The Flexiwork Deal, launched today as part of Telford & Wrekin’s Co-Operative Council initiative, offers staff the chance to reduce the working hours they are paid for, change their working pattern or take extra unpaid leave.

It aims to help the Council to be more flexible to meet service needs at a time of shrinking budgets with the Council needing to find £40m of savings over the next three years, while giving employees greater choice and influence over their working hours.

The Flexiwork Deal offers all employees who’ve been with the Council for more than a year the chance to apply to reduce their hours or for a different range of work patterns to better fit their lifestyle.

Employees can also take up to 12 extra unpaid days leave a year or even take an unpaid sabbatical.

Any changes would be subject to agreement, as the need to maintain a quality service will always take priority. The Flexiwork Deal also has the backing of the main unions at the Council.

Cllr Shaun Davies, cabinet member for Environment, Co-Operative and Partnerships said: “One of our commitments as a Co-operative Council is to involve our employees more in planning and running of services.

“In future as we change the way we work, we are going to need a more flexible workforce and this will help us be better prepared to respond to the changing demands of local people.

“As a Co-Operative Council, our first step is to ask our employees if there are changes to their work patterns that they want to come forward with, not to impose this on them.

“We hope that these changes will also help contribute towards the savings we must find on top of the very significant savings we are making to our staff costs through our major restructuring programme.”

Unison Branch Secretary Jonathan Sedgebeer in welcoming the new Flexiwork deal said:”We have worked hard with the Council to get a better deal for staff whilst retaining jobs in this difficult economic climate.

“Many of our members would like the opportunity to work with more flexibility to accommodate the ever increasing demands of child care, looking after elderly parents and reassessing their work life balance. For those staff who can afford to consider different patterns of work this agreement provides for those needs.”