Derby City Council 'livid' after 12,000 staff paid late

Delays to wages for 12,000 Derby City Council staff have left officials "livid", a councillor has said.

An e-mail was sent to workers on Thursday explaining an administrative error had caused the delay.

Councillors said some wages had been paid in cash in an effort to make sure as many as possible had money for the weekend.

They hoped all wages would be paid on Friday but payroll staff would work at the weekend to tackle any problems.

The council said it had changed the electronic payment system to get money into accounts but had resorted to cash payments when some transfers did not work.

Conservative councillor Sean Marshall said he understood how important the problem was.

"Mistakes have been made, it is unacceptable and I am livid about it," he said.

"It shouldn't have happened, it has never happened before and I'm going to make sure it never happens in the future.

"I will start a full investigation next week to find out what has happened and if we find someone has messed up then disciplinary action will follow."

The Tory-led authority is trying to save £27m in two years and is considering hundreds of job cuts.