Manager's Handbook

Recruitment and Employment Changes Team

• administrative services for recruitment
• changes to terms and conditions
• cessation of employment

Payroll Team

• all payroll related queries

Sickness Absence Team

• all administration of sickness absence queries

Business Partner and HR Adviser Teams

• terms and conditions of service
• employee relations such as sickness absence, capability, discipline, grievances, fairness at work
• HR policies and procedures

All employees are supplied with a Written Statement of Particulars of Terms and Conditions of Employment within 4 weeks of commencing employment, which together with the relevant terms and conditions of service document referred to in the Written Statement of Particulars, forms their contract of employment.

• PSC Civil Service Regulations (CS)
• PSC Manual and Craft Workers (M&CW)
• PSC New Terms for New Starters and Promotions (NTNSP)
• DHSC Manx Pay Terms and Conditions (MPTC)

For any terms and conditions not listed, please contact your HR advisory team who will be able to provide further information.

What is oracle?

Oracle is the database used by the Isle of Man Government for HR management and payroll functions, including personnel records and organisational structures. When changes are to be made to your organisational structure or your employee’s terms of employment, these will need to be reflected on Oracle. To do this, you will need to complete the relevant OHR Oracle form.

Oracle reports

You can obtain a detailed report of the Oracle positions/employees within your team by contacting OHR. You will need to confirm the department, division and area you would like the report to detail as well as the specific information you would like to see on the report.

Which OHR Oracle form to use

See Forms for a full listing of HR forms and guidance

For queries regarding the OHR Forms or Oracle details, please contact the HR Changes team.

Wellbeing is

• feeling good, functioning well
• work life balance
• feeling motivated and able
• good physical, psychological and emotional health

Why it is important

• employee engagement
• positive work culture
• improved performance
• reduced sickness absence
• improved emotional wellbeing
• empowered employee
• reduced turnover

Support wellbeing

Take ownership of your own health and wellbeing by:

• making healthy choices
• getting motivated
• getting involved
• be informed

How we support your wellbeing

We provide resources and services for staff and managers such as:

• learning and development opportunities
• wellbeing and personal development courses for employees
• training and guidance for managers
• staff welfare services
• occupational health services
• health and safety advice
• policies and procedures
• workplace coaching

How supervisors and managers can support workplace wellbeing

• effective performance management
• proactive and supportive management of absence
• people focused management style
• early intervention
• stress risk assessment
• open, two-way communication with members of staff
• training and tools for supervisors and managers

The Fairness at Work Policy supports the Isle of Man Government’s commitment to promoting a working climate in which all members of staff are treated fairly and consistently and with dignity and respect.

The responsibility for creating a culture of Fairness at Work is shared by all and everyone has a role to play by:

• being proactive and intervening early when problems arise
• understanding and adhering to acceptable standards of conduct
• taking responsibility for their own behaviour

The policy also aims to promote management styles which are effective and fair and there is a large section of the policy dedicated to providing support and guidance for supervisors/managers.

As a supervisor/manager you may at some point have to have a difficult or challenging conversation with a member of staff. No one enjoys having these conversations but they shouldn’t be avoided as getting them right can help to improve levels of performance, attendance and employee engagement.

There are various tools and practical steps you can take to assist you with structuring these conversations and where possible, get the right outcome for you and your member of staff.

Examples of tools that Learning, Education and Development (LEaD) deliver through some of their training programmes are:

CEDAR Model

CEDAR is a tool that can be used to structure a difficult conversation that you need to have. Having a structure to follow gives you confidence in saying what you need to say.

CEDAR is broken down into 5 stages:

• Clarify
• Explain
• Discuss
• Agree
• Review

For further information, please see the CEDAR Model Guide

BEEF Feedback Model

This model focuses on effective ways of providing feedback to your member of staff using the following structure:

• Behaviour
• Example(s)
• Effect(s)
• Future

For further information, please see the BEEF Feedback Model Guide

Additional resources and training

Watch the Management Skills Video – Fixing performance problems

LEaD offer various training courses which may help you lean the skills to have these difficult conversations:

• Handling difficult situations
• First line management development programme
• Managing change
• Supervisory skills
• Grievance handling

ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services) provide a service to workplaces in the UK and have produced a guide 'Challenging conversations and how to manage them' written for line managers to give practical tips, scenarios and steps of how to handle these difficult conversations better.

