Frontline staff including care workers and refuse collectors are set to receive a financial reward in recognition of their dedication and service during the course of the pandemic.

As a gesture of thanks to staff for their selflessness over the last year, Dudley Council will be repaying 12 months’ worth of mandatory unpaid leave reductions, taken from April 2020 to March 2021.

Mandatory unpaid leave was first introduced in 2017 and required all staff to take three days unpaid leave at Christmas, which meant a 1.15% gross pay reduction over 12 months.

The payment will be made to more than 4,500 employees of the local authority, including nearly 3,000 who earn £28,000 a year or less. Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for commercial and customer services, said:

"Staff across the council have worked tirelessly during the course of the pandemic to keep essential frontline services going and to care for and protect our most vulnerable residents.

"We can’t thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made, even at times when they may have experience personal loss, and we want to show our gratitude in every way possible. It’s only right that we give something back now and this is a small token to say thank you on behalf of elected members."

The repayment will be made in the first three months of the new financial year as a one-off payment. As part of its budget setting process for the year ahead the council has already taken the decision to cease mandatory unpaid leave for future years.