Redundant council bosses rehired

Cheshire East council has admitted rehiring three senior managers – just six weeks after they left with huge redundancy payoffs.

Today's Daily Express reports that the trio were working for Cheshire East's adult services department when they were made redundant before Easter with unconfirmed payoffs estimated to be about £100,000 each.

Yet the council has now rehired all three on lower-paid, short-term contracts, citing "exceptional circumstances". And it confirmed the trio will be able to keep every penny of their payoffs.

All this is at the very time that financial support by Cheshire East council for Day Care facilities in Audlem and elsewhere is being cut back. It now seems we know where the priority for spending council tax payers' money is going – redundancy payments.

Last night Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "It is disgusting to squander taxpayers' money on payouts only to rehire, even if it is temporarily. Payoffs – especially high, senior managers' payouts – must offer true value for money."

Cheshire East Councillor Roland Domleo, portfolio holder for adult social care services, said the trio were made redundant as part of a long-term reorganisation of the department.

But closure of two private care homes in Crewe prompted a rethink as the burden to care for the 70-odd elderly residents fell on the council. So they rehired the trio on short-term, lower-grade salaries. Yet despite going back to work for their previous employer, none of the redundancy payouts will have to be returned.

The council had recently introduced a policy of not employing anyone it had previously made redundant – except in exceptional circumstances and on a short-term basis.

One worker, who shares an office with the trio, said: "It's been all over the news about local authorities needing to cut funds. So why is the council making such big payouts only to rehire the same people?"

Mr Domleo said: "They will leave when the task is completed. They are not getting their jobs back. We do not carry excess staff to cover situations like this and will continue to bring people in on short-term contracts.

"The new system requires a different set of skills. We are shifting the balance of our workforce and employing rather fewer social workers and rather more social care assessors. This is a positive change and one that will save £850,000. Our reforms of social care services will produce better results for less money."

Phil Lloyd, head of adult care services, said: "It is not going to please everybody when you do a major reform of a service like we have done."
A Cheshire East Council spokesman confirmed that the three workers were legally re-employed.

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