And remember, your HR advisors are here to support you.

Guidance and support

Capability Procedures

The aim of capability procedures is to bring about the improvement necessary in order for a member of staff to meet the required standards, by ensuring a fair, efficient, consistent and constructive approach to dealing with capability issues such as performance or attendance, with clear outcomes at all stages.

Disciplinary Procedures

The aim of disciplinary procedures is to ensure that the standards of conduct expected of the member of staff are observed by providing a method of dealing with alleged breaches and deficiencies in a manner which is consistent and fair.

Grievance Procedures

All members of staff should have access to a fair and effective procedure for the resolution of grievances. The aim of the grievance procedures is to settle any grievance as near to its point of origin as possible and without unreasonable delay.

The Learning Education and Development Division of the Office of Human Resources offer training courses in Managing for High Performance and Grievance Handling.

More information

It is important that members of staff know what standards of conduct are expected of them, and that they are made aware of any relevant policies or procedures by their supervisor/manager.

Procedures are included within the member of staff's terms and conditions of service.

Advice and direct assistance with these procedures is available from your Business partner or HR advisor.

The Isle of Man Government is committed to establishing a culture that supports a safe, healthy and productive workforce. As a supervisor / manager, your role is key to the effective management of sickness absence.

It is vital that absence is continuously monitored not only for the safety and wellbeing of our staff but also due to its high cost to the organisation. To assist in monitoring of absence, all Government departments receive absence reports on a monthly basis and termly for the Department of Education and Children.

The Management of Sickness Absence Policy and Guidance provides robust arrangements for the management of attendance which are fair, equal and consistently applied across the Public Service.

Who does the policy apply to?

The policy applies to all staff employed by the Isle of Man Government, whether full-time, part-time or limited term, with the exception of bank, relief and supply staff.

Your responsibilities as a supervisor/manager 

It is the responsibility of supervisors/managers to monitor the attendance of their staff and to effectively deal with any absence issues in accordance with the Managing Sickness Absence Policy and Guidance.

The Managing Sickness Absence course is run by Learning Education and Development and can be booked via eLearn Vannin. It aims to give an understanding of the Managing Sickness Absence Policy and to explain the procedures and good practice which should be adopted to ensure the effectiveness of this policy.

What to do when your staff member reports sick

Follow the Sickness absence procedure 

Sick pay provisions are determined by the staff member’s employment group terms and conditions.

When your staff member returns to work

All members of staff should have a return to work meeting with the supervisor/manager on their return to work. This is a crucial part in managing sickness absence, confirms they are fit to be at work and helps to support their wellbeing.

Further guidance and support

Videos

• How to conduct a return to work meeting
• How to deal with cases where absence is beginning to become a problem

You can contact your HR Advisory Team or the Occupational Health Service in confidence.

Occupational Health Service

Occupational Health is a confidential, impartial, medical advisory service. Their role is to advise about the health of employees in order to help supervisors/managers prevent or reduce work related health problems and manage the impact of health problems at work.

Staff Welfare Service

Staff Welfare offers information, help, support and counselling on a wide range of issues which can affect attendance at work. Staff can self-refer to this service

Annual leave

The number of days of annual leave a member of staff is entitled to is set out in their Statement of Written Particulars and Terms and Conditions.

It is a supervisor/manager’s responsibility to ensure that annual leave records are kept up to date.

Annual leave entitlements for different terms and conditions:

• PSC Civil Service
• PSC M&CW
• PSC NTNSP
• MPTC

Department of Education and Children – Term Time Only Staff

For Department of Education and Children staff employed on a term time only basis, annual leave is not permitted during term time. On this basis, annual leave entitlement is rolled up and paid within the member of staff’s monthly salary.

Annual leave for part-time staff

Part time staff are entitled to the same allowances proportionate to their working pattern as full time staff.

