Birmingham City Council reveals voluntary staff severance scheme

All staff at Birmingham City Council have been sent details of the authority's Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme

City council staff in Birmingham are being asked if they want to leave as the authority struggles with a huge bill for equal pay claims.

The local authority announced in July it would halt all non-essential spending after admitting that settling outstanding claims could cost £760m.

The council has begun a voluntary severance scheme.

Information was sent to all its more than 10,000 employees, a spokesperson added.

The Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS) was launched on 21 August as part of the council's budget-saving plans for this financial year, a spokesperson said.

"MARS is a voluntary scheme open for employees to apply.

"During this period and beyond, our focus continues to be on delivering high-quality services that our city's residents and communities deserve."

A MARS scheme typically sees an employee, in agreement with their employer, choosing to leave their role in return for a severance payment.

The city council has not revealed the details of the scheme or any savings target for it.

The number of staff employed by the council was 10,341 in 2021-22, a report for the authority said.

Council leader John Cotton said the scale of the problem emerged after a review of finances

John Cotton, leader of the Labour-run council, took over in May and said the equal pay claims commitment came to light when he ordered a review of the finances.

That was despite paying out about £1.1bn in claims since a landmark court case in 2012.

The claims were brought by council workers in traditionally female-dominated jobs, such as teaching assistants, cleaners and catering staff.

The GMB union, which represents thousands of council workers, said the issue had been around for a long time and that the council should have been aware.

Two reviews and a judge-led inquiry were announced by the authority which has apologised for failing to get the situation under control.

A bailout for the authority was ruled out by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in July.