As well as earning a fair salary for the job you do in local government, you will be entitled to many other benefits in your working life.

• Leave

  Everyone needs a holiday from time to time! That is why all local government employees are entitled to what is often a generous amount of annual leave. Those who work part time have leave calculated on a pro rata basis depending on the amount of hours they work.

  Of course annual leave entitlement for holidays, recreational or other personal purposes is not the only form of leave you may come across whilst working in a council. There are many other reasons you may need to take time off work and local government is supportive of this. These include:

  • having children, including adopting them
  • caring for children and others
  • rehabilitation after developing an impairment
  • bereavement
  • religious observances
  • study for career development or wider interests
  • various types of community involvement
  • other personal projects, such as travel
  • easing into retirement.
• Training

  Local government has long been known as an employer keen to train and develop its staff and although the type of training may vary from council to council, they all think of career development for staff as very important. Many councils have shown their dedication to the continued professional development of staff, by achieving Investors in People (IiP) status. This is a national initiative to promote excellence in training and development. More information about IiP can be found at www.iipuk.co.uk.

  Some councils run specific training programmes for particular groups of people, for example:

  • graduate training schemes
  • management trainee schemes
  • trainee schemes for professions such as law or accountancy etc.
  • apprenticeships
  • positive action schemes.

  There is also a national graduate development programme for local government run by IDeA.

  However, you don’t need to be on one of these schemes to benefit, as the commitment to training includes everybody. As a new member of staff within a council, you will receive an induction telling you about the council and the job you will be doing. Throughout your career in local government, you are likely to have regular appraisals with your line manager enabling you both to identify your current and future training needs. Depending on the needs identified, the council will provide in-house training, or pay for you to attend a course externally. They may also allow you day-release to study for further qualifications.

  For many local government employees, the training they receive enables them to gain new qualifications and sometimes this may lead to membership of a professional body. A list of professional bodies and information about qualifications related to local government careers are available in our getting into local government section.

• Pension

  Local government has its own pension scheme for employees. There are 99 local council pension funds in Great Britain. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a statutory, funded pension scheme. As such it is very secure because its benefits are defined and guaranteed in law.

  The LGPS is available to all employees in local government, or in other organisations that have chosen to participate in it.¹ If you become employed in local government (other than Town and Parish Councils), you will automatically become a member of the LGPS unless you opt not to join or you have previously opted out, or you are a casual employee.

  You can read more about the scheme at www.lgps.org.uk.

  ¹ Teachers, police, firefighters and those over the age of 65 are not allowed to join.