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Category: HR and policies TV Feed

  • Half-term and weekend parking arrangements – a reminder

    Half-term and weekend parking arrangements – a reminder

    A reminder of the parking arrangements for half term week and all weekends up to and including Sunday 27 June 2021.

    Colleagues working on weekends that fall on or between Saturday 22 May to Sunday 27 June 2021 are instructed to park on Dudley Zoo’s car park where you will also be required to show your BCLM staff or volunteer photo ID card. If you do not have this, please contact People & Culture or your line manager.

    All colleagues and volunteers working week commencing 31 May 2021 (half-term week) will also be required to park on Dudley Zoo’s car park for that week. To minimise the impact on the Zoo’s car park, those colleagues that can work from home are encouraged to do so during half term week.

    It is important that every member of staff has a BCLM staff photo ID card. For any staff and volunteers who do not work during the week, Ben Careless will be in Sunday 30 May during morning briefing for anyone who needs their ID picture taken.

    Below is a map of the Zoo car park for BCLM staff car parking arrangements:

    Also, a reminder that where possible, we would encourage colleagues to work from home in order to minimise journeys to teh Museum and ease the demand on car park spaces.

  • Face Covering Guidance Update (27/04/21)

    Please note that the UK Government has recently updated its guidance on face coverings.

    Following this update, BCLM staff and volunteers working in non-public indoor spaces are recommended to wear a face covering, particularly when they are in discussions with colleagues and in common areas.

    We have updated our BCLM Staff COVID-19 Safe Return to Work Guidelines to reflect the above. We would encourage all staff to read through this document and re-familiarise yourself with the expected COVID-19-safe behaviours whilst on site.

    In addition to the above, we are asking all staff to please note the following:

    – Unless you have an exemption, a face covering must be worn at all training sessions during the re-opening training programme taking place from Tuesday 4th to Thursday 13th May 2021.

    – Staff are encouraged to take voluntary lateral flow tests at home prior to attending their first day of training. You can get a free test from most pharmacies or order online at https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

    – If your lateral flow test result is positive, you must not attend the Museum and immediately arrange a PCR test at your nearest testing centre. You must contact your line manager and email [email protected] with immediate effect to inform us of your positive result. Failure to immediately notify the Museum of a positive result may lead to disciplinary action.

    Watch this short video for a quick guide on lateral flow tests:

    As a Reminder

    By attending the Museum, you are confirming that neither you nor a member of your household has any of the main COVID-19 symptoms, as outlined by NHS England, i.e.:

    – A high temperature – this means that you feel hot to touch on your chest or back and you do not need to measure your temperature.

    – A new and continuous cough – this means coughing a lot more than an hour, or three more coughing episodes in 24 hours. If you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual.

    – A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

    You must not attend the Museum, even if requested to do so, if you have any of the above symptoms.

    Thank you for support with ensuring BCLM remains a COVID-19 secure workplace.

  • Vaccine Centre Update

    Vaccine Centre Update

    As you are aware, an area of the Museum site is to be used as an NHS Vaccination Centre against COVID19 from Mon 25 Jan.

    There will likely be news coverage about the Vaccination Centre over the weekend, however, the NHS have requested that we don’t make any public comment confirming the opening date until the centre goes live on Monday. Therefore, the launch date remains confidential until then.

    More information about the NHS’s national vaccination programme can be found on their website here.

    In line with clear Government guidance as regards non-essential travel, staff should continue to only be on-site for essential reasons.  These are currently identified as: supporting duty management duties, animal care, Forging Ahead, NHS vaccination centre assistance, filming support, maintenance, and any other one-off tasks that are deemed essential and which cannot be completed from home. If you are required on site for any reason this should be agreed in advance with your line manager. To avoid additional footfall in the admissions building, please access the Museum via the green pedestrian access gate if you are required to work on site (unless you are working in Rolfe St offices).

    Anyone who is required to be on site on Mon 25 Jan must not park vehicles on site – please use the main Museum car park.

