Culture & Benefits

Benefits

Glasgow City Council recognises that its most valuable assets are its 38,000 employees and it strives to be an employer of choice by providing a range of benefits that assist with securing the engagement of employees, motivating them to deliver for the citizens of Glasgow.

Pension

Unlike many other employers, GCC still operates a valuable and much-admired Final Salary Pension scheme. The scheme offers numerous excellent benefits including;

• You contribute 6% of your salary into the scheme and receive significant tax relief on your contributions
• We will contribute approximately 14% to 15% of your salary on your behalf
• Pension & Tax free lump sum on retiral
• Death benefits if you die before retiring
• Widow/children’s pension, if applicable

Life & Personal Accident Insurance

If an employee dies whilst in the service of the council they will be covered by the Council’s Life Assurance scheme and dependents will receive up to a years annual salary. In addition employees are also covered by the Council’s Personal Accident Insurance and they may receive financial compensation if they are injured during an accident at work, these benefits are provided free of charge to all employees.

Leave

GCC offers generous leave entitlement that takes account of previous service; it includes 20 days annual leave in the first full year of employment rising to 25 days leave after five years service.

In addition all full time employees receive 12½ days Public holiday per year.

Overall this means that employees who have completed five years service will receive, 37½ days leave per year!

Flexible Working Hours

There are times in our working lives that we all have to work a little bit extra to help with increased workload. To compensate for these times we operate a ‘Flexible Working Policy’.

Flexi time can be used to take a little bit of extra time off to attend appointments or to start a bit later or finish earlier. In addition, if your workload dictates and you build up the required time your manager may give you permission to take extra leave to compensate you for the extra hours you have worked up to a maximum of 2 days in any 4 week period.

Work Life Balance

In order to help you balance the demands of work and home employees have a right to request ‘flexible working’ after 26 weeks continuous service; these options include;
Job sharing, reduced hours/part-time working, term-time contracts, remote working, compressed working hours & shift working, to name but a few.

We also offer a whole host of family friendly polices which form the cornerstone of our ‘Work Life Balance’ policy. These provisions are dependent on individuals meeting qualification criteria but generally go beyond legal requirements and include significant entitlements to;
Maternity, maternity support, parental, adoption, & fostering leave.

Employee Assistance

To help you and your colleagues in the work place we understand the importance of supporting you, consequently we can offer you help in managing difficulties that arise either at home or at work.

To support us in this we operate an ‘Employee Assistance programme’, this service is managed by an independent company and is available to all employees and their families. It operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and offers professional counselling/information/advice and guidance on a range of issues from practical every day matters to sensitive traumatic or emotional problems.

Development

We believe that providing staff with increased knowledge, skills, and attributes will ultimately lead to our customers receiving a better service and our staff feeling more motivated and engaged. As a result we are proud to offer a wide range of developmental opportunities, these include;

• Corporate training including leadership development, project management and change
• SVQ Accreditation
• Support whilst completing further education including MBA study
• Development via our in house OD Consultancy team
• Completion of Personal Development Plans that support individual development and career progression

Diversity

We pride ourselves on being an Equal Opportunities Employer, which provides equality of opportunity for all.

We work hard to achieve our aim and have a number of different strategies and initiatives in place to succeed in this; in particular we have in place a range of robust equal opportunities policies.

We are also pleased to be recognised as a double tick employer.

Sickness Allowance & Support

An extremely generous sickness allowance is available, particular in relation to other major employers. During the first year an employee is entitled to five weeks full pay followed by five weeks half pay. Each year an individual’s sickness allowance increases and after five years an employee is entitled to 26 weeks full pay and 26 half pay.

GCC also operates a comprehensive Absence Management system, which aims to support and help individuals whilst at work, when off on sick leave and whilst returning to work. In addition our Occupational Health Service can be utilised to provide professional advice and where appropriate individuals can be referred to our physiotherapy service.

Glasgow Council Credit Union

Employees of the Council are eligible to join, financially the largest Credit Union in the UK, Glasgow Council Credit Union.  The Credit Union provides members with the easiest way to save money - directly from their wages, with all savings earning a competitive dividend (4% in 2005).  Members can also apply from loans between £100 and £100,000 at great rates of interest.  The Credit Union also offers a host of other services including mortgages, insurance services, a private members lottery, family and junior member accounts and on-line account access.

Financial Help

We are happy to provide employee’s details of approved financial advisers who can offer FREE financial advise to any Glasgow City Council employee.

Relocation

In agreed circumstances you may be eligible to receive a relocation allowance.

This allowance equates to a maximum of £8000 and covers extra costs incurred as a result of legal expenses, cost of purchasing/selling a house and removal costs. Additionally you may also receive a lodging allowance of up to £105 per week for up to 31 weeks.

Car Mileage

Where an individual agrees to use their own vehicle for business purposes they will receive reimbursement for all associated costs. Additionally, if an individual needs to regularly use their vehicle for business they may also be provided with access to a free city centre car parking space.

Discounts

You will receive messages and updates detailing special offers and discounts that are only available to Glasgow City Council employees.

You will also be entitled to join the Glasgow Club, which allows you to use all council sports facilities. The discount includes almost one-third reduction in the monthly subscription fee and the administration fee being waived.

Staff Magazine

Every month you will receive a copy of our excellent staff magazine which is crammed full of information about the council, offers available to employees, competitions and details of all vacancies available throughout the council.