There has been concern that the government's crackdown on 'excessive redundancy' payouts for senior public servants could limit council's freedom to employ and fire who they like.
The LGiU said the announcement, made in the Queen's Speech yesterday, would be popular with voters but will have implications for councils.
Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, said: ‘The government has announced that it will stop public sector employees from keeping redundancy payments when returning to the public sector. A popular move but could this have implications for the freedom of councils to employ, and fire, who they want to?’
The TaxPayers’ Alliance welcomed the news but said it has already highlighted several examples of senior public sector officials returning to other well-paid public sector jobs after securing a large redundancy payout.
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive, said: ‘Shutting down the public sector merry-go-round is fantastic news for taxpayers. For too long, ordinary people have been footing the bill for huge redundancy payouts, only to see the employees in question back in similar jobs just weeks later.’
The speech also included measures to impose higher penalties for employers who refuse to pay their staff the minimum wage.
