Deal with staff saves council £2.4 million

A deal has been reached enabling Leicestershire County Council to save £2.4 million through changes to staff's terms and conditions.

Following six months of consultation and a ballot of union members, the council has reached a collective agreement on its proposals.

The council’s deputy leader, Nick Rushton, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reach collective agreement with our unions on proposals to save £2.4 million through changes to terms and conditions.

“The move follows six months of consultation with staff on a range of changes, covering areas such as business mileage, salary protection and overtime payments.

“We have taken staff comments into account, by removing proposed changes to sick pay and the introduction of car parking charges at county council sites. The changes will now come into effect from May onwards.

“I’m pleased that the collective agreement should maintain our constructive working relationship with our staff and unions.”

The £2.4 million savings are another example of how the council is working to make £44 million of efficiency savings over the next four years, to reduce the need to make service cuts.