Yorkshire Fire chiefs' lieu time payments spark call for inquiry

Clive Betts, Labour candidate for Sheffield South East in the General Election, has formally written to external auditors asking for an inquiry into why South Yorkshire Fire Authority granted its chief officers generous lieu time payments in place of secretly-agreed overtime, which they had been required to repay.

The replacement deal ended up netting former deputy chief John Roberts £12,500 when he left to take up the top job at West Yorkshire Fire Service in February because he still had 220 hours – out of 270 given – outstanding at the time of his departure.

The overtime and subsequent lieu time was provided as recompense for chief officers working during strikes but has attracted criticism as highly-paid senior staff are expected to be available at all times.

Mr Roberts’s salary package was £151,000, while South Yorkshire’s current chief fire officer, Jamie Courtney, received £187,000. Mr Roberts and Mr Courtney were required to repay £13,425 and £14,390 respectively in overtime last year after it emerged the payments were secretly agreed by former fire authority chairman Jim Andrews, without the knowledge of any other councillor on the authority.

Mr Betts said he has spoken to Mr Courtney, who was granted the hourly equivalent of almost 37 days’ lieu time, and written to fire authority clerk Diana Terris seeking an explanation of the legal basis for the deal. He said: “I’m extremely disappointed, despite several efforts, I have been unable to get a clear answer from either the fire service or fire authority that demonstrates there was a legal entitlement for these officers to have time off in lieu for working during the dispute so I am asking the external auditors to investigate.”

Mr Betts has not accepted a written explanation offered by Ms Terris which said after chief officers were required to repay overtime “the contractual position would be that there would need to be appropriate alternative recompense through time off in lieu to which the officers were necessarily entitled”.

In his letter, Mr Betts wrote: “The most recent reply I have received from Diana Terris does seem extremely convoluted... but I have not yet received a response.”

A fire authority said it has “no comment to make at this stage and will await a response from the external auditor”, while Mr Courtney declined to comment.