Nottingham City Council has teamed up with a local business to provide its 13,200 strong workforce with access to an innovative online lunch ordering service.

The Desk Top Deli is the latest in a series of local companies to team up with the council as part of its award-winning employee benefits scheme Works Perks. The new service is set to start later this month, initially with deliveries to The Guildhall site, with other council offices following on during the course of the year.

Director of Human Resources Ben Browne said:

"I am very pleased to have a Nottingham-based company work in partnership with us for the benefit of our employees. We work hard to offer positive initiatives that will offer an immediate benefit. I know this addition to our award winning Works Perks benefits scheme will be well received, especially as the company have guaranteed to develop their product to include lunch options for a variety of different dietary requirements."

The Desk Top Deli, situated in the Meadow Lane area of the city, has quickly established itself as forward-thinking catering business that offers an exciting range of freshly prepared sandwiches, salads and fresh fruit options. The founders of The Desk Top Deli have also taken an ethical approach to their own food chain, sourcing from a county-wide list of free range and best of breed farmers and suppliers whenever possible.

The City Council plans to roll out this service via its intranet to an initial pool of over 6,000 staff who have immediate access to a computer; options for workers who are not computer users at work will be added as quickly as possible. City employees can select a tasty, freshly prepared lunch from The Desk Top Deli’s site and all food will be offered at 10% discount. The intranet pages will be specifically designed for City Council employees and will feature competitions, information about other City initiatives, and seasonal food information and promotions.

HR Consultant Lynn Griffin Peace, who leads on employee benefits at the council, said:

"We like to lead by example in supporting our local businesses; this is a most welcome service which we intend to be accessible for all our employees. The service also directly supports 20 local jobs within the city."

Andy Scothern, Joint Founder and MD of The Desk Top Deli, added:

"An immediate and tangible benefit for employees is the provision of a quality lunch break. Our service means no queues, no hassle – you just decide on the lunch option you want and we do the rest. The lunch experience then becomes what it should be – a refreshing and revitalising break. We are really thrilled to add the City Council to our growing list of corporate clients."