PAYOUTS to senior Thurrock Council officers who have effectively been sacked for failing in their jobs as the authority spiralled into a financial catastrophe could top more than a million pounds.

And other top officers that remain look set to be offered a four per cent pay rise – which has already been described as a 'reward for failure' by the council's leader.

Thurrock Nub News previewed both scenarios last week in our story ahead of a meeting of the council's general services committee.

At the meeting leading Conservative councillor Luke Spillman delivered a damning indictment of the interim council management after managing director commissioner of the council, Dr Dave Smith, explained why the council had messed up its handling and presentation of the pay offer to senior members.

It had been rejected by the committee, but Dr Smith reported back saying the council was not allowed to reject it and councillors had been misinformed about procedure – and that not paying the award would leave it open to employment tribunal action that could be more expensive than paying the award.

Cllr Spillman said: "My view is that you produced a half-baked report in June then got an answer that ended up being problematic - then got some more information that should have been provided to the committee at the time, panicked and realised that you had to come back with this alternative proposal.

"You've come up with views of council that happen to agree with the four per cent rise."

Looking back on the previous presentation to the committee, Cllr Spillman said: "The initial paper said that a higher than national pay offer is likely to result in reputational damage if the council gives a higher level of increase than comparators in the majority of local authorities.

"There is a strong possibility it will be used by the community and other stakeholders as a reward for organisational failures which are likely to be perceived externally as attributable to individual and collective leadership- responsibilities.

"I won't express what I believe the views of the people in my ward of Ockendon are on this, because I would probably be on some sort of charge if I did.

"I'm not just not supporting this on a matter of principle but because I don't think everything has been done to exhaust every possibility of having a lower pay order to senior staff.

"I think there should be a consultation with senior staff to accept a variation. I am absolutely appalled at this pay award and I know that a lot of people will be and I can't imagine as a public servant, considering the position that they are in, these individuals will not sit down and agree that this is fundamentally the wrong thing to do."

However, Dr Smith countered that it was not really an option not to pay the award and any consultation about not paying it might land the council in legal difficulties.

After a brief 'behind closed doors' session when confidential payments were discussed, members of the committee, with the exception of Cllr Spillman, approved the four per cent rise, backdated to April 2023.

However, Dr Smith was instructed as part of the wider pay review, to bring back to the committee a review of pay and arrangements for determining on-going annual pay awards for senior managers.

Earlier in the meeting Cllr Spillman had challenged Dr Smith over his report outlining plans to restructure the senior management of the council – which includes 'dismissing' two senior directors and accepting a voluntary redundancy application from another.

Other posts will go in the restructuring, which Cllr Spillman said would cost 'a seven-figure amount' - a number that was not questioned.

Dr Smith reported to the committee that he had undertaken a thorough review of the senior management structure and had slimmed it down – and now the authority is advertising for a new raft of more competent officers.

New posts will include recruiting an executive director of corporate services and creation of an assistant chief executive's unit and a corporate services directorate.

Dr Smith's full report to members can be found here:

The full meeting can be viewed via this link.