  • BCLM Staff Consultative Forum – Elections for Posts

    The terms of the Staff Consultative Forum constitution determine that representatives can only stand for two terms, and as a result we would like to invite nominations for the following Constituent posts from all contracted staff:

    • Enterprise (Food & Drink, Admissions, Retail)     x 2
    • Historic Characters     x 2
    • Maintenance     x 1

    As a reminder, here are the current Staff Representatives on the Forum:

    Constituency

    Staff Representative(s)

    Administrative, Specialist & Managerial

    Tim Hamilton

    Steven Hearn

    Enterprise (F&D, Admissions, Retail)

    Vacancy x 2

    Historic Characters

    Lee Adams

    Vacancy x 2

    Maintenance

    Vacancy x 1

    Casuals

    Megan Hartshorne

    The Forum plays a key communication and discussion role in many significant matters affecting all colleagues across the Museum. The Forum meet quarterly and the meetings are chaired by either the Chief Executive or the Chief Operating Officer.

    If you would like to be considered as a Staff Representative, you will need a colleague from the same Constituency as you to propose your nomination and the name of another staff member, again within the same Constituency, who seconds the nomination.

    Given the current circumstances, we will accept email nominations and emails to second that nomination if you are unable to complete the nomination form. If you would like more information about the role of the Forum please email [email protected] or [email protected].

    The closing date for nominations is Friday 29 January 2021. Elections will be held following this date if we have multiple candidates for a single role.

    Unsure about which Constituency you fall under? Check the Constituencies paper saved on the Intranet (Museum Documents/Information/SCF Constituencies) or email [email protected].

    All contracted colleagues are eligible to apply with the exception of the Leadership Team.

    We would finally like to thank our outgoing representatives; Tom Law, Sheila Chamberlain-Hyett, Liz Peters, and Joy Oliver, as well as Peter Harrold who will be stepping down in April, for their honest and dedicated contribution to the Forum over the years.

  • All Staff Update – Wed 13 Jan

    All Staff Update – Wed 13 Jan

    In response to the latest national lockdown, the Museum will now remain closed until the end of March.  We are currently planning to re-open at the beginning of the school Easter Holidays from 1 April 2021. 

    Our re-opening is likely to happen under a tier system: the conditions of which will determine the kind of visitor programme we can offer.  We’ll communicate further information on the programme as Government guidance emerges over the coming weeks.  Training scheduled for January, therefore, will now be re-organised as appropriate given the revised timeline for opening.

    We were fortunate to receive financial support from Arts Council England and the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund in 2020.  Therefore, the Museum’s financial position is more secure than during the first lockdown before Government support was put in place.  Nevertheless, we will continue to review our position alongside the ongoing covid restrictions and associated impact on our programme and visitor numbers.

    Flexible furlough will continue for colleagues who are visitor-facing, unable to work from home, or who have caring responsibilities, and those whose workload is reduced due to the Museum’s closure.  In line with previous communication on flexible furlough, should you be required to return to work a member of your management team will be in touch to discuss and agree a work pattern with you.

    In line with clear Government guidance as regards non-essential travel, staff will only be on-site for essential reasons.  These are currently identified as: supporting duty management duties, animal care, Forging Ahead, NHS vaccination centre assistance, filming support, maintenance, and any other one-off tasks that are deemed essential and which cannot be completed from home. 

    The People & Culture team are working and are contactable if you have any questions, or require support.  Please either email [email protected] , or any member of the team individually if you would like a conversation.  All conversations will be treated in confidence.  As a reminder to all colleagues, should you test positive for the virus please inform the People & Culture team – even if you’re currently furloughed.  Please could you also inform the People & Culture team if and when you have received the covid vaccine. We request this so that the Museum can fulfil its obligations around duty of care, and also so that an appropriate return-to-work plan can be put in place for you in the run up to re-opening.

    You will be contacted about reducing holiday balances as the holiday year 20/21 will draw to a close while we are closed.  Please support your manager with this task.  As a reminder, any holiday taken is paid at 100% of pay, including during furlough.

    The NHS vaccine centre is planned to be operational from w/c 25 January and there may be opportunities for colleagues to volunteer with the NHS to support the centre.  Further communication on this will follow. Please note that this date is still confidential and not to be shared publicly.

