 October 18 is World Menopause Day and this year’s theme is ‘Cognition and Mood’.
The Redbridge Staff Women’s Network have collaborated with colleagues from across the council and Barking, Havering, and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) to deliver an informative event.
Join their in-person event on Tuesday 18 October from 12pm to 2pm to find out how women can prepare for the menopause, cope with menopausal symptoms, and be allies to your menopausal colleagues.
At 12.30pm, guest speaker, Dr. Sarwat Bari, who is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV from BHRUT, will speak about menopause in the workplace and why it’s important to be mindful of women’s reproductive health. There will be a questions and answers session at the end.
The event is open to all Redbridge Council staff as the menopause can impact partners, family, friends, and colleagues. Add it to your diary and join us!
Staff Menopause Policy launch
To coincide with World Menopause Day, Redbridge Council will be launching the Staff Menopause Policy next Tuesday, which aims to break taboos, encourage positive conversations, and offer practical support and options.
Our policy sets out our commitment to providing clarity on the key stages of menopause, how to become familiar with the terminology and the various types of menopausal symptoms, many of which can last for several years.
This is a serious workplace issue because as many as one in four women consider leaving their jobs because of their symptoms.
The policy will be available on Tuesday on the Key Policies intranet page.
If you have any questions about the policy, please get in touch with our HR Policy Business Partner, Lyn Downey.
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Welcome to week three of our Black History Month (BHM) events.
Join us today, Thursday 13 October from 12pm to 1pm, to hear from Damian Atkinson and Neeta Kanagaratnam who will talk about raising mixed heritage children. Add to your calendar
Next Monday 17 October, we will be screening ‘The Homemaker’, which is a biographical documentary of James Alexander, to establish the first black housing association in the 1960’s here in Redbridge. Watch and discuss with us from 11am to 12pm. Add to your calendar
On Wednesday 19 October, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, the book club will be discussing ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi. This powerful novel spans seven generations and takes us from the Gold Coast of Africa to America. Colleagues who haven’t read the book are more than welcome to join the session.
Finally, on Thursday 20 October, from 12pm to 1pm, Business Analyst Calum Burch, will share data on the Black community in Redbridge and how it has changed over time and explore some of the unique outcomes for this community. Add to your calendar
The Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Network, and partners, have organised all of the events for Black History Month. Details of all our BHM events can be found on the intranet and events calendar.
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, around 55,000 women and 370 men in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 11,500 women and 80 men will die from breast cancer. Let’s come together and do something that can make a difference.
Next week, we’re inviting staff to wear pink in the run-up to Wear It Pink Day which falls on Friday 21 October. The Redbridge Staff Women’s Network are hosting a fun virtual Pink Quiz from 2pm to 3pm. During the event, we will learn more about breast cancer and raise money for Breast Cancer Now.
Wear something pink, join the call and use one of the ‘Wear It Pink’ Teams backgrounds. To select a background, click on the three dots for more actions when you’re on a Teams call, select ‘Apply background effects’, and scroll through the available background images to select one of the ‘Wear It Pink’ images.
We will also invite you to donate the cost of your commute to our Redbridge JustGiving page for Breast Cancer Now.
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Every Monday morning, our Chief Executive, Claire, releases a new video blog (vlog) highlighting key events, campaigns and important changes taking place across the Council.
This week, Claire talks about Menopause Awareness Month and launch of our Staff Menopause Policy, and encourages colleagues to complete your sensitive data fields on your Employee Self-Service (ESS) on iTrent. This will enable us to measure how we’re doing against our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) action plan.
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We want to make sure our IT systems continue to operate effectively, so essential maintenance is scheduled to take place on Sunday 16 October as detailed below:
- VMWare Remote Desktop Solution (VDI) – 8am to 12pm
- Netloan Service – 8am to 9am
- Always on VPN and DirectAccess for remote working – 12pm to 2pm
- Revenues & Benefits System – 8:30am to 10am
- Housing System – 9am to 10:30am
- Planning – 9:30am to 11am
- Agresso – 10am to 12pm
We hope you’re not working on the weekend but if you are, please save your work regularly as there may also be some general disruption to other IT systems during the 8am to 5pm period.
Please contact the IT Service Desk if you have any further queries.
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The internal comms team is here to help your team promote events, campaigns, and key information to your colleagues. We’re always keeping an eye out for the next scoop but want to know in advance what you have planned so we can support you properly. We’re in high demand and don’t want to let you down!
Last week, the internal comms team, Deputy Head of Communications, Lisa Ronsholt, and Digital Content and Campaigns Officer, Christina Stylianou, visited the Ley St Depot, where we were given a tour by Sharna Newton Grant, Workplace Support Officer. We’re hoping to plug internal events and campaigns on digital screens at Ley Street Depot in the near future to ensure all front life colleagues know what’s happening across the council and can get involved.
If you’re planning an internal event or a campaign, please use our event planning guidance and get in touch with us through our internal comms mailbox.
Visit the intranet for details on all our internal channels, criteria for using each channel and deadlines to send us your draft content.
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A proposal has been made by the Council to demolish the multi-storey car park on Ley Street in Ilford, including the footbridge over the railway line. This is due to anti-social behaviour and a lack of usage which means the car park is not financially viable.
The Council is currently looking at alternative parking options including The Exchange, Mildmay Road, and The High Road car park next to Lynton House. We are checking to see if the concession parking code via Ringo will still be available to use at these sites.
The Cabinet will meet in December to decide if the demolition will go ahead. If the proposal is approved, the demolition work will begin in January 2023. We will keep you updated about the demolition plans and when the car park will no longer be available to use.
Please contact the Property and Estate team by 5pm on Tuesday 1 November 2022 to share any comments you have about the demolition proposal using one of the methods below.
Email: Property & Estates team
Telephone: 020 8708 6684
Post: Estates Department, London Borough of Redbridge, sixth floor front, Lynton House, 255-259 High Road, Ilford, IG1 1NY.
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If you love spending time in Redbridge parks, let us know by voting for your favourite!
We are encouraging people in Redbridge to help us get our parks recognised as one of the Top 10 in the UK by voting in the People’s Choice Award. One click is all it takes to show your support.
You can vote for one (or all) of the nine Green Flag Redbridge parks.
For a list of the parks and to vote, visit the Vision website. Voting closes on Monday 31 October.
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Do you live in Hainault or Fairlop? The Community Hubs team is looking for 30 Hainault and Fairlop residents to play a key role in the design of the Hainault Hub and site which will be based on Manford Way.
Get your creative hat on as you’ll be part of the first co-design process of the Hub whilst working alongside the Hainault Forest Community Association.
The first session will be taking place on Sunday 30 October from 2pm to 4.30pm. There will also be sessions throughout November. All of the dates can be found the Sortition Foundation website which is where you can also express your interest.
Please share with this if you have networks in Hainault and Fairlop.
Read Learning and Evaluation Lead for the Community Hubs Programme, Ed Anderton's staff blog about the collaborative projects the Community Hubs teams are working on build relationships.
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Take a break from the screen and listen to a podcast that can help improve your finances and mental well-being. Win win! Money on Your Mind is a podcast series that helps you understand, manage, and improve your mental health and money situation – two subjects that are closely linked but not talked about enough.
Listen now to gain free guidance.
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