The survey identifies the happiest and most productive council workplaces by looking for strengths in eight key areas or factors.

These are leadership, my manager, my team, my council, wellbeing, fair deal, personal growth and giving something back.

The methodology for the survey is the same as the Times Best 100 Companies to work for.

Chief Executive Carolyn Wilkins is praised for her leadership, particularly for personally meeting every new member of staff in the 'Rossendale Alive' induction sessions and the 'Ask Carolyn' scheme where every employee is encouraged to submit any questions they have directly to the Chief Executive.

All staff suggestions are also personally considered by Carolyn Wilkins who oversees the progression of each idea. Rossendale scored particularly well in terms of the number of senior managers in the organisation who are women.

The Council is also praised for its approach to flexible working with options such as job sharing, home working, compressed hours and flexi-time.

In addition to being listed third overall, Rossendale Council also won a special award for its commitment to staff training and development.

Rossendale currently spends almost twice as much on staff development as many other council's and provides a wide range of training opportunities for staff at all levels.

Training opportunities include a 'Computers for Beginners' course for operational staff and introductory management diplomas for aspiring team leaders and future managers.

Chief Executive, Carolyn Wilkins said: "I am delighted that Council staff rate working for the council so highly".

"We have made a real effort over the last couple of years to actively engage with our staff, encouraging them to have their say and give feedback to each other and the senior management team".

 "We have tried to make sure that each and every person is valued and knows that they have an important contribution to make".

"Our staff suggestion scheme in particular has been a great success with 100s of suggestions submitted this year, many of which we have been able to implement."

Cllr Duncan Ruddick, Leader of the Council added: "Rossendale is now not just a great place to live but also to work, with the largest employer in the borough setting an example to the rest. Congratulations to Carolyn and the rest of the team".

"As Councillors we know that Council staff are the most important resource we have and I am delighted that the efforts we have made to improve staff morale have paid off. "I am particularly proud that we have massively improved the working conditions for many of our staff, providing them with modern fit for purpose offices. This has clearly had big impact on staff morale."

"We have also invested heavily in staff training and development to ensure that all our staff have the right skills to do a great job and our flexible working arrangements make the Council a very family friendly place to work for".

The overall result is that our staff can provide a better, more cost effective service to local people."