Each top 20 Best Council has been profiled and appears in ranking order on pages 5 to 15. The profiles summarise the practices, pay and benefits that are available to employees. Every profile is accompanied by a fact box that outlines the council’s ranking in the top 20 and basic facts about the local authority:

Number of staff: the total number of employees within the council, including all full-time, part-time and contract workers

Male/female ratio: the percentage split between the sexes of all full-time and part-time workers

Average age of staff: of full-time and part-time council employees, on April 30, 2007

Staff turnover: the percentage of full-time and part-time staff who left the council in the year to April 30, 2007

Earning £35,000+: the percentage of a council’s workforce with a gross annual income of at least £35,000.

In addition, councils that have met or exceeded specific criteria in the following areas — flexible working, sabbatical/career breaks, wellness, charity, women in senior management — are awarded an icon to signify excellence in that area of their employee practices. The eligibility criteria for each icon is summarised (see box, right).

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