Officers at North Wiltshire District Council are struggling to overcome a benefits backlog.
The council admitted it had failed to provide the usual quality of service recently, because of the high volume of work and staff sickness.
The benefits call centre will be closed on weekday mornings until 2pm, with the exception of Mondays, to allow staff extra time to catch up with the backlog of council tax and housing benefit applications.
The new arrangement will start on May 20.
Cllr Lesley Bennett, lead member for customer services, said: "It is our priority to sort out the backlog and we are bringing in extra staff and changing our working practices to target improvement."
The council hopes to clear its backlog by the end of the summer.
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