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Herts CC scoops top benefits prize
Hertfordshire County Council has won a top prize at this year’s Employee Benefits Awards – for the policies it has in place to help and support staff who have caring or parenting responsibilities.
The council’s ‘Balance’ strategy came first in the ‘Most effective benefits strategy for working parents and carers’ category of the Awards – ahead of IBM and South Tyneside Council. The council’s HR Officer, Anna Titmus, accepted the prize (sponsored by Accor Services) on behalf of the council at a ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane on June 18.
The Awards were organised by the Employee Benefits Magazine and embraced a range of categories. Among the companies represented were Asda, O2, Danone, Lloyds TSB, Norwich Union and Glaxo-Smith-Kline.
“Nearly a third of the county council’s 32,000 staff have caring or parenting responsibilities, so it is essential that clear policies are put in place to help them when they need support,” said County Councillor David Lloyd, Executive Member for Performance and Resources. “Leading employers from both the private and public sectors recognise that looking after the needs of your staff in other areas of their lives actually helps them to perform better – which is good for the organisation and the people we’re here to serve.
“We’re very pleased to have been given this award in recognition of what we have achieved to date with the Balance strategy and we remain committed to developing new, flexible policies which help those who make Hertfordshire the top authority that it is.”
The Balance strategy focuses on the three strands of Health, Care and Life, each of which is linked in to business needs such as recruitment, retention and service.
Under the Care strand, benefits include childcare vouchers, a summer play scheme and nursery discounts. All carers are eligible for emergency leave, and paid leave to attend carer support groups.
A range of benefits is also provided under the Health and Life strands to support wellbeing and work-life balance. The judges at the Awards were impressed by the nature of the policies and ideas such as the inexpensive support groups, which can make a huge difference to carers.
All council staff are entitled to ask for flexible working arrangements, with over 97 per cent of requests being granted to date. The council is also trying to influence the government to provide tax and national insurance breaks on carer vouchers.
Hertfordshire County Council has won a series of national employers’ awards in recent years. Last year it was recognised for being the employer with the best work-life balance policy and practice in the public sector. In 2006, the Guardian and the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF) named it as one of Britain’s top employers. In 2005, it received the prestigious Working Families ‘Carers in Employment’ Award jointly with BT.
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