Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.
Each month they release a “Monthly Action Calendar” which are packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.
This month’s theme is “Meaningful May”. This is all about reflecting on what gives our life meaning. Being a part of something bigger than ourselves and focusing on things that we value is key to our wellbeing.
Take daily actions, using their calendar below, to reflect on what you care about and what adds value to your life.
Following the recent nomination process for Staff Consultative Forum representatives, we are pleased to announce that Matt Hunton, Cleaning Team, Dan Williams, Historic Characters Team and Pam Woodall, Enterprise (F&D) Team have been appointed as representatives.
Please find below a full list of the Staff Consultative Forum representatives.
Constituency
Staff representative
Administrative, Specialist & Managerial
Tim Hamilton, vacancy x1
Enterprise (F&D, Admissions, Retail)
Pam Woodall, vacancy x1 (Retail, Admissions)
Historic Characters
Lee Adams, Dan Williams, vacancy x1
Maintenance
Matt Hunton
Casuals
Megan Hartshorne, David Ball
We still have vacancies in the Administrative, Specialist & Managerial, Enterprise (Admissions/Retail) and Historic Characters constituencies. The nomination process for these vacancies will open later this year. We will share information in regards to this closer to the time.
As we enter the third UK national lockdown, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you of the support available for all colleagues at BCLM. We now have team of 12 Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) to offer support through these very challenging times.
Some of our MHFAs are currently furloughed, but the following are working, and are happy to support as appropriate. If you click on their names you will see a brief bio of each MHFA. If you do decide to reach out to any of the MHFAs, please be assured that your contact and discussion will remain confidential between the two of you. They are able to listen if you simply want to share your concerns, but are also able to direct you to further appropriate support if you need it.
” Hi, my name is Dawn. Many of you have seen me around the Museum, but for those who haven’t, I am part of the Finance Team.
I have worked at the Museum since 2001 – starting in the Sales and Ticketing (Bookings) Office.
I am currently studying for my AAT Level 3 at Dudley College, and enjoy volunteering with my daughter, at the Greyhound Trust on a Sunday, walking and feeding the dogs and cleaning their kennels.
At the moment, we are still able to volunteer, and getting out has helped with our mental health during this pandemic.
I am married and have two teenage children, and two greyhounds at home. Life is never dull!
Being a Mental Health First Aider is very close to my heart, and I want people to know there is always someone there and to never feel alone. “
” Hi I’m Hayley, I work in the People & Culture Team and I have worked at the Museum for over a year.
Alongside full-time work, I am studying part time for my Level 7 CIPD Advance Diploma in Human Resource Management. This requires me to have strong organisational and time management skills to effectively manage my priorities at work and in my studies.
In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, walking and spending time with my family and friends.
COVID-19 has disrupted important milestones and caused a lot of anxiety and stress for all of us. For me in particular, there has been significant disruption to my studies and I was faced with the difficult decision of postponing my wedding just a couple of months before I was due to get married.
I became a MHFA to provide support to my colleagues and to help the Museum in its commitment to creating a health working environment. “
” Hi – I’m Jo and I’ve been Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive at the Museum for the past 5 ½ years, also providing support to the Board of Trustees and Leadership Team. Previous to this I worked for children’s charities, supporting management and key workers with projects and services for young people, sometimes dealing with challenging and often traumatic issues. One of the projects I supported introduced young people to new activities and experiences to help improve their mental health.
Finding what brings you joy, what’s meaningful to you that gets you through the day or helps with a difficult situation can be really powerful. For me, what’s got me through the last year and what helps with my own anxiety, has been staying connected to others, practising yoga and getting creative with crafts and DIY at home. Getting outside more has also helped and I’m currently attempting the Couch-to-5K scheme to help improve my fitness.
I also currently mentor 2 admin professionals outside of work, supporting them with the challenges they face in their roles, with personal issues and with their thoughts and hopes about the future.
I wanted to become a Mental Health First Aider to support colleagues with their own wellbeing and to help the Museum with its commitment to creating a happy and healthy workforce. “
” Hello, I’m Kate and I’ve worked at BCLM for just over 3 years as the Business Development Manager looking after venue hire, Business Partners and filming.
As well as working full time, I’m a Mom to 3, although 2 of my children are older and self-sufficient, they often still need their Mom! Juggling home and work life can be tricky and can bring many challenges, I’m grateful for the flexibility BCLM offers in order to manage this.
Exercise is a big deal in my day to day life. I love group workouts, indoor and outdoor cycling, walking and yoga. More recently these have been home workouts! It’s been a challenge to stay on top of this during lockdown, whilst out of routine and normal structure, but the days I get some exercise in are always the best days, even if it’s just a walk in nature somewhere!
Having experienced anxiety and depression for many years, I have found regular exercise and healthy eating plays an enormous part in keeping me on track. Being there for friends and family in the past using tools I’ve armed myself with, I am passionate about supporting people who struggle with their mental health. Having recently completed the Mental Health First Aider course, this has strengthened my ability to support colleagues who may need a hand or more importantly an understanding ear. “
” Hi, I’m Liz, Sales and Ticketing Manager and have worked at the museum for over 5 years in various roles.
In my own time I am studying for a BSc Psychology and Counselling degree. In previous jobs I’ve worked in a young person’s residential home providing mental health support and I’ve grown up with family members who work in similar professions.
I have an interest in genealogy, photography, which I had the perfect opportunity to work on during the lockdown and caring for several rescue cats and a rabbit which keeps me busy.
