Council spends record £4.2m on redundancy payments

The council said redundancy payments had been increased in line with pay rises

A council spent a record £4.2m on redundancy payments last year, new government figures have shown.

Oxfordshire County Council paid an average of £65,000 to 70 staff members in 2024-25.

It is the largest sum of money the authority has spent on redundancies in the past 10 years, with the figure around the £1m mark for each of the previous two years.

The council said it had been undergoing a "comprehensive restructure" since March 2024 and that redundancy payments increased in line with pay rises.

Almost £2.5m of the total sum spent by the council went towards pensions for staff who took early retirement.

Another £711,000 came from ex gratia payments - which are made to staff out of generosity from the employer rather than as a legal requirement.

Councillor Liam Walker, leader of the Oxfordshire Alliance council opposition group, said the "eye-watering figure" raised "serious questions" about how the council "manages its finances and whether this is truly the best use of taxpayers' money".

"Residents expect their money to go towards delivering services, not handing out massive golden goodbyes," he said.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, who leads the opposition Labour group, said "every time" a council restructures, "people lose their jobs".

"Restructures are dreadful for the people who go through them, and very often for people at the end of their working lives," she added.

A spokesperson for the county council said: "Our overall aim is that we are run as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, so that we can pay for the crucial services we need to deliver for the Oxfordshire public, and for the benefit of future generations.

"Redundancy costs are one-off. Staffing savings accrued are savings for each year setting a firm foundation for the future," the spokesperson said.

"We continue to aim to be a leaner and fitter organisation for the future. These statistics are a snapshot of a moving picture."