YOUR QUARTERLY BENEFITS NEWSLETTERWINTER 2020 EDITION ISSUE 14

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Purchased Annual Leave Scheme opens again in March!Hertfordshire County Council are currently offering another chance for you to take part in the Purchased Annual Leave scheme, via NET pay deduction. The scheme window opens on the 1st March and closes on the 31st March 2020.

The scheme offers the opportunity to purchase up to five additional days through a NET pay deduction. This means that the cost of the leave purchased will be taken from NET ‘take home’ pay after other deductions have been taken, i.e. Tax, NI and pension contributions.

The purchased leave can be used from 1 April 2020 and the deductions are spread across 12 months.

You can find out more about this scheme, including how to apply by logging onto Herts Rewards.

If you have any queries with regards to this provision please contact the HR Service Desk hrservicedesk@Hertfordshire.gov.uk

Our new Salary Finance scheme has now launched!

Being in control of your money is key to enjoying the best that life has to offer. Everyone has money worries at some time in their lives, and Hertfordshire County Council want to ensure employees have access to the tools and information that can really make a difference to financial stress in both your home and work lives.

Hertfordshire County Council have launched Salary Finance, a Financial Wellbeing provider who have helped thousands of people across the UK save money on expensive credit such as payday loans, credit cards, overdrafts and store cards to move out of debt and into saving.

Through Salary Finance you have access to employee loans, simple savings accounts and financial education including budgeting tips and tools.

Find out more and apply at: herts.salaryfinance.com

Important: This is an option, not a recommendation. Hertfordshire County Council do not benefit from offering this service and all your communications will be with Salary Finance. Applications will be assessed to ensure the loan is appropriate and affordable for you. For loan products, Salary Finance Limited acts as credit broker exclusively for associated company Salary Finance Loans Limited. References to “Salary Finance” means Salary Finance Limited (acting as loan originator (broker) and servicer) and each of its associated and/or group companies, including Salary Finance Loans Limited (acting as lender).

The Cycle to Work scheme is back in March! We are partnered with Halfords cycle2work which will give employees access to a choice of bikes from the Halfords range or from a number of partnered independent bike retailers.

The cycle to work scheme operates to help employees with obtaining a new bike and cycling equipment up to the maximum value of £2,000 helping encourage employees to cycle to work, reduce our carbon footprint, and gain savings through tax and NI contributions as well as helping to ease the pressure on HCC cark parks.

The Council will purchase your chosen cycle directly from Halfords and allow you to hire the cycle and accessories, over a fixed 12 month period. In return, you will agree to meet the equivalent cycle hire costs via a salary sacrifice arrangement over the same 12 month period.

You have the use of the cycle for both commuting to work and private purposes and, at the end of the 12 month hire period, you will have the option to enter a cost-free extended hire agreement or you can choose to return the cycle to Halfords.

The scheme will be open from 1st – 31st March 2020. You can find out more information by reading our FAQ’s on Herts Rewards.

From 1st March, you can order a bike on the website: www.cycle2work.info by entering the code HERTSC2W and registering to participate.

If you would like help or more information (including details on partnered independent bike retailers) call the helpline on 0345 504 6444.

Give As You EarnGive as you earn is HCC’s employee payroll giving scheme. You can donate money to any charitable organisation in the UK or to the HCC Employees Charity fund directly from your gross pay. This means you do not pay tax on the donation. For more information, please visit Herts Rewards.

Affinity Financial Advice Affinity Financial Awareness provides independent financial services for all Hertfordshire County Council’s employees and workshops on financial planning and retirement. Sessions are available across January, February & March 2020. To book a place please contact bookings@affinityconnect.org or on Freephone 0800 019 6076.

Health Walks provided by Living Streets Living Streets, the national charity for walking will be hosting a led lunchtime walks from Apsley Two as part of their work with us. These are open to all staff, so please think about making time in your schedule to take a break and join them for a leisurely 30-45 minute walk around the area. Walking is a great form of exercise, it promotes physical and mental health, improves performance and gives you time and space away from your desk (even for a short time).

The next Health Walk will be taking place on the 22nd January 2020 at 12:15pm (meet in the reception area of Apsley 2).

Why not take part in Dry JanuaryDry January is the annual movement through which millions of people give up alcohol for the month of January. It is run by the charity Alcohol Change UK.

The one rule is to not drink alcohol from when you wake up on New Year’s day until 1st February – and that’s it!

If you can make it through the month alcohol-free, you’ll get bigger benefits. The biggest benefit of all is that you’ll see you don’t need alcohol to have fun, go out, stay in, relax or do anything else you might associate with drinking. And knowing that will help you take control of your drinking year-round.

Taking part in Dry January is a chance to ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline, and save some serious money by giving up alcohol for 31 days.

For more information visit Alcohol Change.

How to stick to your healthy new year’s resolution!A healthy lifestyle will kickstart your 2020 in the right way. Here are 10 achievable things you can do to look after your body after the festive period:

1. Give up smoking

2. Get active with 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week

3. Manage your weight with a healthy balanced diet

4. Eat more fibre

5. Cut down on saturated fat

6. Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day

7. Cut down on salt intake

8. Eat fish at least twice a week

9. Drink less alcohol

10. Read the food labels

Herts Rewards and our wellbeing pages on the Intranet have lots of free resources available to you on physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle – why not take a look today!

Our Public Health team are also offering free NHS Health Checks for all eligible HCC staff at the four main sites. For more information and to book your check, please call 01442 453071 or email healthimprovementservice@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Not yet registered with Herts Rewards?Register at www.hertsrewards.co.uk For further information on Credit Unions in your area please visit Herts Rewards.

Want to write an article for the next newsletter?Email your ideas to: HRStrategy &Reward @hertfordshire.gov.uk and get involved!

Deal with life’s everyday challengesCall your Employee Assistance Programme on 0800 1116 387 for free 24/7 advice and support. The EAP service can help you with nutrition, physical activity, smoking, alcohol and much more – for more information, please visit www.my-eap.com quoting the username “Hertfordshire”.

Feel Good Feb Roadshows are back!We will be promoting the Herts Rewards and wellbeing employee offering in February at our lunchtime roadshows across the main sites.

If you would like to find out more about the benefits available to you, please come along to:

• County Hall – Wednesday 5th February 2020 (12pm-2pm)

• Mundells – Monday 10th February 2020 (12pm-2pm)

• Farnham House – Wednesday 12th February 2020 (12pm-2pm)

At these roadshows, you will also be able to find out more about the purchased annual leave scheme, cycle to work scheme, shared costs AVCs, Christmas savings club and much more! Further information can be found on Herts Rewards.