Staff News

With the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 being anxiety, it’s a good opportunity for us to better understand anxiety and how to support ourselves and others.

Anxiety is a common emotion that we’ve likely all experienced at some point in our lives. People living with an anxiety disorder will feel intense levels of anxiety frequently, which can deeply impact their quality of life.

Anxiety disorders affect over 8 million people in the UK – that’s a little over 1 in 10 of us – and there are a lot of different types.

An Armed Forces Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local Armed Forces Community.

Public Holidays 2023/24 and The Coronation of His Majesty the King

As a reminder the Council Public Holiday dates for 2023/24 are as follows:

A look back at the ‘five P’s’ of cyber security, and the range of ways the Council works to keep the data it holds safe from malicious attacks.

We know that talking about the menopause at work isn’t always easy. But the more conversations we have about the impact that menopause and perimenopause can have on work, the better life is for everyone.

The menopause remains a taboo subject in many workplaces and with the majority of people who are experiencing menopause-related health problems being reluctant to disclose this to their managers, it is important for us all to increase our understanding of the menopause and perimenopause, and to better understand the impact it can have on our working lives.

A strategic plan which will see the Council focus on growing Orkney's economy, strengthening its communities and developing local infrastructure over the next five years, was agreed by Councillors at today's meeting of the Full Council.

The 'Council Plan 2023 – 2028’  sets out the key priorities for the Council over the next five years as well as the actions and projects that will need to be completed to meet those.

Orkney Islands Council's decision to increase Council tax in the county by 10% has been ratified at today's meeting of the Full Council - and comes with a vow to push the Scottish Government for a resolution to the long running disparity between the funding received by the Council and other island authorities

Orkney residents will receive funding of  £360 (10.7%) per head of population less than Shetland and £707 (21.1%) less than Western Isles for 2023/24.

The final set of working values for staff have now been agreed - and work is underway to make them a key part of our daily working lives at Orkney Islands Council.

The last day of our Scottish Cyber Security week brings us to the most important topic and the one we all play a part in - ‘People’.

We have designed, developed and built a strong perimeter defence over time, and you can think of this as being similar to School Place.  Just as how you need a special key (your tag) to get into the office - and if you're not wearing your ID, you could be challenged - our perimeter is built on the same principle. Nothing can get directly in or out, and everything is checked to see whether it's malicious or normal network traffic.