More than 3,500 people have backed a social media campaign opposing the reported £275,000 ‘golden handshake’ for Derry City Council’s out-going chief executive.

Sharon O’Connor is expected to receive a severance package worth £275,000 when she steps down from the role in April. However, a Facebook page protesting against the pay-off has now received 3,556 likes (at the time of writing this story).

The campaign group has also written to Derry City Council saying that the pay-off would mean the chief executive would have cost the council over £600,000 for 36 months in the role.

The letter states: ‘Sharon O’Connor was appointed in Nov 2011, right? That means she has been employed for 36 months, right? Her £110k salary + £275 ‘redundancy’ has cost Derry City Council at least £605k which equates to £16, 806 per month.’

The letter calls on the council to explain further details about the deal and to review the pay-off.

A spokesperson for Derry City Council said: 'Derry City Council is aware of the material which has been posted about a Derry City Council staff member on social media. Derry City Council takes all such matters seriously.'