REPRESENTATIVES from businesses and local authorities in the Tees Valley will launch an information pack for employees this week.

More than 40 companies will attend the Judges Country House Hotel, in Kirklevington, tomorrow.

They will be met by guest speakers from the Department of Trade and Industry, Cleveland Police and Northern Rock to discuss ways they can support employees and help them balance their lives.

The folders are the result of joint working between the five Tees Valley SureStart Partnerships in Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland.

The folders are intended as a reference businesses can keep. After the event, it will be up to the individual employers to take forward any work to implement Work Life Balance initiatives within their own companies.

Eve Connor, information and resource manager for SureStart Stockton, said: "Many employees find it difficult to support both family and work life, with one or the other usually suffering."