About Cornwall Council
What is Cornwall Council?
Cornwall Council is the unitary authority for Cornwall, created on 1 April 2009 when Cornwall County Council merged with the six borough and district councils of Caradon, Carrick, Kerrier, North Cornwall, Restormel and Penwith. It has "a revenue budget of over £1bn, with 87 local Councillors representing the 550,000 residents of Cornwall." Its stated mission is "Working with communities for a carbon neutral Cornwall, where everyone can start well, live well and age well", supported by four priority outcomes, including "A brilliant place to grow up" and "A thriving, sustainable Cornwall".
The Council says its workforce is "around 5,000" and that it is the biggest employer in Cornwall. It also runs a group of wholly owned companies, the Corserv Group among them, covering infrastructure, engineering, housing, social care, facilities management, transport and Cornwall Airport Newquay.
Where will I work?
In offices, depots and facilities across Cornwall, with "open plan working environment in most offices." The Council offers home working ("All I.T. equipment and access will be arranged by our Information Services team") and flexible work settings such as partnership buildings or hot desking across the Council. Its flexible working policy does not apply to school-based employees and is limited within the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service.
What is the Cornwall Council team like?
The Council says it delivers services "to more than half a million local people and to over five million visitors a year", with "a vast range of jobs across many disciplines." It reports Investors in People status, a People Strategy and a set of values in "Our Charter", and runs an employee survey every two years that includes the Local Government Employee Engagement Index questions and a Net Promoter Score; results are published from the 2024 survey. Staff networks include LGBTQ+, disability, women's, race equality, early careers, men's and armed forces forums, plus fertility cafés. Recruitment uses structured panel interviews and may include presentations, ability tests or a personality questionnaire.
Work-Life Balance
Cornwall Council's full-time week is 37 hours. Its Benefits page lists "a range of flexible working options" meant to give "a greater work/life balance": annualised hours, compressed hours ("full contracted hours spread over a 9 day fortnight instead of 10 days"), core hours and flexi time, job share, part-time working, term-time only working and home working. These are arrangements staff can request, not an automatic schedule. Leave is 26 days a year (pro-rata), rising to 29 days after five years' continuous service, on top of bank holidays, with the ability to buy extra annual leave.
Perks and Benefits
- 26 days annual leave (pro-rata), rising to 29 after five years, plus bank holidays; option to buy extra leave
- Defined benefit pension based on career average earnings, with voluntary contributions
- Pay at no less than the Living Wage Foundation rate (excluding some training roles and placements)
- Unlimited paid time off for employees who need fertility investigations and treatment
- Confidential counselling and an award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
- Two paid volunteering days a year
- Coaching and mentoring, learning and development, and payment of relevant professional fees
- One and All Employee Benefits: discounts, plus salary sacrifice for tech products and cycle to work
- Car salary sacrifice and a relocation scheme for certain roles