    We are very aware of the continuing impact of this public health emergency on all colleagues.  Therefore, during this period of lockdown we will issue All Staff communications on a fortnightly basis; please do check the intranet for latest updates and stay in touch.

  • Temporary Homeworking: Self-Declaration Required

    Following the recent UK Government announcement of a third national lockdown, anyone who has not already done so, please ensure that you read and understand the BCLM Temporary Homeworking Policy and complete an online self-declaration form if you expect to be working either some or all of your working hours at home during this period.

    Please also note that you may be able to claim tax relief while working from home due to coronavirus (COVID-19). You can view the full guidance on the gov.uk website to see if this is applicable to you.

  • Updated Fire and Emergency Evacuation Procedures

    Updated Fire and Emergency Evacuation Procedures

    The Fire and Emergency Evacuation Procedures have been updated to include ACT guidance on dealing with bomb threats and on responding to weapons/firearms attacks. The new procedures can be found in the intranet documents here.

    The guidance is in line with the “Run, Hide, Tell” posters already found on the notice boards in staff areas. Staff should be assured that there is no increased threat to the Museum and the additions are to make sure that we are considering all emergency situations that may arise. All staff should familiarise themselves with the procedures so that they can take appropriate action in an emergency.

  • Museum update: training postponed

    Museum update: training postponed

    We hope you and your families have had a restful Christmas period. 

    Following last night’s Government’s announcement of a new national lockdown, we can confirm that the planned training in January will now not take place as advised in December.  Further information regarding this training, and future plans for re-opening will be communicated later on in January.

    Can we also please remind anyone returning to work in January that you should work from home and only return to the site if advised to.

    Thank you.

  • An end of year message from Andrew

    An end of year message from Andrew

    As 2020 comes to a close, Andrew shares his reflections on a tumultuous and transformative year for the Museum and what lies ahead. Follow the link below to watch on YouTube.

    If you are having trouble viewing the video please see below for the transcript.

    “2020 has been a year that we’re not going to forget, are we? And nor should we actually, really, because it’s had impacts both personally and professionally on the Museum. But, I think we’ve adapted tremendously well, and we’ve worked together tremendously well. You know, I’ve always regarded the Museum as a stage upon which we tell stories, and despite COVID I think we’ve adapted tremendously well to make that stage even livelier than we normally do, and I thank you all for that.

    Do you know, the response we’ve had from visitors and from people who follow us on all the social media channels and get in touch with us has been heartening, actually, even during times when we’ve been closed. Actually it’s given us great comfort that we’re doing the right thing, and that when things get back to normal they’ll be there for us and I’ve found that tremendously supportive.

    This year we’ll have only welcomed around 90,000 visitors, that’s something like about 75% less than we normally would – but we’ve given a great experience for them, and I think it’s been tremendously helpful to be open as much as we possibly can be. But, only welcoming 90,000 visitors as you well know has had a huge impact on our finances. We’ve had to have financial support from the taxpayer of about 5 million pounds, and sometimes I’ve felt like Oliver Twist, actually, just having our hand out all the time, wanting more and more to keep us going. But, we’ve all made sacrifices, and I think through those sacrifices we’ve put ourselves in as best a position as we possibly can be for the future. It feels like we’ve all pulled together.

    It seems ironic, doesn’t it, the last twist of the year is that we’re now being set up as a vaccination centre for COVID, and I expect that to happen early in the new year.

    Forging Ahead is continuing on, particularly the design work, and I hope to have some good news about that in the coming days and weeks. It feels like Forging Ahead is even more important to our future than maybe it did in the past.

    So for now, I wish you a very Happy Christmas wherever you are, and whoever you can be with and I hope for better times in the new year. Thanks very much.”

  • Support the Museum with Amazon Smile

    Support the Museum with Amazon Smile

    With Black Friday coming up if you are using Amazon for your shopping remember to shop using Amazon Smile!

    Using Amazon Smile is exactly the same as using Amazon, with the added benefit of a donation to your chosen charity. You can nominate BCLM as your charity and we’ll receive a donation each time you shop with Amazon Smile, at no extra cost to you.

    Simply sign up here: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/  and choose The Black Country Living Museum Trust as your charity.

    Thank you and happy shopping!

    – The Development Team