Our workforce improvement offer provides support that recognises and responds to significant workforce needs faced by councils.
The employment relations support offer
The employment relations support offer aims to help you review your current industrial relations practices, providing HR teams with new and improved employment relations skills to build confidence and support improvement.
National collective bargaining
The pay and terms and conditions negotiations support offer provides leadership of national collective bargaining arrangements for all bargaining units relating to local authorities. This involves provision of tools and resources to support effective industrial relations support to local authorities, delivered through the LGA’s secretariat and officer function for National Employers.
This support offer will also provide data to support the redesign of the local government pay spine.
Additionally, this year, support includes advice to MHCLG, and information and guidance provided to local authorities on the government’s collective bargaining related policies that affect local government and managing the impact on local government collective bargaining of the restoration of the Schools Support Staff Negotiation Body (SSSNB) and the Fair Pay Agreement in Adult social Care.
Employment law support (including Make Work Pay, Employment Equality Legislation and Equal Pay)
Support across multiple workforce areas will play a critical role in helping local and strategic authorities respond effectively to forthcoming employment reforms.
The 2026/27 Workforce offer will provide a comprehensive package of HR and employment law support, with a strong focus on the Government’s Make Work Pay programme and wider labour market reforms. This will include a suite of tools, events and guidance designed to raise awareness of upcoming changes and support practical implementation.
Our work will also include a national support programme to help councils implement new employment equality legislation, alongside additional guidance and resources to support responses to forthcoming reforms.
HR policy and employment law support
We provide councils with support on HR policy and employment law, including bespoke advice, updates and guidance shared through Employment Law Advisory bulletins and Workforce bulletins.
Equal Pay
This year we will provide extended Equal Pay support, to improve the ability of local authorities to adopt and apply measures and interventions that minimise and mitigate risks arising from potential unequal and inequitable practices and actions relating to pay and terms and conditions and equal rights.
Work includes new interventions such as Equal Pay Auditing, Equal Pay focused events, supporting an Equal Pay network and access to webinars, newly developed resources, and targeted support for local authorities facing live equal pay challenges.
Additional areas of focussed support also include:
- Pay Policy and Pay Gap Reporting
- activities to improve the assurance framework of the NJC Job Evaluation Scheme, following agreement of approach by the trade unions, together with training and support for councils on this and equality impact assessments
- providing briefing sessions for senior teams and councillors.
Employment relations support offer
The programme also puts forward a new employment (industrial) relations training offer to improve the capacity in local authorities to engage with their workforce and trade union representatives, including promoting the specialist skills required to engage in positive industrial relations at an operational level in within authorities during times of change.
Workforce capacity and transformation support
We will deliver a range of offers to support local and strategic authorities to respond to workforce capacity issues – including:
- ongoing support to address skills shortages issues, using skills hubs, apprenticeships and new support offers
- training for councillors on senior officer and Chief Executive recruitment and selection
- bespoke retention support offer for local authorities who are concerned about continuity during times of change.
This workstream also offers a new training offer – including:
- a Right to Work Audit programme (training) to help local authorities implement the new legislation and best practice
- a new induction programme targeting newly recruited senior HR professionals, to ensure the skills and knowledge needed to deliver effective decision-making in a local government context – including to deliver transformation and strategies aligned with public values and legislative requirements.
Ongoing bespoke support will also continue to target those local authorities most at risk due to or compounded by complex workforce challenges. This includes issues regarding councillor and officer relations; and support to address transformation needs.
Sharing practice, networking and online resources
The support offer also includes the provision of national networks, national on-line workshops/webinars, and our online resources, tools and access to collaborative platforms like khub and basecamp. We are continuing to support regional employers by contributing to their regional heads of HR networks and support the national regional employer’s association providing regular updates and information.
Workforce research and data
Our workforce research and data programme this year will including quantitative and qualitative research on pay, the gender pay gap, and a national workforce survey. To do this we will continue working on research with regions and national government on HR / people management metrics / indicators.