1. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
POLICY DOCUMENT Human
Resources Policies Employee
Recognition & Long Service
POLICY TITLE: Human Resources – Employee
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
Recognition & Long Service.
LEAD OFFICER: JEAN H SHAW
DATED REVISED: April 2008
DATE FOR NEXT
April 2010
REVIEW:
APPROVED BY:
ADDITIONAL
GUIDANCE:
Other Human Resources Policies.
TEAMS AFFECTED: ALL SLHD STAFF.
THIS POLICY
REPLACES WITH
IMMEDIATE EFFECT:
Employee Recognition & Long Service
Policy May 2006

2. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION SCHEME ( KNOWN AS THE
GEM AWARD SCHEME)
This scheme is a process that recognises, encourages and rewards
excellence in the behaviour of employees over and above the requirements of
their normal duties; and provides an opportunity to celebrate such special
efforts.
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
PURPOSE OF THE SCHEME
The scheme aims to:
• Encourage excellence and commitment from employees
• Recognise and reward examples of high achievement
• Publicise the values that are held in high esteem by SLHD
• Raise the morale of employees by showing appreciation of effort
• Complement and enhance SLHD’s strategy in seeking external
accreditation of initiatives such as Investors in People
• Promote a culture of positive recognition and behavioural change within
SLHD
• Highlight and share good practice in the company
ELIGIBILITY
The scheme is open to all employees of SLHD, apprentices and modern
apprentices excluding the Senior Management Team.
CRITERIA FOR AWARD
The award is given to those employees who do something outstanding in a
positive way, over and above the usual expectations and responsibilities of
their role. This may be:
A one-off project or incident
or
Meeting one or more of the following criteria:
• The demonstration of innovative practice in improving service delivery and
or efficiency
• The demonstration of partnership working which leads to efficiency
• The impact on the provision of SLHD services in the eyes of the community
• The contribution to SLHD’s Best Value programme

3. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
• The extent to which an individual/team have consistently achieved in
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
excellence in service delivery over an extended period of time.
LEVELS AND FREQUENCY OF AWARD
Employee/Team of the Month
This award is for the employee/team that best meets the criteria. The award
for this level is a Gift Voucher to the value of £50 and a Certificate of Merit.
Commendation Award
This award is for employees who demonstrate excellence but are not judged
as the overall successful employee/team, in any one month. The award for
this level is a Gift Voucher to the value of £25 and a Certificate of Merit.
Alternatively, where more than one outstanding nomination is received in a
single month, this may be deferred for consideration in the next month.
Employee/Team of the Year
All employees/teams who have received an award for ‘Employee/Team of the
Month’ will be considered. The chosen team will receive an award of a Gift
Voucher to the value of £250 and a Certificate of Merit.
The ‘year’ for the purposes of the Annual Award will run from October to
September of the following year.
Encouragement Award
All employees who have been nominated, but are not successful will receive a
letter from the Chief Executive in recognition of their efforts.
SELECTION
The selection of the Employee/Team of the Month and any Commendation
Awards will be made by the Executive Management Team at the beginning of
each month following receipt of nominations in the previous month.
The Employee/Team of the Year will be selected by a panel of judges
comprising the Chief Executive, the Chair of the SLHD Main Board and a
Regional Trade Union Official.
RECOGNITION OF AWARDS
The value of the award is not intended to be a dominant factor within the
scheme; it is the recognition that counts.
Employee/Team of the Month and any Commendation Awards will be made
by the Chief Executive personally at a suitable convenient date.

4. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
The Employee/Team of the Year will be presented with the Awards at the
Staff Conference
Awards made will be publicised in the Staff Brief, Staff Newsletter, on the HR
Noticeboards and on the Intranet.
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
MONITORING OF THE SCHEME
Use of the Scheme will be monitored by the HR Department and reported
annually to the Executive Management Team and Board.

5. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
LONG SERVICE AWARD SCHEME
A long service award is an award given to employees to convey recognition
and thanks for their long-term commitment and service to SLHD and DMBC.
The scheme forms part of SLHD’s recruitment and retention strategy.
PURPOSE OF THE SCHEME
The scheme aims to:
• Recognise and reward long service
• Raise the morale of employees by showing appreciation of long service
• Promote a culture of positive recognition within SLHD
ELIGIBILITY
The scheme applies to all employees who have completed 20, 30 or 40 year’s
continuous service with SLHD and DMBC (or with another local authority that
became part of Doncaster Council)
In addition, employees who have had a break in service as stated below will
also be eligible providing that the break does not exceed 8 years and no other
permanent full-time paid employment is undertaken during this period:
• Maternity leave
• Attendance at a full-time College/University programme
• Career Break
AWARDS
Awards will take the form of gift vouchers to the value:
20 year’s service - £150
30 year’s service - £200
40 year’s service - £250
Employees will also receive a Certificate recognising their long service.
PRESENTATION AND RECOGNITION OF AWARDS
All employees receiving a long service award will receive a letter from the
Chief Executive acknowledging this achievement.
The awards made will be publicised in the Staff Brief, Staff Newsletter, on the
HR Noticeboards and on the Intranet as they occur.

6. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
When appropriate due to the date of the Award, and in agreement with the
relevant employee, presentations will also be made at the Staff Conference
and the Staff Christmas party.
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
MANAGEMENT OF POLICY
The directors of the company have overall responsibility to ensure that this
policy is fair and meets any legislative requirements in force.
Managers are accountable for implementing the policy and bringing it to the
attention of their employees. The policy and value of the Awards will be
reviewed by the Assistant Director Human Resources & Support Services
biannually or as required by legislative changes.
This policy does not form part of the employee’s terms and conditions of
employment except in so far as all employees are required to comply with and
observe the policies and procedures of the organisation.

7. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
GUIDANCE ON SUBMITTING NOMINATIONS FOR THE
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION SCHEME
NOMINATIONS
Anyone can nominate an individual or team for an award at any time. This will
include members of the public. Employees are not, however allowed to
nominate themselves. Thank you letters and calls from members of the public
and other service users may form the basis for a nomination.
No limits are placed on:
• The number of nominations a person may make.
• The number of occasions an employee/team is nominated for an award
The number of awards received by an individual employee and/or team will be
limited to one every six months.
PROCESS
1 A Nomination Form should be completed by the nominator and signed
by the appropriate manager. Where the employee has received a
commendation from a member of the public or other service user, the
form can be completed by the employee’s line manager.
However, the nomination form can also be used by members of the
public directly and copies will be made available if requested.
The nomination must detail how the employee/team meets the required
criteria i.e.
The award is given to those employees who do something outstanding
in a positive way, over and above the usual expectations and
responsibilities of their role. This may be:
A one-off project or incident
Or
Meeting one or more of the following criteria:
• The demonstration of innovative practice in improving service
delivery and or efficiency
• The demonstration of partnership working which leads to efficiency
• The impact on the provision of SLHD services in the eyes of the
community
• The contribution to SLHD’s Best Value programme

8. AGENDA ITEM NO: 11
APPENDIX C
• The extent to which an individual/team have consistently achieved
in excellence in service delivery over an extended period of time.
2 Supporting statements and relevant documents/evidence must be
Issue 1
(Review April 2009)
07.04.2008
attached to the form.
3 The form should be sent to the HR Department.
4 The HR Department will submit to the Executive Management Team all
nominations received within any one calendar month at the beginning
of the following month for consideration.