Westminster City Council: Strengthening Public Services Through Strategic Workforce Partnership

The challenge

• Fragmented hiring and off-contract spend
  Hiring managers frequently worked directly with agencies, leading to varied margins, inflated costs and non-compliant routes into the organisation.
• Limited visibility of contingent spend
  Budget holders lacked a single source of truth for monitoring costs, understanding market rates or tracking workforce activity across departments.
• Complex and evolving legislation
  The introduction of IR35 and subsequent changes, such as adjustments to National Insurance, created uncertainty and required rapid operational adaptation.
• Adoption of new technology and processes
  Moving from manual, inconsistent approaches to a modern workforce platform required support, training and a significant shift in behaviour.

Our solution

• A centralised, compliant hiring model
  Matrix Workforce became the Council’s single, compliant route for all temporary and interim staffing. This ensured fairness across agency charges, reduced off-contract activity and introduced governance aligned with public sector requirements.
• A supply chain tailored for London’s labour market
  As part of the partnership, Matrix helped Westminster City Council refine and strengthen its supply chain, ensuring all agencies were compliant, competitive and equipped to deliver high-quality candidates across both common and specialist roles.
• Empowering decision-making through data and technology
  With the adoption of Matrix’s Workforce Technology Platform, Westminster City Council gained real-time visibility of workforce activity, ensuring service areas are aware of their exact spend. Hiring managers and senior leaders now have access to live dashboards, reporting and year-on-year comparisons that strengthen financial and operational control.
• Dedicated onsite support
  A Matrix consultant works directly with hiring managers to improve job specifications, support platform adoption and streamline the hiring process. This embedded expertise has become a key enabler of the Council’s ongoing success.

The results

• Higher fulfilment and better-quality candidates
  Turnaround times have improved and candidate quality has strengthened, supported by an agency network attuned to the demands of the London market.
• Greater control of spend and stronger market alignment
  With transparent reporting and clear insights into day rates and historic spend, leaders across Westminster City Council can now challenge costs and drive better value.
• Reduction in off-contract activity
  Almost all contingent hiring now flows through the compliant Matrix route, supported by clear processes, governance and audit trails.
• Consistent compliance and assurance
  Structured approval workflows and documentation ensure hiring is transparent, auditable and aligned to internal and regulatory expectations.
• A partnership trusted through continual change
  Matrix has supported Westminster City Council through IR35, National Insurance changes and wider legislative shifts, providing guidance and operational support whenever needed.

The outcome

Social value is central to Westminster City Council’s expectations of its partners. Matrix has consistently delivered beyond the commitments originally set out in the partnership, reinforcing that the mission of connecting people to work goes far beyond solution delivery or technology alone – it is embedded in how expertise and community engagement are woven into the service model.

Key initiatives include:

• Interview skills and CV workshops for unemployed residents and local university students.
• Collaboration with the Council’s community engagement teams to connect local people with roles aligned to their experience and aspirations.
• Environmental projects, including tree planting and wider community-focused initiatives.

With continued legislative change and evolving workforce needs, Westminster City Council sees Matrix as a key partner in helping them adapt with confidence. Whether navigating new employment laws, supporting organisational restructure or meeting the growing demand for specialist skills, Matrix continues to evolve the service with the Council’s needs at the forefront.

Eight years into the partnership, Matrix remains a trusted and strategic provider to Westminster City Council. With improved visibility, stronger governance, high-quality candidates and a commitment to social value, Matrix helps the Council deliver essential services effectively while navigating an ever-evolving employment landscape.

This long-standing partnership is defined by collaboration, adaptability and shared purpose, and continues to evolve to support the Council’s ambitions for its workforce and community.

What Westminster City Council think of us