Highland council tackling overpayment of ex-staff

Highland Council headquarters in Inverness

Highland Council says it is tackling an issue which saw it overpaying almost 600 former members of staff.

The local authority said in February a 2022-23 annual audit found a total of £863,000 was paid to ex-workers.

Auditors found there were issues with how leavers were being recorded on council systems, leading to the error.

In a new report, council officials said the actual total amount it needed to recover was £614,092 - and it had managed to get back 25% of that figure so far.

Highland Council has put in place safeguards to avoid losing more money this way, according to the report.

The measures include more frequent checks of its payroll. Councillors will consider the report at a meeting next week.