Example:

Full time annual leave allowance x part time member of staff’s FTE* = annual leave allowance for part time member of staff

25 x 0.60 = 15 days annual leave

*FTE = number of part time hours per week / full time weekly hours of post

Annual leave carryover

Check your staff member's relevant terms and conditions to find out how much leave they can carry forward.

Staff commencing employment after the start of an annual leave year

A member of staff who commences employment part way through a leave year will be eligible for a proportionate amount of annual leave for the remaining part of the leave year.

Example:

A member of staff with an allocation of 21 days per annum who commences employment on 1st October but with the annual leave year commencing on 1 April.

Annual leave allowance / weeks in year x number of weeks worked = member of staffs annual leave allowance.

21 / 52.2 x 26 = 10.5 days annual leave (always round up to the nearest half day)

Staff leaving employment part way through an annual leave year

A member of staff who leaves employment part way through a leave year will be eligible for a proportionate amount of annual leave for the leave year whilst employed.

Example:

A member of staff with an allowance of 24 days per annum leaves employment on the 31 December (no of completed weeks service in relevant leave year up to 31 December = 39 weeks).

Annual leave allowance / weeks in year x number of weeks worked = pro rata leave allowance*

24 / 52.2 x 39 = 17.93 rounded up to nearest half day = 18 days annual leave

*Once this has been calculated remember to add any leave carried over from the previous leave year and/or deduct any leave already taken by the member of staff, in the current leave year

If a member of staff has exceeded their annual leave allowance prior to leaving they may be required to refund from their salary an amount equivalent to the number of days overtaken.

If a member of staff has any annual leave outstanding before they leave wherever possible this should be taken prior to them leaving.

Special leave

The Isle of Man Government attaches considerable importance to a clear policy for the consideration and approval of special leave for:

• domestic, personal and family matters
• civil and public duties
• trade union duties

The objective is to provide a policy which provides appropriate time off for these purposes whilst maintaining a high level of service to the public. In particular it wishes to help employees balance the demands of work with the demands of domestic responsibilities at times of urgent and unforeseen need by the provision of special leave, paid or unpaid according to circumstances

Full details can be found in the member of staff’s terms and conditions.

All applications must be made to the Accounting Officer or their delegate using the special leave form (OHR6). Please note Department of Education and Children staff use the Leave of Absence Application Form.

Our guidance on Adoption, Maternity and Paternity Leave provides helpful information regarding staff entitlements and your obligations in relation to pregnancy, maternity and adoption.

This handbook refers to PSC Civil Service, Manual and Craft and MPTC but does not affect your terms and conditions of employment which take precedence.

If you plan on recruiting to cover for maternity or adoption leave, please refer to the Recruitment Handbook or contact the Employment Services Team.

Keep in Touch Days are a valuable way for members of staff to maintain contact with their teams whilst on maternity or adoption leave and can facilitate a smoother return to work.

Learning, Education and Development provide a wide range of development for supervisors/managers, both for personal and staff development.

Personal Development for Supervisors/Managers

• Managing Meetings
• Presentation Skills
• 1st Line Management Development Programme
• First Steps for Leadership
• Leadership Development Programme
• Senior Leadership Development Programme
• Development Centres – Open to EO, HEO and SEO (and equivalent grades)
• Managing Change
• Project Management Skills
• Recruitment and Selection Workshop
• Financial Governance Awareness Workshop

Managing Staff

• Supervisory Skills
• Coaching Skills for Leaders
• Coaching – ILM Level 3 Award
• Soft Skills for Appraisals and PDRs
• Managing for High Performance
• Managing Sickness Absence
• Workplace Stress Management
• Grievance Handling

Developing Staff

• Assertiveness at Work
• Customer Service Workshop
• Handling Difficult Situations
• PDR Scheme
• Building Personal Resilience
• Managing my Stress
• Managing your Time
• Retirement Preparation
• The Healthy Worker Course
• Basic IT Skills
• IOM Government Corporate Induction

Performance appraisal is a valuable process which provides a framework to support ongoing, effective performance management.

