A NEWPORT man has been given the opportunity to take paid time off from work to volunteer at a charity supporting ex-prison inmates.

Martin Lewis, who works for Motorpoint in Newport, has carried out work as a mentor for Inside Out, a charity supporting former prisoners and people in the process of being released, as part of his employer's One Big Dream scheme.

The project, launched last September, allows staff to take paid time off to pursue their dreams, and has so far seen more than 15,000 hours donated to worthy causes.

Mr Lewis said: “I am passionate about helping people succeed and having the extra hours to do just that makes all the difference.

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"I am extremely grateful to be given the time by Motorpoint to support my voluntary work with Inside Out."

More than 90 percent of employees across all Motorpoint branches have taken advantage of the benefit which allows staff to take up to two paid hours a month to do something that they love. In total, 625 days have been taken since the scheme launched in late September 2018 - the equivalent of 1.7 years.

Cat Moseley, human resources director at Motorpoint added: “We understand how challenged it can be to balance work and life sometimes and so we spoke with our teams and developed our One Big Dream scheme last September.

“It’s proved to be a huge success, with the vast majority of the team utilising those hours for everything from school pickups and Harvest Festivals through to gym sessions and even dinner with a professional rugby player.

“Adding value to our employees outside of work is a key part of our employment offer. It’s a unique and versatile benefit that means something special to everyone, every time they use it.

“We’re already looking at ways in which we can improve One Big Dream further as we head towards 2020 but it’s brilliant to see so many colleagues utilising this time to do some of the things that we sometimes don’t have the time to do, and thoroughly enjoying themselves in the process.”