Decision details

Strategic HR & Payroll System - Contract Procurement

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Decisions:

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report seeking authority to procure and award a contract for the provision of a third party hosted, strategic HR & Payroll system for a period of two years, with a possible extension period of a further two years.

 

The report noted that the Council required an HR & Payroll system to effectively manage and pay employees in compliance with relevant legislation, and to meet its obligations in respect of statutory reporting.  Midland HR’s iTrent software had been used for a number of years, primarily for payroll and pensions provision, the most recent contract extension being for five years from 2017 with the contract due to expire in May 2022.  The system was hosted by Midland HR who also provided helpdesk support and upgrades funded as part of the ongoing annual system costs. 

 

The report explained that since 2019 the Council had transformed its HR service and the development and utilisation of iTrent had increased significantly with additional modules and functionality now including: Recruitment & Onboarding, Performance Management, Absence Management, Annual Leave, HR Case Management and Employee and Manager Self Service.  The implementation costs of £280,318 had been met from the Council’s Delivery Fund due to their transformational nature.

 

The report proposed that, due to the investment in the use of iTrent since 2019, its integral position in the Council’s processes, and the results of benchmarking showing that this solution was approximately 20% less expensive than the next best priced alternative, the Council retain the iTrent system for a further period with a proposed procurement route to award via the G-Cloud Framework.  The new agreement would see all existing functionality retained with new provision added, including E-signatures, interactive payslips and Chatbot providing an enhanced user experience.  A reciprocal clause would be included to ensure that significant changes in staffing numbers were reflected in the annual charges. The contract would be structured over two years, with the option to extend by two further years.

 

Resolved –

 

          That the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Corporate and Consumer Services, be authorised to procure and award a contract for provision of a third party hosted, strategic HR & Payroll system for a period of two years, with a possible extension period of a further two years.

Publication date: 16/06/2022

Date of decision: 04/04/2022

Decided at meeting: 04/04/2022 - Policy Committee

Accompanying Documents: