Perks of the Job

The pay

Of course, the pay depends on what job you end up doing. However, council workers get paid around the same as people in private businesses, especially when it comes to administrative or management posts.

Work when you want and how you want

Local councils offer flexible working where you can work the hours that suit you.

Often there are part time and job share opportunities or shift work available.

Councils are at the forefront of something called “Work Life Balance”; the aim of which is to give you the chance to achieve a better balance between your work and other priorities like caring for children or doing community or voluntary work.

Some of the options:

Flexi-time:

In some roles you can vary your hours outside of the routine 9am-5pm working day. For example, you might want to start earlier and finish earlier to fit in with football practice or picking your child up from school.

Part-time work:

A part time employee works less than the standard number of full time hours for the type of work they are doing. Part time is often suitable for people who look after children or care for relatives.

Training and development

Your local council may invest in you, providing training to help you further your career and do your job to the best of your ability.

Throughout your career within local councils, you should have regular meetings with your manager where you can identify what you want to learn. The council might provide in house training or pay for you to go to college one day a week.

Pensions and other benefits

Council workers have the option of joining the Local Government Pension Scheme to which they pay a contribution.

Other benefits can include generous holiday entitlement, at work crèche facilities, a discount at council leisure facilities like gyms and swimming pools and reduced fares on buses and trains. Some councils even have bike-to-work schemes.

The biggest perk of all

As a council worker, you might play a key part in improving your local park, design a new community centre, or even help the different communities in your area understand each other better.

Working for your council gives you the opportunity to make a positive difference to the people and communities where you live.