This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
    • Politics
    • Transport
    • Lifestyle
    • Community
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Education
    • Sport
    • Harrogate
    • Ripon
    • Knaresborough
    • Boroughbridge
    • Pateley Bridge
    • Masham
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts

Interested in advertising with us?

Advertise with us

  • News & Features
  • Your Area
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts
  • Politics
  • Transport
  • Lifestyle
  • Community
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Education
  • Sport
Advertise with us
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Latest News

We want to hear from you

Tell us your opinions and views on what we cover

Contact us
Connect with us
  • About us
  • Advertise your job
  • Correction and complaints
Download on App StoreDownload on Google Play Store
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Statement
  • Comments Participation T&Cs
Trust In Journalism

Copyright © 2020 The Stray Ferret Ltd, All Rights Reserved

Site by Show + Tell

Subscribe to trusted local news

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

  • Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.

Already a subscriber? Log in here.

13

Aug 2021

Last Updated: 13/08/2021
Politics
Politics

Union concerns over staffing shortages at Harrogate district leisure centres

by Calvin Robinson

| 13 Aug, 2021
Comment

0

Union bosses have raised concern over staffing shortages at Harrogate district leisure centres. Facilities were taken over by Harrogate Borough Council's new company, Brimham's Active, earlier this month.

knaresborough-swimming-pool-march-2020-web-2

A trade union has raised concerns over staffing shortages at Harrogate district leisure centres which have recently been taken over by a new council-controlled company.

Brimhams Active was launched by Harrogate Borough Council this month and around 160 staff were transferred across to the new company to remain in their roles.

But with around 27 vacancies as a result of staffing shortages across the leisure industry, David Houlgate, branch secretary at Unison Harrogate, has raised concerns over the impact on services, as well wider issues over staff pay and retention.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said:

“The main concern is that it could impact on service delivery just as the new venture is starting up, resulting in limits on when facilities will be open.
“We have for some time raised concerns about recruitment and retention, right across the council, due to year on year real-terms pay cuts as a result of pay freezes and below inflation pay rises and also detrimental changes to terms and conditions.
“This year it is happening again, with staff being offered a below inflation pay rise of 1.75%.
“But at Brimhams, staff are also paid at a less favourable rate for overtime, than those in the council, a legacy of when the service was provided directly by the council.”


Leisure centres including Starbeck Baths and Knaresborough Swimming Pool were closed for more than a year earlier during the covid pandemic and since reopening some services have yet to make a full return due to the staffing issues.




Read More:



  • Harrogate district’s new leisure company to focus on health and wellbeing

  • Harrogate Council approves leisure services overhaul

  • Staffing a major challenge says new Harrogate leisure company boss






This was after many leisure staff were temporarily redeployed into different areas such as bin collections and as the council introduced a recruitment freeze in order to keep costs down during the pandemic.

Mr Houlgate added:

“The year-long recruitment freeze hasn’t helped.
“We were never consulted on it and we did make representation to the council to relax it sooner but this was not acted upon quickly enough in our opinion and we believe this has contributed to the current situation.
“We’ve also found that some staff who have been re-deployed during the covid-19 pandemic have preferred their new temporary roles and where the opportunity has arisen have chosen to remain in them.
“The council does not always engage with or involve the unions as often as we think it should.”


In response, a council spokesperson said it was “working hard” to fill the vacancies and that the staffing shortages were not specific to Harrogate but a nationwide problem.

The spokesperson said: 

“We have proactively explained to our residents that unfortunately, we may need to scale back some of our non-essential services so that we can protect both our staff and our customers.
“We also have a number of vacancies across our local authority controlled company Brimhams Active that we’re working hard to fill. This is progressing well and a number of new starters will be joining us this month.
“The recruitment issue is being faced right across the country, in both the public and private sector. It is therefore disappointing that the union has decided to paint this issue and the launch of Brimhams Active with the same brush.”


The spokesperson added:

“Brimhams Active will allow us to transform a conventional leisure service into a leading community focused health and wellbeing service.
“There are still strong careers in the leisure industry and we are optimistic that with competitive salaries and a wealth of other benefits we will attract people to come and work for us.”