Employee benefits

Annual Leave

All staff have a generous annual leave entitlement of 26 days for support staff, 44 days for lecturers and 35 days for management grades.  This is in addition to 8 Bank Holidays and 4 discretionary days per year.

Staff Training and Development

Leicester College is highly committed to the training and development of its employees. All employees go through an induction and a mandatory training programme, including Safeguarding, Equality & Diversity and Health & Safety, when they first join the College.

The Staff Development team run a range of training courses and employees may be able to access our learning courses at a free or discounted rate, depending on the course type and relationship to their job at Leicester College.

Mindful Employer

Leicester College is recognised as a ‘Mindful Employer’, and has signed up to a charter demonstrating that it is committed to supporting employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues.

Safeguarding

At Leicester College we have a statutory and moral duty to ensure that we safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults at the College. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment, and we will only employ people suitable to work with our learners.

Equality and Diversity

Leicester College is committed to providing equal opportunities for all, and ensuring that all students, staff and visitors are treated with respect, courtesy and integrity in all aspects of college life.

We are opposed to all discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, particularly in relation to ability, age, colour, educational needs, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, social background or trade union membership.

Faith

Leicester College has a Chaplaincy Service which organises regular inter-faith friendship groups. This enables staff to make new friends, plan a programme of activities, share their views and discuss current topics. Information regarding these meetings is available on the College intranet site.

Pensions

Employees of Leicester College are entitled to become members of either the Local Government or the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, depending on which is applicable to their role. Both are recognised as good pension schemes, and are funded by both employer and employee contributions.

Family Friendly

Maternity Leave and Pay

We support employees by ensuring that time off for ante-natal appointments, as well as leave and pay, are made fully available. In addition to statutory maternity pay, the College offers occupational maternity pay of 12 weeks half-pay for all employees who return to work for at least three months after their leave.

Adoption Leave and Pay/Paternity Leave and Pay/ Shared Parental Leave

We support employees through the Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave policies that can be found on the Intranet under ‘Policies and Procedures’ and the Human Resources team can provide individual employees with detailed advice.

Parental Leave

Parental Leave is an entitlement of up to 18 weeks unpaid leave to give time for parents to care for a child or to make arrangements for a child’s welfare.  All parents of children aged under 18 who have been employed by the College for at least a year are eligible.

Childcare Vouchers

Childcare vouchers are a government initiative to help working parents pay for registered childcare. The vouchers are taken from the employee’s salary before Tax and NI contributions are deducted. Each year lower rate tax payers can save over £900 and higher rate tax payers over £600.

Leicester College offers these vouchers via a supplier called Sodexo. The vouchers can be used for children up to the age of 15. More information can be found on saycarevouchers.co.uk.

On Site Nurseries

We have on site nurseries based at our Abbey Park and Freemen’s Park Campuses, and both of these have been graded as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Staff may be able to obtain nursery places for their children depending on availability, allocation of places is on a first come, first served basis. Enquiries regarding fees and availability should initially be made to the relevant nursery: details can be found on our Contact Us page.

Health and Wellbeing

Flexible Working Arrangements

Leicester College prides itself on the support it gives to employees who have commitments outside their job. We employ people on a variety of contracts, both full and part-time, over a range of working hours and patterns. The College also has a range of policies to support individuals in managing their work-life balance, including flexible working and a career break scheme.

Counselling and Information Services

Through Health Assured’s Employee Assistance Programme, Leicester College provides confidential counselling and information services for staff.  Examples of services include telephone and face to face counselling and legal and financial information and guidance.

Eye Care

Employees who are identified as VDU users will be reimbursed the cost of an eyesight test at regular intervals and a contribution made towards glasses specifically for VDU use.

Travel

Our Campus Services team organises car parking and a range of travel-related benefits for staff. Some examples are:

Car Parking

Dependant on need (e.g. travel required by job role), on-site car parking may be available on site at a low monthly cost. There is an annual application process for car parking permits, and full details will be shared during your induction.

Car Sharing

There is not sufficient parking on the campuses to provide a space for every member of staff. For this reason, along with environmental factors and the desire to support staff wellbeing, the College has joined forces with Liftshare – an organisation that provides a confidential online database of people willing to share journeys. There is also a ‘Guaranteed Ride Home’ scheme, and cycling, walking and taxi sharing companions can also be found via LeicesterShare.

Cycle 2 Work

The College supports a Cycle 2 Work scheme to enable employees to purchase a cycle through tax-free salary sacrifice.

Inter-Campus Minibus

The mini-bus service is available to all staff to enable them to travel to other campuses quickly and for free.

Benefits and Discounts

Dulux Decorator Centre

Due to the successful partnership between Dulux and Leicester College’s painting and decorating courses, the two local Dulux Decorator Centres offer staff savings on paint and accessories on production of staff ID.

Bristol Street Motors – Citroen

Bristol Street Motors, located on Raw Dykes Road, offers discounts to Leicester College staff on production of valid staff ID

Leicester College Rewards

By registering on leicestercollege.rewardgateway.co.uk staff can access a range of exciting deals and cashback on everything from supermarkets, holidays, clothing and electrical items.

Hair and Beauty

Trainee stylists and therapists studying at Leicester College can provide competitively-priced services under the guidance of qualified staff. A 50% employee discount is available on production of a valid Staff ID card on a range of hairdressing and beauty therapy services in the College salon.

Long Service Award

All staff who complete 25 years continuous service with Leicester College and its predecessors are entitled to a Long Service Award. Staff can choose a gift from a large selection up to a value of £150, and are invited to attend an annual celebration dinner.

Call us 0116 224 2240 or email us