Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council is to introduce flexible working
across the authority after a pilot scheme reduced sickness absence by more than
a third.
Each of the eight departments at the council will have two work-life balance
projects in operation by the end of the year.
The council has extended office-opening hours to include the weekend and
introduced shorter hours and home-working.
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These measures were first introduced as part of a pilot scheme in the
corporate services department, where it helped reduce sickness absence from
5.63 days to 3.62 days per employee per year.
Stephen Harper, head of personnel at the council, said: "We have swept
aside the rule book on when staff can start and finish. It is now up to
managers to decide if the [flexible] idea is workable."
