Staff at North East Lincolnshire Council have been told their benefits may be reduced to save £1m a year. In a letter last week to the unitary council's 2,500 staff, chief executive, Tony Hunter, said consultation had begun with trade unions over three proposed changes to conditions. These include ceasing payment for the first three days of any sickness period, removing essential car user status, cutting the casual car mileage rate to 40p a mile, and removing premium payments such as enhanced weekend overtime. There are also plans to charge for staff car parking. Mr Hunter said: ‘These measures would generate savings of almost £1m a year – equivalent to the cost of around 40 jobs.' He added there were other ‘flexible working options which we may move to consider', including reducing the working week, taking unpaid leave, and accessing pension payments while reducing working hours.