Social partnership duty report 2025

Introduction

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is committed to embedding the principles of Social Partnership across everything we do. For us, partnership is not a single meeting or a procedural requirement. It is a way of working built on trust, openness and early collaboration. It means ensuring that Trade Unions have a meaningful voice from the very beginning of decision-making processes and that staff perspectives shape the strategic choices we make.

This report prepared by Emma Coward, HR Business Partner and agreed with NRW’s recognised Trade Unions, sets out how NRW has complied with the Social Partnership Duty. It demonstrates how we are building a culture where employee voice is central to delivering our purpose and responsibilities as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body.

Understanding the social partnership duty

The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 places a legal duty on specified public bodies, including NRW, to seek consensus or compromise with recognised Trade Unions when setting Wellbeing Objectives and when making strategic decisions about the steps required to achieve them. Consultation must begin at a formative stage, at a point where proposals can still be shaped and influenced, and Trade Unions must be provided with sufficient information and reasonable time to consider the issues fully.

Alongside this, Section 18 of the Act requires public bodies to produce and publish an annual report on how the duty has been applied. This report must be prepared in partnership with Trade Unions and submitted to the Social Partnership Council. In NRW, the Duty has formalised a way of working that has in large part long been part of our organisational culture - where transparency, dialogue and involvement at the heart of our decision. However, we recognise that we can improve the Social Partnership further, for example by involving Trade Unions earlier in strategic decision-making processes.

Our partnership working arrangements

NRW has longstanding partnership agreements with five Trade Unions, with whom we maintain close, constructive and regular engagement.

• Unison
• Prospect
• PCS
• Unite
• GMB

This partnership is embedded through a range of established forums, each offering Trade Unions a meaningful role in shaping strategy, policy and organisational change.

Over the past year, Trade Unions have contributed to our corporate planning, including our Nature and People Thriving Together plan. Their involvement should ensure that our Well-being Objectives reflect the lived experience of staff and emphasise fairness, inclusivity and wellbeing. Work has also begun on developing our fourth Well-being Objective, ‘Our NRW’, and Trade Unions will be involved in it’s finalisation and implementation.

In NRW we have a range of established forums to support structured dialogue with Trade Unions that align with the Social Partnership Duty.

• Partnership Council meets twice annually, provides a strategic forum for discussing current and future organisational developments, financial and budget related matters and legislative changes. The Chief Executive and trade unions attend these meetings . The Social Partnership Duty is now a standing agenda item.
• Partnership Forum brings together Trade Unions and HR to discuss issues affecting all colleagues, from people policy development, wellbeing to pay remits, changes in legislation and updates from key people leading on organisational wide projects such as the flood, fleet, and incident rota management reviews.
• People Board are a consultative group which offers a space for Trade Unions to influence people strategy, workforce planning and the People Transformation Projects with agreement to present some of these topics at the Partnership Forum.

Operational engagement is delivered through the Partnership Forum, which meets every six weeks. Here, the Head of HR, HR Business Partners and Trade Union reps collectively consider people policies, change proposals and workforce issues.

Trade Union reps play an active role in many cross-organisational working groups and programme boards.

All people policies and procedures are developed in consultation with the Trade Unions prior to approval, ensuring that matters or concerns are addressed in the working group. During the course of the year these are some of the matters which have been considered under the Social Partnership duty:

• Fleet Review - Co-developed an engagement plan with Trade Unions to support the EV transition and gain an in depth understanding of the implications for Operational staff.
• Accommodation Review – to deliver change across our estate, Trade Unions supported the relocation of staff from the office in Cardiff to the WG offices at Cathays Park. This was a complex and very challenging project which involved lots of dialogue and meetings with the Trade Unions to get their input/ideas to help shape the consultation exercise. Staff wellbeing and open dialogue was a key factor in the success of this project.
• Organisational Change Programme - Trade Unions supported the staff consultation for the Change Programme by gathering feedback from members and feeding this up to senior management, and by sharing a joint platform with senior leaders to update staff on the changes and shaping the staff communications. Trade Unions played a pivotal role in the Change Implementation Group (CHIG) which was set up to oversee the change process ensuring transparency and fairness. The loss of senior staff midway through the Programme benefited from Trade Unions and HR colleagues working together to overcome those challenges.
• Employment Rights Bill Developments - Trade Union and HR Business Partners developed a forward plan in partnership to ensure that we prioritise resource in this area. HR will continue to monitor developments and feed back to the Partnership Forum.
• Engagement with Trade Unions in the development of the Temporary Promotion procedure for all staff across all grades to ensure a fair, consistent and transparent approach. Six-month review with Trade Union partners completed.

