Our benefits

We believe that work-life balance is essential for wellbeing, productivity, and job satisfaction. Our flexible working culture is designed to help you perform at your best, maintain your health and happiness, and build a fulfilling career with the Council.

We recognise that how we work, and the flexibility we have within our work brings a range of benefits for both the Council and our colleagues.

Whether you’re returning to work, looking for greater balance, or simply seeking a modern and supportive employer, we’re committed to helping you find a way of working that fits your life. Some options are not available to colleagues in certain roles, but we aim to be as flexible as we can while making sure the service continues. Read more in our flexible working policy.

Flexible working options

• Hybrid working: Many of our roles allow for a blend of home and office working, to help you manage your time and responsibilities more effectively while staying connected with your team.
• Job share opportunities: We welcome applications from those who wish to share a role with another colleague, to provide greater flexibility and enable talented individuals to contribute in a way that suits their lifestyle.
• Compressed hours / compressed weeks: For some positions, you can choose to work your full-time hours over fewer days, to give you longer weekends or additional days-off during the week.
• Part-time working: We offer a wide range of part-time opportunities, and recognise that reduced hours can make employment more accessible to people with caring responsibilities, study commitments, or other interests.
• Flexible hours: Where possible, we support flexibility around start and finish times, to allow you to shape your day in a way that works for you and your role.

Flexible retirement

Changing working pattern, reducing working hours, and changing the duties of a job are popular options for colleagues working in later life. These changes can benefit you and us. They give you the opportunity to wind down to retirement, while opening up opportunities for recruitment and promotion to other colleagues.

Employment breaks

In the course of your working life, you may want some time away from work to study, gain other relevant work experience, travel, care for dependants, etc. If you have two years' continuous service with us, you can take an unpaid employment break of up to two years and return to work without it affecting your continued employment.

Teachers have a separate scheme and can take a break of up to five years under the SNCT scheme. They can apply under the Council Scheme or the SNCT Scheme, providing they meet the required conditions.

Other authorised unpaid leave

We also understand that you have other commitments outside of work and you may wish to take a period of unpaid leave but not take an employment break. Unpaid leave is available to all colleagues allowing you to take up to three months unpaid leave during a 12-month period.