Employee Benefits

At Test Valley Borough Council we recognise that our employees are key to realising our vision - to be an organisation of excellence committed to improving the quality of life of all the people of Test Valley.

We aim to be an employer of choice, employing and retaining good people with a reputation as a great place to work. We therefore offer a range of benefits and working arrangements to support employees in both their working and personal life.

Flexible working

We try to be as flexible as possible, where service needs allow, to offer different ways of working to meet the work-life needs of our employees and to support those with other priorities or caring responsibilities. We employ people on a range of full time and part time contracts and make flexible working hours available where possible.

Local Government Pension Scheme

We’re all aware of how important it is to save for retirement and all TVBC employees aged between 16 and 75 who work for us for three months or more are automatically enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Monthly deductions are taken based on employee salaries and we also make a monthly contribution to the Scheme.

Holiday

We offer generous annual leave allowances which are based on an employee’s grade and their length of service in Local Government.  In addition to bank holidays, holiday entitlements are:

Grade  Basic After 5 years After 10 years After 15 years
1 - 8 24 days 28 days 30 days 32 days
9 - SM3 26 days 29 days 31 days 34 days
Chief Executive/
Directors		 28 days 31 days 33 days 36 days
Free parking

Free parking is available for all of our staff whilst at work and this is on-site at most of our locations.

Leisure facilities

All our employees can use the council-managed ‘Places Leisure’ centres at a discounted rate of £25 per month for the full premium membership on a 12 month contract. You can also receive 50% off pay as you go swim, gym and classes.

Cycle to Work Scheme

This scheme allows employees to sacrifice a proportion of their gross salary to pay for a bicycle and any associated safety equipment.. Salary sacrifice is made after any pension contribution but before tax and NI deductions are made so a saving is made on purchase.

Professional Fees

Where a job requires membership of a professional body, TVBC will reimburse the annual subscription fee paid by employees in that role.

Employee Support

We know that it’s impossible to go through life without facing problems from time to time so all of our employees can access an independent trained counsellor to talk through issues, help you resolve problems and provide tools and information about other resources which may help you.

Health Cash-Plan

We have an arrangement with Simply Health which allows our employees to pay for a health cash-plan directly from salary to help budget for the costs of dentist, optician, physiotherapy, etc.

Discount Scheme

KAARP offer a range of discounts to our employees on a variety of products and services including entertainment, shopping, holidays, insurance and motoring.

Life Assurance Scheme

The Council provide a free Life Assurance Scheme for all employees under 75 from your first day of employment. Further details are available from HR.