Our staff

We have 178 full time equivalent staff (excluding the Ombudsman) as of 1 April 2024.

As an impartial ombudsman service it is essential that people can trust the independence of our investigations. Our Conflict of interests rules ensure we remain impartial by avoiding any conflicts of interest from arising during the course of dealing with a complaint. Our Code of conduct for employees sets out how staff should conduct themselves so as to conform to the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

We do not accept gifts, hospitality or benefits of any kind from a third party which might be seen to compromise our personal judgment or integrity. Any gift offered which is not of a trivial nature is logged on our Gifts and Hospitality Register.

Trade Union Time

In accordance with the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017, we report annually on paid time off provided to trade union representatives for trade union duties and activities.

In 2023-24, six employees were relevant union officials and spent time on facilities as follows:

Percentage of Time	Number
0%	0
1%-50%	6
51%-99%	0
100%	0

The total cost of facility time was £3,0237 which represented 0.03% of the total pay bill (£10,021,000). There were no paid trade union activities.

Information for previous years can be found in our Annual Report and Accounts.

Team structures

See downloads for organisation charts, and pay scales for all posts with the organisation charts. Senior management pay and benefits can be found in our Annual Report and Accounts.

Management structure

See Our boards for information on the Commission and its related committees.

Executive Team

This is the team responsible for the operational leadership and management of the Ombudsman, its staff and resources. The Commission has delegated authority to the Executive Team to make all day to day operational decisions on behalf of the Commission, to manage service delivery and to agree operational policy.

Members

• Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
• Nigel Ellis, Chief Executive and Accounting Officer
• Paul Conroy, Director of Intake and Assessment
• Julie Odams, Head of Policy and Communications
• Karen Sykes, Director of Investigation

See Commissioner and senior staff profiles for more information on the members.

Functions

The Executive Team will carry out the following executive functions:

• delivery of our Business Plan
• budget planning and monitoring
• effective procurement and deployment of all resources, including staff, accommodation and external services
• monitor the internal audit programme and the implementation of audit recommendations
• agreeing and implementing operational policy, professional practice, risk and performance matters
• developing and recommending strategic policy and planning to the Commission through the annual budget and business planning process.

The Executive Team is accountable to the Commission through the Executive Chair, through corporate performance and risk reporting, and individual performance appraisal. It meets every fortnight.

Leadership Team

This brings together all managers at the organisation.

Functions

• To decide how they will, collectively, deliver the organisation’s objectives
• To support one another, in a trusting environment, to be the best managers they possibly can be
• To encourage learning, innovation and sharing best practice, so everyone improves
• To improve performance and provide constructive challenge to one another
• To fully engage with and respond to the views expressed by our staff

The group meets four times a year.