1. Authority
1.1 The Workforce and Education Committee is constituted as a standing committee of the Board of Directors and has no executive powers, other than those specifically delegated in these terms of reference. Its constitution and terms of reference are set out below and can only be amended with the approval of the Board of Directors.
1.2 The Committee is directly accountable to the Board of Directors and is authorised by the Board to investigate any activity within its terms of reference. It is authorised to seek any information it requires from any employee or contractor of the Trust and all employees and contractors are directed to cooperate with any request made by the Committee.
1.3 The Committee is authorised by the Board of Directors to secure the attendance of individuals and authorities from outside the Trust with relevant experience and expertise if it considers this necessary for or expedient to the exercise of its functions.
2. Purpose
2.1 The Workforce and Education Committee will provide assurance to the Board of Directors on the development and delivery of the Trust’s strategy and plans for a sustainable workforce.
2.2 The role of reviewing workforce and education performance indicators within the Integrated Performance Report on a monthly basis will be undertaken by the Performance Committee, which is a standing committee of the Board of Directors. The Performance Committee and the Board of Directors may remit more detailed review of any indicators of particular concern to the Workforce and Education Committee.
2.3 The Trust’s Audit Committee will retain overall responsibility for monitoring, reviewing and reporting to the Board of Directors on all aspects of governance, risk management and internal control. It will do so having regard to the assurance provided by the Workforce and Education Committee in undertaking its work programme.
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3.1 The members of the Workforce and Education Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and comprise:
- Three Non-Executive Directors
- Director of Workforce
- Chief Nurse
- Medical Director
3.2 One Non-Executive Director will be appointed as the Chair of the Workforce and Education Committee. Where possible, at least one Non-Executive Director member should also be a member of the Performance Committee.
3.3 The Chief Executive will identify an Executive lead for the Committee.
3.4 A quorum shall be three members, comprising two Non-Executive Directors and one Executive Director. In exceptional circumstances, an Executive Director member may send an appropriate nominated deputy in their place and this will count towards the quorum.
3.5 Members should make every effort to attend all meetings of the Committee and will be required to provide an explanation to the Chair of the Committee if they fail to attend more than two meetings in a financial year. If a member fails to attend more than three meetings in a financial year, the Chair of the Committee will consider with the Chair of the Trust the appropriate action to be taken. The Committee Secretary will monitor attendance by members and report this to the Chair of the Committee on a regular basis.
4. Attendance and secretariat
4.1 Other Executive Directors and other Trust staff will be invited to attend for specific agenda items with the agreement of the Chair of the Committee.
4.2 The Council of Governors may nominate up to two governors to attend each meeting of the Committee to observe proceedings. The observation of Board assurance committees by governors shall be subject to conditions agreed by the Board of Directors. The Chair of the Committee may in exceptional circumstances exclude governors from being present for specific items.
4.3 The Director of Corporate Affairs will ensure that the Trust Secretariat provides a Secretary to the Committee and appropriate administrative support to the Chair and committee members. This will include agreement of the agenda with the Chair and Executive leads, collation and circulation of papers, producing the minutes of the meetings, keeping a record of agreed actions and follow up, and advising the Chair and members of the Committee as appropriate.
5. Frequency of meetings
5.1 Meetings will be held four times a year, generally at a frequency of every three months.
5.2 The Chair may convene additional meetings of the Committee if necessary to consider business that requires urgent attention.
6. Reporting
6.1 The Workforce and Education Committee will receive a regular report from the lead Executive covering issues escalated from relevant the executive groups. The Committee will also receive regular exception reports from any sub-committee it establishes.
6.2 The minutes of the Workforce and Education Committee’s meetings will be circulated for information to all members of the Board of Directors. An exception report will be presented to the next meeting of the Board of Directors following each Committee meeting to draw attention to any matters that require disclosure or escalation to the Board, specifically where there is a lack of assurance in any aspect of workforce and education strategy.
6.3 The Workforce and Education Committee will provide an annual report to the Board of Directors on the effectiveness of its work and findings, including its review of relevant Board Assurance Framework entries and regulatory compliance. This will be based on an annual effectiveness review to be undertaken by the Committee which will inform its forward work plan.
7. Review
7.1 The terms of reference will be reviewed by the Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at least every two years.
8. Specific duties
8.1 Receive a report at each meeting from the Executive lead for the Committee covering issues escalated from relevant executive groups and compliance with statutory and regulatory workforce standards.
8.2 Review the development and delivery of the Trust’s workforce ambitions and strategy, focusing on:
- Good Work and Wellbeing
- Resourcing
- Ambition
- Inclusion
- Relationships
8.3 Receive and review at each meeting those entries on the Board Assurance Framework (BAF) which are to be overseen by the Workforce and Education Committee and ensure that they are appropriately reflected on the Committee’s work programme to enable the Committee to gain assurance on the effectiveness of the controls in place and progress in addressing gaps in control and assurance.
8.4 Receive a regular report on equality and diversity in the Trust and specifically review the Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) prior to sign off by the Board of Directors.
8.5 Review the proposed Internal Audit Annual Plan and make recommendations to the Audit Committee on the Internal Audit work programme as relevant to the remit of the Workforce and Education Committee.
8.6 Review on behalf of the Audit Committee the findings of Internal and External Audit reports covering matters within the remit of the Workforce and Education Committee, seeking assurance that appropriate actions are identified and implemented in response to recommendations and that learning is shared across the organisation.
8.7 Receive and review reports on significant concerns or adverse findings highlighted by regulators, peer review exercises, surveys and other external bodies in relation to areas under the remit of the Committee, seeking assurance that appropriate action is being taken to address these.
8.8 Review any workforce and education issues referred to the Committee by the Board of Directors or the Performance Committee.
8.9 Develop an annual work programme agreed by the Committee to discharge the duties as set out above.
8.10 Undertake an annual review of the effectiveness of the Committee to inform the Committee’s annual report to the Board of Directors and the following year’s work programme.
8.11 Undertake any other responsibilities as delegated by the Board of Directors.
Date approved
18 January 2023
Approved by
Board of Directors
Next review date
January 2025