Town hall staff get extra day of holiday or pay after award win

Town hall employees are being rewarded after Wigan Council was named Council of the Year in the Local Government Chronicle Awards back in March.

Other news: Wigan road to shut for bridge work on new link roadAccording to the authority, some support staff have been offered the alternative of an extra day of pay if their jobs do not permit them to take time off during term time.

The council was unable to confirm how many employees would be offered extra wages instead of annual leave.

Alison McKenzie-Folan, Wigan Council’s chief executive, said: “The LGC Council of the Year is the biggest prize in local government and followed a rigorous three stage judging process by chief executives from other authorities and industry experts.

“The LGC found that Wigan Council had pioneered a new operating model by working with its residents and had provided a blueprint for British local government and beyond to follow.

“This approach has helped the council save approaching £160m over the past nine years while changing the way it works for the better.

“None of this could have been achieved without the hard work, dedication and commitment of our brilliant staff. It is through our staff working tirelessly, embracing change and adopting new approaches that has allowed us to get to this position - where the rest of local government are looking to Wigan.

“It was therefore important that we rewarded all our staff so they could feel a part of this wonderful achievement and we decided to do this through an extra day’s leave for all staff for this year only.”

Several years ago, under job evaluation staff lost five days of annual leave, leaving town hall staff with a lower number of holidays than other councils and public sector bodies.

Ms McKenzie-Folan added: “Wigan’s achievements show how having motivated staff with the right attitude and behaviours is by far the most effective way at tackling the many challenges we have faced and will continue to face in the future.”