celebrations), the organisers have lined up the same fantastic DJs, to make sure we can have a staff Christmas party this year! From 6pm this Friday (18 December), there'll be dancing, music and prizes! If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact the organisers, and share this with colleagues who may access ICbulletin for any reason. Not sure you’d get in the festive spirit online? You’d be surprised! Check out how much your colleagues enjoyed last month’s party!
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Don’t leave it too late to apply for settled status
The transition period for the UK leaving the EU ends on 31 December. If you are an EU citizen and haven’t applied for settled status yet your rights won’t change immediately but it is important that you don’t leave it too late to apply. The deadline is 30 June 2021 but application processing is taking longer due to Covid-19. Don’t risk missing the deadline – apply today. For support visit www.islington.gov.uk/transition or contact the Employee Assistance Programme. Please inform HR if you have applied and the result of your application when received, by emailing hradvice@islington.gov.uk.
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Travelling to the EU after 1 January
As well as needing to apply for settled status if you’re an EU citizen, if you are travelling to the EU after 1 January, there may be some additional things you need to prepare for. This includes making sure you have the right travel insurance and healthcare, and six months on your passport. Check what you need to do at www.gov.uk/transition
If you’re travelling this festive season, be prepared to self-isolate
If you are instructed to self-isolate over the festive period, you must self-isolate wherever you are. If you are planning to be part of a Christmas bubble and visiting loved ones in the UK, this may mean staying in a different household for your self-isolation period. If you are self-isolating but can do your job remotely and are not unwell yourself, you will be expected to be available for work. So, as a precaution, you should take your laptop or other device with you to make sure that’s possible. If you are travelling abroad, do not take your work laptop with you, unless you are allowed to work abroad as outlined in the Working Abroad policy. Instead, visit www.ICThelpme.com for instructions on working remotely using a personal device.
Be cyber-safe this festive season
All of us are carrying out more activities online than we did before and with the busy festive season underway, we need to be extra careful we don’t fall prey to cyberattacks.
- Always be suspicious of emails from senders you don’t know, don’t click on links or attachments and if in doubt, report them to ICT Help Me.
- When transporting laptops or devices double check that you have all your belongings with you to avoid your devices being stolen. Transport files electronically.
- Whether working at home or in another location, don’t leave your laptops, devices or files vulnerable to access by other people. Always lock your screen.
See more tips on staying cyber-safe.
Final week of Disability History Month
If you haven’t made it to any Disability History Month events yet, this week is your last chance to take part and experience a different perspective, as well as learn more about what we can all do to overcome barriers and create an inclusive workforce.
- Undoing Barriers Lunch and Learn with Amy Oulton, on Wednesday 16 December, 12 to 1pm. Book now.
- Celebrating Our Lives: This is Me with Chief Executive Linzi Roberts-Egan and Eugene Grant, on Thursday 17 December, 5-6.30pm. Book now.
The Library service is also looking for recommendations from our staff to complete its Neurodiversity and Neurodivergent book list. If you know a book that should be included in the book list email Library.InformationUnit@islington.gov.uk.
See all of this year’s EPIC nominations
We’ve shared the nominations from this year’s EPIC Awards so that all staff can see the great work that has been taking place across the council this year. If you were nominated, it’s a chance to see your nomination too.
Training: get help to create accessible content
The Communications team is running some online training to help services to get up to speed with the new accessibility guidelines and to understand more about what they need to do. This practical session is suitable for anyone who needs to create accessible documents and content, whether that is for use on the website, izzi or to send by email to other colleagues or residents. Dates are available in January and February. Book your place.
Finance deadlines over the festive period
- Cheque payment process: Tuesday 22 December
- BACs payment process: Wednesday 23 December and Wednesday 30 December
- Periodic payments: any instalments due between 15 December and 1 January 2021 will be paid on 15 December (for cheque payments) or 16 December (for BACs payments).
The Cedar and Collaborative Planning systems will be available on all working days during the holiday period, but there’ll be minimal support from the Application Support Team.
Help us to improve our website and online services
We want to improve the customer experience on our website and online services, which we hope will in turn improve the experience for our staff. Your opinion matters so if you have a couple of minutes to spare please complete this survey. This would be especially helpful if you have ever used the Islington website as a resident.
We are Islington – and we help one another
Mohammed Kozbar of Finsbury Park Mosque took part in a video message, urging our communities to stay at home and stay safe to protect each other.
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