Flexible Working Approach Boosts Work-Life Balance for Conwy Council Staff

An equality report has revealed 78% of Conwy’s staff believe the council’s flexible approach to working improves their work-life balance.
An employment monitoring report presented to Conwy’s cabinet today (Tuesday) by Cllr Chris Cater gave a breakdown of the demographic of who the authority employs as part of a 2022/23 equality report.
The report said 73% of Conwy’s workforce are female compared to just 27% male, and the figures include permanent, fixed term, and casual employees.
But the report stated many council staff were happy with the authority’s flexible approach to working.
“78% of respondents felt that flexible working opportunities allowed staff to reach their full potential and helped with balancing work and family life,” the report reads.
But a chart included in the report showed a considerable difference between the appointment rate of internal and external job applicants.
54% of internal applicants were successful in their job applications compared to 6% of external applicants getting the job.
169 council staff were on maternity leave during the period the information was collected, and there were 563 leavers.
According to the council report, 15% of Conwy’s permanent and fixed-term workforce are aged between 25-34; 24% between 35-44, and 27% between 45-54, or 66% in total aged between 25-54,  with 30% aged 55 and over.
There was a total of 6,456 council jobs filled. 4,521 of Conwy’s staff are in permanent and fixed-term roles, and 50.1% of the council’s staff are part-time.
88% of all part-time roles, both permanent and fixed term, continue to be held by women.
There were 71 job applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, 12.1% of whom were successful.
4.79% of all job applicants regarded themselves as disabled, with 17% appointed.
Cabinet member for democracy and governance Cllr Chris Cater recommended the report to cabinet, Cllr Aaron Wynne seconded the recommendation, and the paper was unanimously backed.

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter