North Yorkshire Council set for £513,700 redundancy payout to three senior managers

North Yorkshire Council looks set to make three former district council managers redundant at a cost of £513,700.

The council, which replaced Harrogate Borough Council and seven other district and county councils at the start of the month, is restructuring its workforce.

According to a report due before the authority’s executive, senior managers who were transferred to the council under TUPE regulations can be offered “substitute duties” which fit their job descriptions.

Some senior staff left for other jobs before the authority was formed, while others took up roles on the new council.

However, three of the senior managers are due to be made redundant after the roles they were allocated were “time-limited”.

The report said:

“There are three senior managers where the substitute duties allocated are time-limited, and on conclusion they will be in a redundancy position.

“Legal advice has been sought and confirms this position.”

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As a result, the council looks set to pay an estimated £513,700 in exit packages to those being made redundant.

None of the officers are former employees of Harrogate Borough Council.

The payments will be split by £107,000, £108,000 and £298,000.

Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire Council, said the move to one council has helped to save £3.7 million in senior officers’ pay.

He said:

“A huge amount of work has been undertaken to bring together the previous eight councils into one and ensure that there is value for money for North Yorkshire’s taxpayers. 

“The move to one single management team for North Yorkshire Council has saved about £3.7 million in pay for senior officers every year. The fact that there are only three senior managers in this situation is significantly less than other councils in this position. 

“To have these managers still involved for a defined period has been of significant benefit to the new council, making full use of their skills and experience for work that would otherwise have needed extra resources in terms of appointments, interim managers or consultants.”

A meeting of the council’s executive is set to discuss the matter on Tuesday, May 2. Senior councillors have been recommended to refer the matter to full council.

In December, Unison wrote to the authority warning it not to offer senior managers more favourable redundancy terms than other staff.

The letter came as Hambleton District Council agreed to pay £767,065 to four senior officers who decided they do not wish to work for the unitary North Yorkshire Council after April 1.

The payments were agreed even though the four directors had been assured they would be offered “suitable roles” at no financial loss to themselves when they transferred to North Yorkshire Council.

Former Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson negotiated a £101,274 redundancy pay-out before his departure at the end of March.