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We want to give our people the best culture and rewards to allow our staff at Sefton a happy and inclusive environment to work in. 

Sefton Council is committed to building a culture where you can thrive no matter what stage of your career you are in whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance.

We value our employees and aim to create a positive, innovative and open work culture that supports everyone. 

Find out more information below on the benefits we offer at Sefton Council.  

Right to Request Flexible Working Arrangements

Sefton Council recognises the needs of its employees to balance their work and personal responsibilities; it also recognises its obligations under the Government's Flexible Working Regulations. The Scheme is available to all employees who have worked continuously in Sefton for 26 weeks (at the date of application). 

The Authority also operates other flexible working arrangements. Further details can be obtained from the Corporate Personnel Department. 

Job Sharing Scheme

We operate a Job Sharing Scheme which, apart from some proven exceptions, is available to all employees. Job sharing means that two people can voluntarily share the duties and responsibilities of one full-time job. Pay and leave are pro rata. 

Working Week 

This is generally a 36 hour week with many posts operating to flexitime. This system offers the opportunity to choose starting and finishing times which best suit personal needs. "Core time" operates from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. with outer limits of 7.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Lunch break must be at least 30 minutes taken between the hours of 12 noon and 2.00 p.m. During the flexible bands employees may start and finish work as they wish, provided that there is adequate cover at the place of work. Hours may be accumulated to give 1.5 days off within each settlement period of five weeks (pro rata for part-time staff). For posts not subject to flexitime normal office hours are 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. (Monday to Thursday) and 4.00 p.m. on Friday, with a lunch break of 1 hour. These hours may, however, vary for certain posts, e.g. in Libraries, Residential Homes, etc.

Assistance with Relocation

A relocation package is available in appropriate cases. Details of the scheme are available upon request.   

The Conditions of Service are as negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services. Whilst the duties and times of work may vary in the case of particular posts the following conditions are generally applicable unless otherwise indicated. 

Maternity Leave

All employees regardless of hours of work or length of service have the right to 52 weeks maternity leave and the right to return to work. Employees with at least 26 weeks service (at the 15th week before their expected week of childbirth (EWC) will qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay. Employees with at least 12 months service (calculated up to the 11th week before EWC) qualify for Occupational Maternity Pay, if returning to local authority work for at least 3 months.

We support parents of premature babies.  Approval was given for the introduction of the Employer with Heart Charter Mark which supports parents of premature babies  Employees are able to extend their leave by the number of days a baby was born prior to their due date. Fathers/partners are entitled to an extra two weeks special leave.  The Smallest Things is a charity which aims to raise awareness and understanding around premature birth, to improve follow up care for parents following their NICU stay and campaigns to extend maternity leave and statutory maternity pay for parents of premature babies. Further information can be found here.

Ordinary Paternity leave / Shared Parental leave / Parental Leave

Ordinary Paternity Leave is available to all employees and is granted to enable new fathers/partners/nominated carers to provide practical and emotional support to the mother around the time of the birth of her baby. All employees are entitled to 2 weeks Ordinary Paternity Leave. The first week is paid at normal pay based on normal contractual hours. The second week is paid at the statutory paternity pay rate. 

Shared Parental Leave enables eligible parents to choose how to share the care of their child during the first year of birth or adoption. Its purpose is to give parents more flexibility in considering how to best care for, and bond with, their child. All eligible employees have a statutory right to take Shared Parental Leave (SPL). There may also be an entitlement to some Shared Parental Pay(ShPP). Eligible parents can get up to 50 weeks of shared parental leave.

To get Shared Parental Leave, there must be 2 parents sharing responsibility for a child. For either parent to get shared parental leave, the birth parent or primary adopter must do one of the following:

  • end their maternity or adoption leave and return to work
  • give their employer notice to 'curtail' (end) their maternity or adoption leave early

To get SPL and ShPP, an employee and their partner need to:

Parental Leave - Employees have a basic right to 18 weeks (unpaid) parental leave if they have one year's continuous service and they meet specific government requirements. 

Adoption Leave

Statutory Adoption Leave is 52 weeks. It’s made up of:

  • 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave
  • 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave

To qualify for Statutory Adoption Leave, you must:

  • be an employee
  • give the correct notice
  • Provide proof of the adoption or surrogacy

Employees with at least 12 months service at the 11th week before the week in which you are notified of being matched with a child will qualify for Occupational Adoption Pay, if returning to local authority work for at least 3 months.  To be eligible for Statutory Adoption Pay, you must have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the week you were matched with a child.  

Family/Domestic Crisis

Unpaid leave can be granted for urgent family reasons, for example, accident or sickness which require you to have to leave work immediately.

Pensions

New entrants receive information on the Merseyside Pension Fund website which explains all the essential features of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Sefton offers membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme for its employees (LGPS). In return for contributions valuable benefits are received.

 Highlights of the benefits provided by the LGPS are:

  • a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme - CARE (from April 2014) with a guaranteed pension
  • the ability to increase your pension benefits with a variety of options
  • voluntary retirement from age 55 subject to actuarial reduction
  • pension benefits become payable at age 55 or over if a member’s employment ceases as a result of redundancy or efficiency of the service*
  • an ill health pension payable from any age, provided you meet the LGPS criteria immediate payment of benefits based on a 3-tier system with enhancement of service for tier 1 and 2*
  • a death in service lump sum of three times your assumed pensionable pay
  • survivor benefits, an ongoing pension is provided for
    • your spouse (from an opposite sex or same sex marriage)
    • your registered civil partner
    • your eligible cohabiting partners
    • your eligible children
  • the index-linking of benefits to ensure that they keep pace with inflation- currently measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

* You must be an active member of the LGPS for 2 years before becoming entitled to benefits under the scheme.

The Council is required to formulate, publish and keep under review a written policy statement on how they will apply their discretionary powers in relation to certain provisions in the LGPS.  Download the Policy Statement on the use of its Discretionary Powers.

Please refer to the Merseyside Pension Fund website for more detailed guidance. 

Privacy Notice: how we use employee and pensioner information 

To find out how we use your personal information, download the following Privacy Notice 

Active Workforce

Active Workforce is Sefton's award-winning health and wellbeing programme for businesses to help their staff to be active and healthy during working hours and reduce their absence through sickness and poor health. Find out more on Active Workforce

Sickness 

Full pay sickness allowance is payable according to length of service. For new entrants to Local Government in the first year of service the allowance is one month's full pay (plus two month's half pay) after four months' service. Entitlement increases until, after five years' service, it extends to six months' full pay and six months' half pay. 

Childcare Vouchers

The Council is in partnership with a childcare voucher provider, Fideliti who offer existing members a salary sacrifice scheme. However, due to government changes the childcare voucher scheme closed to new entrants in October 2018. Therefore if you were not an existing member of Fideliti prior to October 2018, you will not be eligible to join. There is a government alternative to the Childcare Voucher Scheme called Tax Free Childcare. Further information can be found on the Government website.


Last Updated on Tuesday, February 6, 2024

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