Dear all,
It’s only two weeks until Christmas and I hope everyone is looking forward to whatever plans you have, whether that’s spending time with loved ones, going travelling or getting some well-deserved rest. While many of our workforce will be enjoying some time off, it’s important to remember that our frontline services will remain operational and we have employees working over the festive period including those working their usual working hours and those on standby. I would like to extend my special thanks to all these teams, who continue to ensure our residents receive the best quality services during this time – this includes Waste, Care at Home and Customer Services amongst others.
It’s been another busy month – work has now begun to upgrade Lennoxtown Main Street, the latest round of Community Grants opened and HSCP launched its budget consultation. I would also like to thank everyone who completed the Council’s budget consultation – the findings will be reported at Council on 18 December, and these will help to inform the overall budget proposals and decisions in March.
The Council meeting on Thursday 18 December is, as always available to watch on the Council’s YouTube channel, with papers going live on Modern.Gov a week before.
Replacing our HR & Payroll System with Oracle Fusion HCM
You should be aware by now, as outlined in Employee News 30, that we have taken the decision to push the go live date of our new system to later in 2026.
A significant amount of preparation work has been undertaken to design, build and test the new HR & Payroll system. Taking on board the feedback in relation to the timing of the restrictions in advance of the Christmas period, and the significant volume of work that would also need to be undertaken by those teams involved, it was felt it was only right that the go live was pushed back. I would like to thank everyone who has worked incredibly hard on this project so far and will continue to do so into next year.
Equally Safe at Work
As part of the programme which we detailed in Employee News 26, all members of the workforce – including EDLC and HSCP - are invited to complete a confidential survey by Close the Gap, which has developed the Equally Safe at Work programme to support employers in addressing women’s inequality at work.
The survey aims to capture the experiences of Council employees. Close the Gap will use the data to build a picture of current practices and to gain an understanding of the priorities of our workforce. The survey will remain open for responses until Friday 23 January 2026.
Pupils name four new gritters
You may have seen the fantastic press coverage showcasing the names of our new gritters.
More than 200 children rose to the challenge and submitted name suggestions on the themes of weather, popular culture and local landmarks. Entries were judged by Councillor Paul Ferretti, Convener of the Place, Neighbourhood and Corporate Assets committee, along with members of the Fleet team.
The winners were Lew-ice Ca-plough-di, Mugdock Melter, Ctrl+Alt+De-ice and Beast from the East (Dunbartonshire).
The new trucks visited the winning schools to allow the children to see their chosen names on the side of the trucks. The winning pupils were presented with a certificate, prize and their classmates were treated to by a road safety lesson by the fleet team in the playground.
You can read more in the news section of our website and well done to your four young winners!
Provost’s Christmas Foodbank Appeal
The Provost is running her annual Foodbank appeal in the run up to Christmas. Bins are located in Marina HQ, Southbank House, Broomhill Depot, the Community Hubs and Leisure Centre’s until Wednesday 17 December. All donations will be very much appreciated and will be collated on Thursday 18 December and delivered to the local Foodbank for distribution to those most in need in time for Christmas.
Education round-up
It’s been another great month for our pupils and schools. Douglas Academy was named Scottish State Secondary of the Year by The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, St Matthew’s received a positive inspection report and Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce visited Balmuildy Primary School.
Also, there wasn’t a seat to be had at this year’s East Dunbartonshire schools’ Christmas Gala Concert at the Royal Concert Hall earlier this month. The sell-out show, which featured talented singers and musicians from our local schools, blew the audience away.
Congratulations to all the young people who took part and huge thanks to colleagues in the Instrumental Music Service and school staff who worked hard to prepare the children.
Monthly Wellbeing Focus
As usual, our Monthly Wellbeing Focus is updated each month with key campaigns and details of support all employees can access.
And, finally….
I know many of you will be taking some annual leave before the festive holidays formally begin, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all the hard work over the past year. It’s been another challenging year in local government, but I’m proud of the work achieved and the services we continue to deliver to our residents. Your work and dedication is appreciated and very much acknowledged.
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year.
Thanks,
Ann
