Grievances soared under Baxendale
Almost $1 million was paid to Christchurch City Council staff in severance payments last year as the number and value of personal grievance payouts skyrocketed in the final months of former boss Dawn Baxendale’s tenure.
In 2023, the council paid out $238,500 to 12 staff – 15 times more than in 2019, when the council made one personal grievance payment of $16,000.
In 2022 another $119,000 was paid for five personal grievance cases.
Baxendale, who abruptly resigned late last year 11 months before her fiveyear contract ended, started at the council in mid-October 2019.
Figures released to The Press under official information laws show the council paid out close to $920,000 in severance payments in 2023 to 22 staff, including 10 for redundancy (totalling $680,000) and 12 ($238,500) for personal grievances.
During 2023 a number of senior staff, as well as Baxendale, left the council. Chief financial officer Leah Scales resigned in November after going on sick leave two weeks earlier, while general manager Jane Davis and three waters head Helen Beaumont both resigned in July after being mysteriously on leave since February.
Head of people and culture Peter Keegan went on leave in November and also later resigned, having only been in the job since July. His predecessor, Jane O’Toole, and chief information officer and head of digital, Symon McHerron, resigned in March.
The council would not say who received the severance payments, citing privacy laws.
However, it did say payments were made to eight managers and 14 team leaders last year.
Redundancy payments ranged from $1560 up to $134,000, with four payments over $100,000.
The 12 personal grievance payouts ranged from $5000 up to $40,000.
Mary Richardson, the council’s interim chief executive, said she was concerned about the increase in personal grievances.
When asked what the council was doing to reduce the number, Richardson said it was recruiting a new head of people and capability (formerly people and culture) and, unlike before, this person would sit on the executive leadership team (ELT).
“This will result in the ELT having an increased focus on people and culture,” Richardson said.
She said members of the ELT were demonstrating more visible leadership by spending more time talking with staff. The council was also addressing remuneration issues, after reaching an agreement with unions last year to address pay inequity between unionised and non-unionised staff.
Richardson said she wanted to reiterate that council staff were committed to providing good service to the people of Christchurch and, like her, most loved working there. Feedback from previous surveys showed that staff wanted to see more leadership but they liked working for their immediate boss.
Mayor Phil Mauger said the council went through a “bit of an upheaval last year”, but he had full confidence in Richardson.
He said the council previously had an ELT that was lacking in leadership, and it did not help that at one point there were only two people left in the leadership group.
Mauger said council staff wanted leadership and they had not been getting it, but Richardson was rectifying that.
In 2021 just one personal grievance was paid out worth $8500, and there were 42 redundancy payments worth $1.87m.
In 2020, the council paid for two personal grievances worth a total of $35,000, and 10 redundancies costing more than $480,000.
The Press reported last month that about two-thirds of the council’s permanent staff left the organisation during Baxendale’s tenure.
About 1715 staff left the council across the four years Baxendale led the organisation. An average of 428 people left each year - an annual turnover of about 17%. The council has about 2550 permanent staff.