Scotland’s councils have handed out £63million in six-figure ‘golden goodbye’ payments to high earning staff since 2022, new figures have revealed.
The annual accounts of Scotland’s 32 local authorities show the huge cost of high-value exit packages for officials when they leave their jobs.
It comes despite growing strain on their finances, which was blamed for large increases in council tax charges in the current financial year.
Spending on the lucrative packages has soared from £12.6million in 2022/23 to £21.9million in 2024/25.
The biggest bill since 2022 was £15.4million at North Lanarkshire Council, followed by £11.3million at Glasgow City Council.
Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesman Craig Hoy said: ‘Hard-working Scots who’ve been hammered by rising council taxes will be furious that councils have shelled out millions on golden goodbyes.
‘Our local services are at breaking point, but instead of fixing the issues that actually matter, council bosses are allowing the bill for public-sector payouts to balloon.
‘Taxpayers are sick of SNP and Labour-run councils spending their money on the wrong priorities while our frontline services are on their knees.’
Glasgow City Council had the second biggest ‘golden goodbye’ payments since 2022, with a total of £11.3million. North Lanarkshire Council had the biggest at £15.4million
Former Glasgow City Council chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell received a £357,845 ‘in year’ contribution to her pension
The data, compiled by the Scottish Conservatives from the annual accounts of local authorities, shows total spending on exit packages of more than £100,000 since 2022 has been £62.6million.
The cost of the packages soared from £12.64million in 2022/23 to £28.09million in 2023/24 before a drop to £21.89million in 2024/25.
Over the three years, North Lanarkshire spent £15.38million, Glasgow £11.25million and Renfrewshire £7.92million.
Several councils – Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire, Midlothian, Orkney, Shetland, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian, didn’t issue any six-figure exit packages, according to the data.
In September, Audit Scotland issued a report condemning Glasgow City Council for significant early retirement and redundancy payments awarded to five senior officials.
It followed revelations that the five senior figures had left with exit deals without the knowledge of SNP council leader Susan Aitken, including former chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell, who received a £357,845 ‘in year’ contribution to her pension.
Elaine Galletly, former director of legal and administration, received a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for ‘compensation for loss of office’.
Audit Scotland found that the restructuring proposals appeared to have been approved by some individuals who personally benefited. It also said that the absence of independent scrutiny from councillors and formal documentation, including details of how decisions were made and evidence of value for money, was ‘deeply concerning’.
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: ‘The council has robust processes and monitoring procedures in place in respect of all exit payments for staff.
‘Major governance updates have been widely publicised this year.’
A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council said: ‘Senior management restructuring has delivered ongoing annual savings of more than £600,000 since 2018, demonstrating our commitment to efficiency and value for money.
‘Characterising exit packages as “golden goodbyes” is completely misleading as these payments don’t go directly to individuals, with the vast majority going to the pension fund, and around 40% based on notional calculations rather than actual cash payments.
Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesman Craig Hoy criticised councils for spending taxpayers’ money on the ‘wrong priorities’
‘Employees have contributed to the pension scheme throughout their careers and are entitled to their statutory benefits under pensions regulations, just like any other employee.
‘These are legal obligations, not discretionary bonuses and have been processed in line with policy agreed by the council.
‘Our restructuring has created a leaner, more efficient organisation that delivers better value for North Lanarkshire residents while meeting our legal and contractual obligations to employees.’
The Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) for chief officials negotiates the salaries for the chief executives of Scottish local authorities nationally through council umbrella body Cosla.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘It is up to individual councils to manage their budgets and decide the terms and conditions for their staff.
‘The Scottish Government respects the independence of Local Government. However, we would expect all councils to make decisions that meet their responsibility to secure value for money.’