Express & Star

Wolverhampton Council spends £8 MILLION silencing former staff

Wolverhampton's cash-strapped council has spent almost £8 million of public money over the last five years buying the silence of departing staff.

Published

Since 2011/12 the authority has used public money to pay off 861 staff axed or taking redundancy.

This is to ensure they do not discuss their work once their employment ends.

The settlement agreements, which are widely used in both the public and private sectors, offer an increased severance package in return for staff agreeing to clauses.

A Freedom of Information request revealed Wolverhampton council has paid out £7,810,129 in so-called gagging orders over the last five years, including more than £1.8 million so far in the current financial year.

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It means the authority – battling to save a minimum of £134m by 2019 – has spent more on settlement agreements than 20 councils' across Scotland in the same period.

The figures have been branded as shocking by the TaxPayers' Alliance.

In 2014/15 the authority used a whopping £4,627,672 from the public purse to pay off 652 staff, at an average of £7,100. In 2011/12, when several high earners were trimmed from the authority's wage bill, more than £255,000 was splurged on just six members of staff at an average of £42,500.

The council doled out £547,954.74 to 16 staff in 2012/13 and £533,064.98 to 22 staff the following year.

In 2014/15 bosses brought in a policy that all staff taking voluntary redundancy must sign a settlement agreement.

Council bosses say the 'vast majority' of the figure represents redundancy payments that include an agreement that former staff cannot be re-employed by the council for 12 months after leaving.

Councillor Paul Sweet cabinet member for governance, said: "This prevents a situation occurring where someone has accepted a significant redundancy payment but then re-joins the council payroll again soon after."

Dia Chakravarty, the TaxPayers' Alliance's political director, said: "Residents will be shocked that the council has spent millions of pounds to silence departing staff.

"These arrangements should not be made behind closed doors because residents need to be reassured their cash is not being spent covering up failings or wrongdoing, or on silencing potential whistleblowers."

Earlier this month it emerged that Stafford Borough Council had paid out £222,000 in gagging orders since 2011/12, while 20 Scottish councils spent £8.3m on gagging orders in the last five years.

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