The Centre for Cities recognises the valuable contribution made by all its employees and has a commitment to reward loyalty, experience and hard work.
Financial benefits:
These include:
- They are reviewed annually; however, there is no automatic entitlement to an increase. The cost-of-living pay increase will be awarded once the Centre reaches the fundraising milestone set by the Finance and Audit Committee. All staff members, including those on probation, will receive this pay increase. This pay increase is consolidated, i.e. is a permanent increase in salary, not a one-off payment.
- The Centre operates an Aviva Life pension, offering up to 10% matched contribution of an employee’s gross salary.
- Season ticket loan. We offer interest-free loans for purchasing a public transport season ticket. This is available for employees who have completed three months of their probation.
- Cycle to work. Interest-free loans up to £1,000 for purchasing a bicycle are available for employees who have completed three months of their probation.
Staff wellbeing and health:
At the heart of our policy is our commitment to promote a good work life balance for all of our employees. We have many discretionary policies in place dedicated to ensuring a healthy and fulfilled lifestyle for staff.
Working hours
- An employee’s contractual hours are 37.5 per week and normal office hours are Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.30pm.
- On Fridays, we work shorter hours (9am – 4pm). The aim of this policy is to help our staff stay more engaged in the mission of the organisation, improve productivity and achieve a good balance between work responsibilities and personal life.
Annual leave
- Full time employees are entitled to 28 days’ paid leave per annum and eight bank holidays.
- After 4 years of continuous service, the holiday entitlement increases to 30 days per year in addition to bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees).
- The Centre is closed for three days between Christmas and New Year. This is discretionary and it is not part of the annual leave.
Discretionary Sick Pay (DSP)
The Centre recognises that genuine cases of long-term illness can affect a person’s financial stability. For this reason and subject to complying with the terms of your contract we will make discretionary payments for all our employees. These are:
- A period of sickness of up to 100% of your normal salary, as Discretionary Sick Pay (“DSP”).
Family friendly policies:
We offer our employees enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption payments.
Maternity and adoption
Employees who have been employed for at least 52 weeks into the 15th week before the expected week of confinement (EWC) or at the start of adoption will be paid:
- Full salary for the first 17 weeks (the statutory entitlement is 6 weeks at 90% of an employee’s normal weekly earnings).
- Weeks 18-39 will be paid at the Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) rates.
Paternity
Employees who have more than 52 weeks of service at the 15th week before the baby is due, subject to complying with the statutory conditions and notification requirements will be paid:
- Full salary for two weeks for any two-week period of Statutory Paternity Leave, which must be taken in the 8-week period starting with the baby’s birth.
- Full salary for up to a further 11 weeks of Additional Paternity Leave. These must be taken in one continuous period of multiples of one week.
Special leave
The Centre understands that sometimes life events can affect your ability to carry out your work. For this reason, all employees are offered paid special leave to help balance out their responsibilities. These would fall under:
- Dependents leave
- Compassionate leave
Training and development opportunities:
In line with our commitment to support career development and to help staff carry out their duties as effectively as possible, we believe in providing appropriate training to all our employees. We have an individual staff training budget available to all members of staff. The Centre’s training and development opportunities include:
- Induction training
- Training relating to the enhancement of technical skills or specialist training relating to the skills that employees require for their current job
- Training leading to a professional or academic qualification
- Health and safety training