KCC defends £365K payoff
Comments |
by
political editor Paul Francis
Kent County Council has blamed
"onerous" employment laws for a decision to pay a former director
£365,000 after he quit the job he had after barely a year in the
post.
Adam Wilkinson, pictured right, who is
now chief executive of Derby City Council, was KCC’s former
director of regeneration and transport but quit after just a year
in the post.
We revealed in January how he and
another former director, Graham Badman, between them shared
remuneration of £670,000 in a year after leaving their posts,
including their salaries and pay-outs when they left their
jobs.
Both Mr Wilkinson and KCC have
defended his pay-off, saying he was entitled to it under his
contract with the county council.
But KCC chiefs signalled they were not
happy about the issue in a statement that blamed "onerous"
employment laws as a reason they were forced into big payouts.
In a statement, Cllr Roger Gough, KCC
cabinet member for corporate services, pictured right, said:
"We fully understand how people feel about large payments and we
feel the same way.
"Kent County Council does not enter
into contracts to pay people large sums of money when they
leave.
"Mr Wilkinson’s time at KCC did not
work out so it was mutually agreed that he should move on. At a
personal level it was also the right thing for Mr Wilkinson.
"We moved quickly so as to not lose
focus on delivering important vital services to the public such as
roads, waste and the environment.
"This happened two years ago and has
no impact on decisions we are making now. We are unable to say more
because of the contractual agreement made with Mr Wilkinson. The
problem we face is that employment laws are onerous and need to be
reformed. We will lobby the Government for a change of the
law."
Mr Wilkinson said:
"Contractually, Kent had a responsibility to make me a payment.
What I was entitled to on departure was a proportion of my salary
and bonus and that’s what I was paid."
But the lobby group the Taxpayers’
Alliance described the payout, which included his salary for the
year, as "jaw dropping".
Mr Wilkinson decided to leave Kent in
2008 after just over a year at the authority because he was
returning to West Yorkshire each weekend, where his wife and four
daughters lived.
He explained: "My family weren’t happy
and it wasn’t working out with the commuting. I was living in
Maidstone during the week and going back to West Yorkshire at the
weekend.
"It was tiring and stressful. The
salary was great from the financial perspective and the job was a
great challenge, but the work and life balance was not
working."
Saturday, June 19 2010
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