Councillors have given the green light for a redundancy package worth £80,366 to be paid to outgoing Craven District Council chief executive Paul Shevlin.
At a full meeting of the council in Skipton last night (Wednesday), councillors approved a report that recommends Mr Shevlin is paid £43,973.25 in contractual redundancy and £36,393.10 for a notice period of four months that he will not have to work because his role will not exist from 1st April 2023.
After Craven District Council is abolished, Mr Shevlin’s employment would automatically transfer to North Yorkshire Council. However, the council took external legal advice that said because the new council is “likely to refuse to recognise” him as an employee he would be “effectively stranded” and it could lead to an unfair dismissal claim.
The report said a redundancy package would therefore remove “unnecessary conflict, senior officer time and a waste of public funds”.
Mr Shevlin, who has been at the top of the authority since 2008, will receive a lower settlement than other outgoing North Yorkshire district council chief executives.
A £225,000 package for Hambleton District Council’s chief executive, Justin Ives, was criticised by both Unison and the Taxpayers’ Alliance. Hambleton is also offering six-figure settlements to four other outgoing senior officers. Janet Waggott, chief executive of Selby District Council, is set to receive a package worth £210,000.
During last night’s meeting, Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for the Aire Valley with Lothersdale ward, accused other councils of offering “deeply irresponsible” redundancy packages to senior members of staff. He said:
“North Yorkshire has dumped responsibility [of redundancy packages] onto district councils. Some districts have handed out close to £1 million. Frankly, it staggers the imagination. Across the patch we are supposed to be saving money but people with talent are being paid to disappear. It’s a very strange thing to do”.
Conservative councillor for Mid-Craven and council chair, Simon Myers, said there had been a “difference in legal opinion” between lawyers representing the council and the chief executive but a compromise had been found that allows the authority to move forward and avoid “unseemly and expensive wrangles”.
He said: “In the interests of not making unnecessary tension and enriching lawyers, whilst also recognising ourselves as a good and caring employer that wishes to treat officers with dignity, a compromise solution has been found. For what it’s wort , its probably the least expensive redundancy across North Yorkshire in terms of chief executives.”
Cllr Myers said an employment committee last month that discussed Mr Shevlin’s redundancy was a “very sad one” to chair. He added:
“It brought it home that we are in the end days of this council but we have to make this decision for benefit of our residents.”
Current North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton has already been announced as the chief executive of North Yorkshire Council. He will earn a salary of up to £197,000 a year with responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.
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