Continuous Trade Union involvement ensures that proposals are tested from multiple perspectives, risks are identified early, and staff experience is reflected in solutions.

This maturing partnership is characterised by openness, early engagement, and a shared commitment to making decisions that support both our organisational aims and the wellbeing of colleagues.

Raising awareness and training

Over the past year, we have taken clear steps to help colleagues across NRW understand the Social Partnership Duty and what it means for their work. Our recognised Trade Unions will participate in the national training delivered by the TUC, strengthening collective understanding of the Act and building confidence in applying its principles.

Within NRW, a new e-learning module will be launched on our Learn platform to support staff understanding of the duty. The module will outline what Social Partnership means in practice and how it aligns with our values. Briefings have already been delivered to the Executive and Leadership Teams, and early in 2026 the Chair and members of the NRW Board will also receive a briefing session.

Our aim is for the duty to become part of our organisational identity and culture - a shared expectation that collaboration, transparency and co-production guide every major decision we make. Early next year we will develop and implement a joint action plan to track progress.

NRW has secured Social Partnership Champion volunteers to support the organisation in further embedding Social Partnership and its core principles.

Case study - social partnership in action: Cardiff office move

The relocation from Ty Cambria (Newport Road) to Cathays Park 2 (CP2) under the Adfywio renewal programme provides a powerful example of what Social Partnership looks like in practice.

The move was driven by a desire to re-imagine our estate following the COVID-19 pandemic and to design modern, flexible workspaces that support wellbeing, collaboration and sustainability. The CP2 site offers improved amenities including meeting rooms, collaborative areas, a canteen, and spaces designed to support hybrid working.

What stands out is not simply the destination, but the way the change was delivered. From the outset Trade Unions were involved in defining the approach, shaping the consultation, and working with HR and Facilities colleagues to understand and address staff concerns. Their insight ensured that wellbeing, accessibility and fairness were kept at the centre of decision-making rather than being treated as secondary considerations.

Union representatives played a pivotal role in governance, sitting on the Cardiff Accommodation Project Board, Fleet & Facilities Boards and the Change Implementation Group (CHIG). Their involvement strengthened staff trust, helped frame mitigation measures and supported a more joined-up transition.

A lessons-learned exercise carried out after the move reflected high satisfaction with the process and emphasised that early, honest and continuous partnership working significantly improved staff experience and confidence in the change. This case study highlights how Social Partnership helps NRW to manage bold organisational changes in a thoughtful, transparent and people-centred way.

Looking ahead: strengthening social partnership

As we move into 2026, we will continue to strengthen Social Partnership across NRW. This includes providing more opportunities for Trade Unions to be involved at the earliest stages of setting Well-being Objectives and in shaping the reasonable steps that flow from them. We recognise that early involvement leads to better decisions, and we are committed to embedding this principle throughout the organisation.

As part of our commitment to the Social Partnership Workplace Champion initiative we are going to work in partnership with the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who we’ve been paired with. to seek best practice and learn from each other.

We also intend to review the structure and purpose of our partnership meetings to ensure they remain meaningful, timely and effective. Our goal is to sustain the “open-door” culture that has become a hallmark of the NRW–Trade Union relationship, where TU reps feel confident raising issues directly with HR, managers and senior leaders, knowing their perspectives will influence decisions.

Through this continued commitment, we aim to support NRW in its mission to help nature and people thrive together, ensuring that our organisational decisions remain fair, inclusive and grounded in our collective responsibility to the people and communities we serve.

Conclusion

This report reflects a year of positive, constructive and maturing partnership between NRW and our recognised Trade Unions. The Social Partnership Duty has provided a framework that reinforces our commitment to meaningful engagement, but the substance comes from the culture we continue to build - one of openness, respect and shared purpose.

NRW remains committed to working in the spirit as well as the letter of the Social Partnership Duty. We will continue to involve, consult and collaborate, ensuring that the decisions we make are informed by the collective insight and experience of our workforce. Through this approach, we will strengthen trust, support wellbeing and deliver better outcomes for the people, communities and natural environment of Wales.