IN a bid to recruit and keep committed staff, a Worcestershire company is going beyond its legal requirements.

Measures such as flexi-time, job share, part-time working, maternity and paternity leave are now operated by Festival Housing Group, which manages around 8,000 homes from offices in Malvern and Droitwich.

The policy aims to ensure that employees have a healthy balance of work and private life and covers areas such as childcare, parental and compassionate leave, training and development.

"We want to attract and retain a strong, skilled, and enthusiastic work force and this work-life policy helps us to do this," said Kay Dovey, head of personnel and training at Festival.

"Recruitment of qualified staff is a problem in some sectors of the housing market and we hope that by recognising the importance of employees' personal lives we can keep a dedicated, happy team."