Rewards and benefits
To get the best out of people, offer them the best. It’s a simple equation and one we firmly believe in. This is a summary of some of the rewards and benefits you can expect from us — for a full rundown of this information,
please visit the links and downloads section
Leave
If you join us full-time, your annual leave entitlement will be 20 working days – increasing to 25 working days when you’ve been with us for upwards of five years. You’ll also receive 12 general or public holidays – a certain number of which are granted on pre-determined dates. If you work part time, your holiday entitlement is in proportion to the hours you work.
Things are, of course, different if you’re a teacher. The leave year starts on 1st September each year – and the annual leave entitlement is the balance of days beyond the working year of 195 days for full-time teachers – excluding 11 days’ public holidays.
Final salary pension
The Lothian Pension Fund is one of the largest in the UK — with over 160 associated employers and a total scheme membership of 65,919. The fund is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme — a national scheme which
sets benefits and regulations — and was awarded Charter Mark in 2005, in recognition of its excellent customer service.
Superannuation
If you’re aged 16 and over and have worked with us for 13 weeks or more, you’re eligible to join the Local Government Superannuation Scheme. This is a contributory scheme known as a final salary scheme, benefits being
related to earnings and service. The Council guarantees your benefits will be paid.
Discounted lifestyle costs
Our commitment to healthy living extends to your benefits package — with discounted entry to our leisure facilities.
Family care
We know everyone has commitments — we don’t expect family life to take a back seat just because you’re working here. So we offer a balance. You’ll find extensive provisions for maternity and paternity leave,
with parental, adoption and foster care leave too. Our special leave policies are sympathetic — and we consider flexible working requests from parents or carers.
Flexi-time
But flexible working doesn’t start and finish with parents and carers. Everyone in our admin, professional, technical and clerical teams — with some exceptions and at their Director’s discretion — is included in our
flexi-time scheme. The flexible working day runs from 8am to 6pm.
Job sharing
We really support job sharing — especially in areas of traditional full-time working. And we know it increases your options if you’ve got family responsibilities but still want to develop your career.
Positive about Disability
East Lothian Council welcomes employment applications from people with disabilities and will focus on their abilities rather than disabilities. It also shows that we are making a commitment to retain staff who may become disabled during the course of their employment and that we are proactive in making our workforce more representative of the community we serve.