View this email in your browser

Welcome to this week's Forum. Today we cover International Day of Disabled People, Foster-Friendly Employer status award and important staff updates.

Saving energy in our buildings

As we head into the colder months, we’ve taken steps to help save energy and reduce our carbon emissions, for example in the Town Hall Extension. Turning the thermostat down by just one degree will help prevent over 300kg of carbon emissions a year! There are four other ways you can help care for our shared workspaces; can you figure out what they are? Scroll to the bottom of the broadcast for the answers. 

White Ribbon Day: 25 November

Tomorrow is White Ribbon Day, a campaign that helps to end violence against women and girls. To play your part we ask you to take the White Ribbon Pledge. Hear your colleagues from across the Council talk about the full White Ribbon pledge in the video.

Naomi Davies, Programme Lead in Public Health, said:

“Having family and friends directly affected by violence against women and seeing the cycle being stopped, drives me to taking the White pledge.”

Lisa Gill, Neighbourhoods Housing Manager, said:

“It’s a great initiative that makes all people promise to never use, ignore and to challenge domestic abuse against women and girls. Being a Domestic Abuse Champion within the Council, I realise how much of a negative impact this type of behaviour has on women, their family and friends.”

Howard Shore, Project Manager, said:

“I felt it was important to take the pledge as those who perpetrate violence against women and girls should know how many people are appalled by their actions, and the victims should know how to not suffer alone.”

Blog of the week

The Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity, has awarded Manchester City Council Foster-Friendly Employer status. This is fantastic news! Meaning, alongside our new Special Leave Policy that was launched earlier this year, we have also introduced paid special leave for employees who are approved foster carers to support them in their fostering duties. This also helps to encourage colleagues to consider fostering our children and young people. Read how, thanks to our staff, we got this accreditation on the intranet and see Wayne Perry's blog below to learn more about fostering.

Get involved

• Want to help develop the future of our workforce? You can volunteer to get involved in helping to shape our Health and Wellbeing and Workforce Equality strategies. These are two big priorities for the Council, and you told us they are important to you too. Find out more about these two opportunities and how you can get involved. Deadline 25 November.

• Give the gift of learning this Christmas: Manchester Central Library Development Trust, the charity that supports the educational and cultural activities of Manchester Libraries, has organised an urgent book appeal. Reading is the foundation of learning, developing literacy skills and general wellbeing in children. This appeal will benefit our local communities and you can help by donating any small amount to the Just Giving campaign.

Staff updates

MCR+ is changing

Last week we told you the MCR+ platform will change in December. You don't need to do anything now. You will be sent details of how to register and access the new MCR+ website soon. For now, you can continue to use the current platform and access the benefits and savings you need.

Callsign is changing – know what to do

Our current remote-access system Callsign is changing; please update your bookmarks to use the new URL https://mccremote.cloud.com and sign in using your Microsoft 365 credentials. This will replace both the Callsign tokens and the mobile app that you may have previously used to access Citrix applications from outside the office on non-MCC devices. Callsign access will be removed by 31 December 2022, and tokens can be returned to the Know IT All bar on Level 7 in the Town Hall Extension or recycled at your local supermarket. For further information contact the Project Team.

Timenet clocking-in system

The Timenet clocking-in system will be upgraded from 6pm on Tuesday 29 November. There will be no access to the admin accounts from this time until Thursday 1 December. There will be a rolling outage of the Timenet terminals from 10am on Wednesday 30 November. Further information will be sent to the Timenet administrators.

Royal Mail strike action continues

There is further Royal Mail strike action planned starting today and continuing over the following dates:

• Friday, 25 November
• Wednesday, 30 November
• Thursday, 1 December.

There will be no mail deliveries or collections on these days. If you have any questions about postal arrangements, please email: postroom@manchester.gov.uk.

Dates for the diary

Join Manchester City Council and the Young Creatives from Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People for the International Day of Disabled People. This event will take place at Central Library on 2 December, 12 noon–3pm. There will be a panel discussion, activism wall workshop, performances from disabled artists, and more! The event is free, everyone is welcome, and you can drop in whenever you want. Visit the Hive to add this event to your diary so you don’t miss out.

Exclusive staff discount

Light up your festive period with an exclusive staff offer to visit Heaton Park's Lightopia display – perfect for a family fun-day out this Christmas. As an employee you can now enjoy a 15% discount on your Lightopia 2022 experience tickets. Discover brand-new installations and routes as you navigate your way around the park this season. Find out how you can claim your exclusive discount now.

Answers to 'how can you can care for our shared workspace':

1. Turn taps off to prevent flooding
2. Keep computer cables safe
3. Think before you print
4. Keep lights turned off and windows closed

Thanks for reading today’s issue of the Forum. We hope you have a great day!