MORALE at Herefordshire Council has taken a knock following this year's job evaluation exercise, according to a new survey.

More than half the council staff who responded to the 2003 survey, now have a negative view of their employer.

"I used to think the council was good to work for," said one respondent, "but I cannot understand how it managed to get job evaluation so wrong if it was well managed. How did management expect the staff to react with so many of the lower paid losing out and senior management gaining?"

More than 1,100 employees completed the survey, down 7% on last year's.

In 2002, almost three-quarters of the staff felt 'very or fairly motivated to perform their job well.' This year, less than half felt the same. When asked 'What do you think about Herefordshire Council?', 55% of the responses were about job evaluation, almost all of them negative.

Staff felt the process had been poorly handled, making them feel less valued and lowering morale and motivation.

One member of staff commented: "Generally Herefordshire Council is good to work for. However, some major exceptions to this make it impossible to have complete faith."

Though the results are disappointing overall, there is some good news for the council.

Eighty seven percent of respondents said that, generally, they enjoy their jobs, while 74% said they felt that management let them know when they'd done a good job. Almost half of those responding believed the survey's results would be taken seriously in their area.