HARD-WORKING council staff could be in line for bonuses worth a total of £500,000 as the authority aims to retain its employees.

An ‘unexpected’ cash boost from the government means the council will use its ‘one-off financial flexibility’ to help the borough recover from the pandemic through a range of measures.

One of the measures proposed is to use around half-a-million pounds to give more than 1,000 ‘heroic’ council staff cash bonuses.

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This idea has been put forward as a way to help the council retain its employees.

Under the proposals, the most “straightforward and equitable” approach would be to award all staff except for the very top-earners (such as the chief executive and directors) a payment worth one per cent of their annual salary.

The council’s employment committee will discuss the proposals at a meeting next week, where they will consider:

  • Whether senior staff earning over £80,000 should be excluded from the bonuses
  • If they are not excluded, whether bonuses should be capped at a maximum of £800 for the highest eligible earners instead
  • Whether bonuses should be a minimum of £300 for the lowest earners
  • Whether staff should receive bonuses only if they joined the council before or after certain dates
  • If only staff who are harder to retain, such as social workers, special educational needs officers, ICT support and more, should receive bonuses

Should the committee recommend all staff are given a flat rate bonus of one per cent, this would cost the council £450,000.

Adding a minimum payment clause of £300 would cost an extra £30,000, but adding a bonus cap of £800 would save £2,000.

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The proposal comes after the government announced a pay freeze for public sector workers in November 2020.

Following this announcement, Councillor James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the exceptional commitment of council staff and care workers who – alongside NHS health workers – have been on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19 and are true heroes of this pandemic.”

According to a Bracknell Forest Council report, the authority’s top team supported this view and moved to introduce one-off bonuses for employees at a time when staff retention is deemed “critically important”.

Evidence from the borough indicates council staff turnover is at a similar rate to what it was before the pandemic, with retaining children’s social workers proving to be a particularly ‘challenging’ issue for the council.

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The employment committee will discuss the proposals on Thursday, February 4, before recommending how what level of bonus staff should receive to the executive.

The final recommendation will be incorporated into BFC’s budget for the 2021/2022 financial year.