DORSET County Council says action must be taken to combat a potential staffing level crisis.

The authority's workforce has increased to such a level in recent years, it is now reviewing how to accommodate them in the council's 14 properties in Dorchester.

The council hopes flexible attendance will ease the strain on its overcrowded buildings and has commissioned a review of its Dorchester property to look at the way forward.

Introducing hot-desking, where 10 staff members share seven desks, would cut long-term accommodation costs, council chiefs claim.

They plan to pilot flexible attendance in the north east wing at County Hall, at a cost of £400,000, before deciding whether to extend the scheme elsewhere in the authority.

Under the plan, the council plans to pay out £290,000 to move its training unit from county hall to Top O' Town House, currently housing education department staff who will relocate to Winfrith Technology Centre.

Corporate services director Elaine Taylor said: "The timing for the pilot is important in the context of the Dorchester property review in that once it has operated for some 12 months, there will be an evaluation to inform decisions about the council's requirements for office accommodation in Dorchester."

The county employs 1,594 staff at its 14 buildings in Dorchester - 879 at County Hall.

Mrs Taylor says the council had to accommodate 224 new or relocated posts over the last three years, at a cost of £553,000.

The proposed changes at Top O' Town House would increase overall capacity by 89, Mrs Taylor says,

saving the authority more than £200,000. It would cost £1.3 million to roll out flexible attendance across each county council building, Mrs Taylor adds. This cost would be recouped after six years following which £340,000 a year would be saved.

Apart from Top O' Town House, the authority rents five buildings at an annual cost of nearly £250,000. The county pays £95,300 a year to rent Princes House, in Princes Street, housing 158 staff many of whom work in social care and health.

Top O' Town House contains 51 education workers and costs £50,500 per annum, while the council pays £45,000 a year to lease Grove House for 81 social care and health staff.

Another £31,500 a year is paid out to rent Hammick House, containing 44 education staff, while 34 social care and training staff work at Vespasian House at a cost of £22,700 per annum.

County bosses are also looking at spending an initial £150,000 to upgrade computer equipment throughout all its offices, allowing staff in each department to access identical information.

Mrs Taylor said: "Should the pilot prove successful, the business case demonstrates that in six years from completion of the roll out of flexible attendance to all headquarters office accommodation, the County Council would, as a return on its investment, have succeeded in modernising its headquarters office accommodation, reducing the amount of accommodation by 19 per cent and have achieved a reduction in the number of office locations required from 10 to two.

"It will be noted that the normal period for a return on investment on this type of capital expenditure would be at least 20 years."

A final decision on the schemes are likely to be made later this year. Councillors are set to get full details on the county's Dorchester properties in a secret report next month.

Mrs Taylor added: "The adaptation of the basement area of the North East wing to a staff restroom

accessible to all staff in County Hall would satisfy a long-standing request emerging from staff through a staff survey, team brief feedback and discussions with the trade unions.

"The trawl of County Hall accommodation has indicated that it would be impossible to identify any other suitable alternative without compromising available office or meeting space."