Council pays out £180,000 in compromise deals

A Devon council has handed out almost £180,000 in the last three years to ex-staff to stop them making a claim against the authority.

Torbay Council has made 17 compromise agreements totalling more than £176,363.38 between 2016 and 2018. Compromise agreements can have confidentiality orders attached and are usually set up when an employee facing redundancy or workplace issues leaves.

Under the deals, also known as “settlement agreements”, an employer asks the employee to sign on the line in return for a pay-off. The total was disclosed after a Freedom of Information request, but the authority refused to give a breakdown of the individual deals.

The council’s pay policy says it enters settlement agreements only in “exceptional circumstances” and when it makes financial sense.