The most important aspect of an appraisal scheme are the scheduled meetings between the manager and member of staff to enable constructive conversations around performance, setting key objectives and exploration of development opportunities that may be needed in order to achieve objectives or desired as personal workplace development or career aspirations.

Currently the appraisal process used in your area will be dependent on the terms and conditions of your members of staff and some staff groups do not have a formal appraisal procedure at present.

A new, simplified appraisal scheme is currently being developed which is intended to be an adaptable and practical scheme which can be tailored to suit specific employee group’s needs. Once in place, the new scheme will not only replace the PSC Civil Service PDR scheme, but will be available for other staff groups who currently do not have an appraisal scheme in place.

If you have any questions regarding performance appraisal, please contact your HR Advisory Team.

Step 1

Individual to submit resignation in writing to you.

Step 2

Check your member of staff’s minimum notice period in accordance with the terms and conditions of employment. This will be found in their Statement of Written Particulars.

If you haven’t got a copy please contact the OHR Recruitment and Employment Changes Team.

Step 3

Complete OHR5 form.

Step 4

Scan copy of the OHR5 form and resignation letter to the Employment Changes Team.

Oracle will be updated with the termination date and the Employment Changes Team will confirm the resignation via email. You will be copied into this email.

Age 65 is the contractual retirement age. However there is flexibility under the Government Unified Scheme (GUS) to retire from age 55. Please contact the Public Sector Pensions Authority (PSPA) for further information and details of other pension schemes.

It is the policy of the Isle of Man Government that Public Servants are expected to retire upon reaching their contractual retirement age except in a few specified employment groups. See Resignation and Retirement for more information and related policies.

Procedure

If your member of staff submits their retirement date in writing to you, please follow the leaving process from Step 3 (OHR5 form completion) onwards.

If an OHR5 form isn’t submitted by you to OHR:

1. The OHR Employment Services Team (EST) will contact you if you have a member of staff who is due to reach contractual retirement age that coming quarter.
   
   
2. EST will liaise with you and confirm the member of staff’s retirement in writing.

You may be able to request a retirement certificate for your member of staff if they have been in service for a number of years. Please check the Regulations Handbook/Department Policy for further information regarding long service.

Retirement support

Learning, Education and Development (LEaD) design and deliver learning, education and development services across the Isle of Man Government.

LEaD offers a retirement preparation course to all Isle of Man Government employees who are within two years of retirement.

We all want to ensure that we get the right person for the job and the Isle of Man Government Recruitment and Selection Policy is designed to ensure that, subject to the requirements of the Control of Employment legislation, the Government attracts and appoints the right people for vacant public sector posts:

• on the basis of fair and open competition
• on the basis of merit
• without discrimination

Vacancies arise in a number of different ways, for example, a member of your team leaves or you have received authorisation to create a new post. There is plenty of information, support and guidance available to help you with the recruitment process.

Find detailed information about in the Recruitment Policy and Equal Opportunities Handbook.

Training

LEaD provide a one day Recruitment and Selection Workshop for anyone involved in the recruitment of staff which takes you through the full process, from a vacancy arising, compiling an effective job description and person specification and interviewing skills.

Re-grades

Over time, the role and responsibilities of a job may change so substantially that the weight of the job changes significantly (either an increase or decrease), to warrant a review of the grading of the post. There are job evaluation grading processes in place for different terms and conditions. For further information, contact your appropriate Business Partner Team.

Jobtrain

Once you are ready to raise your vacancy on Jobtrain, you will need to ensure you have an Oracle position. To fill an existing post you will need to obtain the oracle details by contacting the OHR Employment Services team.

JobTrain is the e-Recruitment system used for Isle of Man Government recruitment. The system is used for the whole recruitment process from approval to recruit and advertising to confirming individuals in post.

Jobtrain is used to:

• create and approve vacancies
• review, assess and shortlist applicants
• schedule interviews
• complete interview assessments and new appointment details
• monitor progress of pre-employment checks
• confirm start date

All supervisors/managers with responsibility for recruitment should have access to JobTrain. To obtain log-in details and a guide for supervisors/managers, please contact the OHR Employment Services Team.

You will be provided with:

• log-in details
• user guide
• ongoing system support