Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER Published: 8 August 2008
Paid to ‘stay at home’
THE Town Hall has spent nearly half a million pounds in payments to suspended council staff and on settlements, the Tribune can reveal. Over the past three years, it has paid 23 council staff £266,000 while suspended and another £184,000 on settlements, redundancy and compensation. Only three cases won any kind of pay-off.
The figures follow the case of Islington’s former head of equality Vernal Scott who collected £100,000 in six months paid leave and compensation after his unexplained suspension last year.
Labour deputy leader Paul Smith said: “The figures don’t include the legal and replacement costs, which are often the tipping point. The real figure is actually much larger.”
Lib Dem council leader Councillor James Kempton said: “Each individual case has individual circumstances.”