Contract Procedures : Workforce matters

Our principal asset is our workforce. The Authority is committed to maintaining and developing its skilled and committed workforce. We were the first English National Park Authority to gain the Investors in People Award and we have continually maintained this award.

We monitor the corporate effectiveness of our use of human resources in a number of ways including:

• the proportion of our income spend on staff costs and the associated on-costs for example pension contributions;
• the numbers of staff we employ;
• the composition of our workforce;
• the level of sickness absences; and
• the level of staff turnover.

Northumberland National Park Authority had a handful of staff on contracts which are subject to the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in Local Authority Service.

During 2004 these staff’s transferred conditions of service were harmonised with the agreement of the staff’s union as part of the Single Status exercise. Therefore as of 1 April 2004 the National Park Authority no longer had any staff covered by transferred rights.