I wanted to become a MHFA because I believe there is a real need for a mental health support network in the workplace. “
NHS One You: For Your Body – useful resources to help you make better lifestyle choices for a healthier you
MHFA: Address Your Stress – a toolkit for tackling stress, including simple self-care tips, understanding your Stress Container, and a weekly wellbeing check-up
Mental Health First Aid England have created the below video to offer guidance for ways to support your mental health while working from home:
Whilst gyms and restaurants are closed at the moment, we would like to remind you that the Reward Gateway’s “Move” and “Munch” sections have some great videos for at-home workouts and great recipes to try out, respectively.
As always the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) scheme is available for all. The EAP offers 24/7 support on a range of topics, including mental health, overall wellbeing, financial and legal support, etc. You can access this service by calling 0800 015 7287 and quoting “Black Country Living Museum”. Alternatively you can access the online portal by visiting www.colleaguesupport.co.uk, using ‘72160’ as your username and password.
We would be delighted to hear how our colleagues are passing the time; any tips and stories would be very welcome. Please do send your experiences to [email protected] and perhaps we can share these with your permission.
Finally, we’d like to remind all colleagues to continue to let us know if you test positive for COVID-19 and/or if you have had the COVID-19 Vaccine, again please email [email protected].
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.
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.
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 all for your hard work and support in advance of our re-opening at the beginning of August and your enthusiasm for the programme and our COVID safety measures now we have visitors back onsite.
The feedback from our visitors has been overwhelmingly positive and many have commented that they have experienced parts of the Museum that they haven’t before, found our offer to be more engaging, our food and drink offer to be more plentiful and that the Museum has felt safe and well controlled.
Despite this wonderful feedback, we do need to recognise that closure due to COVID-19 meant we lost 150,000 visitors and C.£3m in revenue. BCLM is 94% funded by our visitors so with a continued reduction in attendance due to social distancing measures, the uncertainty around future visitors, especially schools and groups this Autumn and Winter, or our ability to hold events will continue to have a financial impact on the Museum
Our award from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund was gratefully received in June and this week we have submit a bid for further support from the Government Cultural Recovery fund. We will receive the outcome of our bid at the end of October.
With these factors in mind, we have taken the difficult decision to reduce the Museum’s opening hours, effective from 7th September 2020 as follows:
W/C 7th September: Open Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th, 10am – 4pm. (Wednesday 9th closed for a private booking)
W/C 14th September –25th October: Open Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm.
W/C 26th October – 1st November – October Half Term: Open Monday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm.
You will see that we are effectively bringing forward our winter opening hours to reflect our lower visitor numbers.
Those colleagues whose contracted days or hours will reduce as a result of the above, will have the difference “topped” up to 80% of their usual pay using the Government’s Job Retention flexible furlough scheme until the end of October when the scheme comes to an end and when we would usually expect to move to our low season hours.
If you have any queries about your personal situation or work patterns then please speak to you line managers who will work through these with you with support from People & Culture if required.
I appreciate this will be disappointing but not unexpected news and we mustn’t let it dampen our spirits. Let’s continue to deliver a fantastic visitor experience and maintain momentum and energy as we move into Autumn.
We are continually reassessing the impact of the COVID-19 on the Museum and, as previously communicated, our financial position as a charity largely reliant upon visitor income is very challenging. This challenge will increase while we remain shut and unable to generate income from visitors.
We were pleased to see the business support package announced by the Government on Friday 20 March and, in particular, the employee salary support measures. We are urgently looking into accessing the support from the Government in order to ensure job retention.
However, accessing this support will require the Museum to add a clause that is not currently in our contracts of employment that would enable us to furlough staff on a temporary basis. Therefore, following conversations with both Community Union and the Staff Consultative Forum, we will be in touch over the next few days to discuss this proposed contract amendment with you. Accessing the Chancellor’s support measures now will help secure the employment of our teams for better times in the future.
Employees are now able to submit requests to purchase additional annual leave or sell annual leave for the 2020/2021 leave year. Please note the maximum amount of annual leave an employee may buy or sell is the equivalent of one contractual week.
Employees who wish to make a request must familiarise themselves with the Museum’s Buying & Selling Annual Leave Scheme and complete a Buying & Selling Annual Leave Form. Requests under the scheme will require approval from the employee’s line manager and the People & Culture Team.
If the request to buy or sell annual leave is approved, employees will be notified of the resulting change in their monthly salary. Adjustments in pay as a result of the scheme will commence from March, for a period of 12 months.
Requests must be received by the People & Culture team by no later than Friday 13th March 2020.
You can access the Museum’s Buying & Selling Annual Leave Scheme and Buying & Selling Annual Leave Form here.
If you have any queries in relation to the buying and selling of annual leave, please do not hesitate to contact the People & Culture Team ([email protected]).
To improve efficiency and ensure accuracy for payroll
purposes, both the new starter and leaver process have been updated.
A flowchart has been created for the new starter and the
leaver process for managers to follow, which will help guide you through the
process step by step. The guidance for managers can be found in the ‘documents’
tab above under ‘forms>for managers’.
Most notably, the new starter and leaver forms have been revised to help capture the necessary information that the People & Culture team need, and to remove any redundant fields. If you have any previous versions of these forms please remove them from your files and only use the most up to date version which is now saved on the intranet in the ‘documents’ tab above under ‘forms>for managers’.
If you need any further guidance, please contact a member of the People & Culture Team ([email protected]).
