KCC staff 'sell' leave - for half a million pounds...
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by political editor Paul Francis
Kent County Council staff sold more
than 3,700 days of their holiday back to the authority last year at
a cost of more than half a million pounds.
A total of 660 employees exercised their right to sell untaken
holiday time between April 2008 and March 2009.
KCC says the leave sold – which is provided to employees as a
lump sum and is not pensionable - was valued at £531,205.
Over the same period, 227 county council staff also “bought” 1,360
days extra leave on top of their usual holiday entitlement, costing
them £171,971.
Under the authority’s terms and conditions of employment, staff
can take up to 10 days additional leave each year, provided it is
approved by their managers.
The entitlement to buy leave is part of what the authority
describes as its commitment to help staff “achieve a healthy
balance between their work and personal lives.”
The details of the buying and selling of leave were disclosed to
the KM Group under the Freedom of Information Act. It follows our
revelation that KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy had sold part of
his leave entitlement for nearly £12,000 last year.
KCC says two other senior officers also sold leave in each of
the last three years for a combined sum of nearly £18,000. The
names of the two officers have not been disclosed under Data
Protection legislation.
According to the data released, of the 660 staff selling holiday
entitlement, 242 were from the children and families directorate
and 174 staff working for adult social services. A total of 106
were in the chief executive’s directorate.
Where staff requests to buy leave are approved, their salaries
are either reduced monthly over the year or can be paid for through
a lump sum.
In a statement, Cllr Roger Gough (Con), KCC cabinet member for
communities, said:
“We offer people some flexibility with their leave as part of our
benefits package.
"However, this flexibility is discretionary and the council can
turn down a request. The needs of the business and of services are
always given top priority when it comes to reviewing requests to
buying additional time off.
"In the same way, we insist that people working for us keep at
least 20 days for time away from work before agreeing to sell any
leave. With these safeguards in place, we are satisfied that we are
able to offer something that staff value as an option but which
does not, in any way, compromise our ability to deliver excellent
public services.”
Wednesday, July 15 2009
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