£1.5m for council officialsin pay-off bonanza

MORE than 1.5m has been paid out to top Yorkshire council officials in six-figure redundancy deals as local authorities attempt to make savings by cutting managers.

Ten department directors were awarded 100,000 or more in compensation and pension contributions after choosing redundancy, early retirement or “flexible” retirement – where they can claim their pension benefits early but continue to work at reduced hours.

Some of the deals were the equivalent to more than one year’s salary, and in one case it was nearly four years’ pay.

The Government has condemned any authorities that award six-figure compensation payouts, claiming they are “unjustified” during a public sector pay freeze.

Business leaders said that in many cases the deals were four times what was on offer in the private sector, while union chiefs warned there was growing discontent among front-line staff who are being offered a basic statutory redundancy package.

The figures, revealed in each of the council’s published accounts, showed that Kirklees Council paid two directors more than 200,000 in compensation and pension contributions.

The authority says it intends to cut further, axing two more directors in the future.

A council spokeswoman said: “The figures were based on redundancy terms at the time. These redundancy terms are currently under review.”

Union leaders say front-line staff on basic wages are growing increasingly angry.

The branch secretary of the Unison public sector union in Kirklees, Paul Holmes, said: “We represent 8,500 members who are facing losing their jobs, they are on basic pay and will be able to claim basic statutory redundancy should they lose their jobs.

“Morale is low enough at the moment – 80 per cent of workers want to leave the public sector but there are no jobs to go to.

“And these payouts are making things worse. There is a widening split between managers and staff, with those on the lowest wages feeling that they are taking the biggest hit from these cuts.”

Calderdale Council, which paid a group director 190,000 in compensation and pension contributions, said the deal was part of the authority’s redundancy scheme which was “available to all employees”.

Wakefield Council paid a director nearly 140,000 in compensation and pension contributions in September last year, as well as 144,818 compensation to another high-ranking member of staff. A spokesman said the payments were in line with council policy.

City of York Council paid a director 51,000 compensation and 69,000 in pension contributions in March this year.

Last week the Yorkshire Post revealed that Sheffield City Council spent 670,000 paying off three managers – including one settlement of nearly 340,000.

The director of policy at the Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, Nick Pontone, said: “Most businesses would offer statutory redundancy pay which broadly equates to a pay-off of a week’s pay for each year of service.

“I don’t know what policy all public sector organisations have, but we hear examples where it’s more likely to be a month’s pay for each year of service.

“The other big difference is that whatever pay-off a private company makes, it’s their own money, not taxpayers’.”

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