Caerphilly County Borough Council Cabinet Members met on Wednesday 30th April and agreed to develop proposals to introduce measures to allow for a reduction in workforce costs while avoiding compulsory redundancies wherever possible.
The council has already utilised a range of measures to date aimed at reducing workforce costs, including vacancy management, redeployment of staff and a review of agency contracts.
Among the new proposals to be developed are a voluntary retirement scheme, flexible retirement scheme, voluntary severance scheme and a review of the council’s redundancy scheme.
The proposals will now be firmed up for consultation, introduction and implementation.
Cabinet Members also confirmed that further proposals such as the introduction of a default retirement age, a review of the cost of sickness benefits, pay freezes, or reductions in pay or working hours will not be considered at this time, but could be revisited in the future.
Cllr Christine Forehead, Cabinet Member for HR & Governance, said: “Like councils across Wales, Caerphilly County Borough Council is faced with significant budgetary challenges going forward, however officers and members continue to work together to ensure a balanced budget, while working to minimise the impact on residents and council staff alike.”
