Staff Benefits

HDC is part of the nationwide Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a Defined Benefit scheme available to all eligible employees. To be eligible, you must be under 75 years of age, and have a contract of employment for at least 3 months.

Eligible employees on a salaried contract will be automatically enrolled into the scheme from their start date, whereas employees on a casual/variable contract will be assessed as per the Auto Enrolment Legislation rules. Employees may elect to opt out of the scheme at any time.

Annual leave - Allowance of 24 days plus statutory holidays, rising to 30 days with five years of service.

Birthday day off - All employees will be given an extra day's leave to take their birthday off.

Buying and Selling Scheme - We also offer a Buying and Selling Scheme for annual leave. The scheme to buy and sell leave will be offered once a year and capped at 5 days (pro rata for part-time staff and those on fixed-term contracts). The deductions or payments will be made as 1/11th payment through payroll.

Hybrid working arrangements (role permitting). We know our people are what make HDC great and recognise how important a healthy work-life balance is. Our hybrid work model enables employees to work remotely whilst allowing for in-office collaboration opportunities across the district.

Flexible working is welcomed and encouraged. It's not where, when, or how you fulfil your role that is important to us, it's the contribution you make to our council.

Digital parking permit - We offer staff the facility to have a digital parking permit which they can pay for monthly. It costs £25 per month and is for use in certain car parks.

Cycle to work scheme - We are delighted to be able to offer employees the opportunity to purchase a new bike and accessories up to the value of £2,000 through Cyclescheme. As this is a salary sacrifice scheme you will be able to save money and spread the cost by having 12 monthly payments deducted from your wages prior to any deductions of tax and National Insurance.

Microhive is a small charitable company that HDC works with to help raise money for our 2 chosen charities:

• Dementia Friends - An Alzheimer's Society Initiative and

• Carers Trust - Cambridge and Peterborough Norfolk.

Microhive is a very simple, but effective scheme that enables employees to donate the 'pennies' in their salary to charity each month. For example, if you earn £700.17, then by signing up for the Microhive scheme, you can donate the 17p to charity, so the maximum amount anyone can give is 99p each pay cycle.

Employee Assistance Programme - We offer an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a confidential employee benefit designed to help you deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health, and general wellbeing.

One Leisure - HDC offers a heavily discounted gym membership that allows any member of staff to join the gym and make considerable savings at our One Leisure Centres.

Perkbox - We also offer access to an exciting range of employee benefits from Perkbox. The platform offers discounts at a wide range of retailers, including all major supermarkets, clothing shops like Fat Face and restaurants like Pizza Hut, plus much, much more!

Through Perkbox, you can now also access their wellness hub, which includes recipes, meditation and exercise resources, financial help, and sleep stories. All of this can be accessed on the go through the Perkbox app once you have registered.

Local discounts are available across certain businesses within the district.

We offer enhanced maternity and parental leave. The amount of time you have been working for the council determines if you are entitled to maternity pay and what your leave entitlements are. We also have the option of taking shared parental leave.

• Guidance For Employees Maternity Leave [PDF, 0.4MB]

• Maternity Support Leave Guidance For Employees (Paternity Leave) [PDF, 0.1MB]

• Shared Parental Leave Policy [PDF, 0.3MB]

• Adoption Leave and Pay Policy [PDF, 0.2MB]

We have a comprehensive learning and development package for employees. We deliver a blended learning offer through online training, face-to-face courses and e-learning modules to employees, enabling all of us to best serve the communities and citizens of Huntingdonshire.

There are plenty of career progression opportunities, including apprenticeships of all levels.

Tusker - We’ve teamed up with Tusker, the UK’s leader in salary sacrifice cars, to bring you an exciting new car scheme. This fully inclusive motoring package lets you choose a brand-new, fully maintained car. You choose your brand-new or pre-loved car*, without the need to pay any deposit and a monthly amount will be taken directly from your gross salary (before tax and National Insurance). It’s a great way to get a new car for less. The scheme includes fully comprehensive insurance, servicing, routine maintenance and repairs, tyres, breakdown cover, MOT and there is no deposit to pay.

Octopus EV - We are working with Octopus to provide a new electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme. Salary sacrifice is when you give up some of your gross monthly pay for a new EV, and can save up to 40% on the monthly cost thanks to saving on National Insurance and Income Tax.

What's included in the scheme?

• A brand-new EV or nearly-new vehicle with no upfront costs

• Insurance (terms and conditions apply, and subject to eligibility)

• Maintenance, road tax, and MOT

• Tyres

• Breakdown cover

• A free home charger with standard installation, plus 4,000 miles of home charging if you switch to Intelligent Octopus Go EV Saver

• Or, if you'll do most of your charging on the road, you’ll get 4,000 free miles with Octopus Electroverse.