More than 700 employees earned that much in 2024/25
The number of Bristol City Council staff paid more than £50k a year has spiralled(Image: Getty)
The number of Bristol City Council employees on a salary over £50,000 increased by almost a half last year, new figures reveal.
A total of 722 staff earned at least that amount compared with 488 the year before, according to the authority’s 2024/25 draft statement of accounts.
In addition, the total employees working in local authority schools who were paid more than £50,000 a year also rose, from 147 to 173.
The figures exclude employers’ pension contributions.
Cllr Jonathan Hucker (Conservative, Stockwood) said: “We hear a lot about austerity but there is little evidence of pay restraint in the public sector.
“Bristol City Council appears to be no exception in this respect.”
A council spokesperson said: “The increase in the number of employees earning over £50,000 is primarily due to the nationally agreed annual pay award.
“This is a result of a decision not taken by Bristol City Council.”
The accounts show that one employee at the authority was paid between £120,000 and £124,999 and another from £115,000 to £119,999.
A total of 373 staff were in the £50,000 to £54,999 pay band compared with 267 the year before, excluding schools.
There was also a big rise in the number of employees earning between £55,000 and £59,999, from 51 to 144.
And while those on a salary from £60,000 to £64,999 fell from 49 to 37, there were increases in the £65,000 to £69,999 band, up from 34 to 53, £70,000 to £74,999 (28 to 41), £75,000 to £79,999 (from 19 to 28 members of staff), £80,000 to £84,999 (23 to 26) and £85,000 to £89,999, which went up one from four to five.
Two fewer salaries were between £90,000 and £94,999, from six to four, although this leapt from zero to five for school employees, while the next pay bracket, £95,000 to £99,999, saw an increase from three five, and two staff were paid between £100,000 and £104,999, which none were in 2023/24.
Staff who received £105,000 to £109,999 went up from one to two.
The figures do not include the very highest senior officers whose remuneration is outlined separately in the report.
The previous year saw a rise of 35 per cent in non-school employees earning at least £50,000, from 362 to 488.
That followed a similar hike from 268 staff in 2022/23, which led to critics accusing the authority of “rewarding failure rather than success”.