A PAY-OUT of more than £330,000 for the loss of three senior positions at Pembrokeshire County Council is expected to get the go-ahead on Thursday.

A meeting of the full council on May 9 is expected to back a recommendation for the three pay-outs.

The county council’s Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS) was launched prior to Christmas with a closing date of January 31, 2019.

To date the panel has either approved, or ‘in principle’ approved, outcomes for 36 individuals, potentially reducing the salary bill by £1.35 million with a combined return on investment (ROI) of 16 months.

Individual severance costs in excess of £100,000 require full council approval as set out in s.5.4.2 of the Authority’s Pay Policy Statement.

When severance cost is added to pension strain, three applications exceed the threshold.

The annual salary saving from these three applications will be up to £218,270.89, with a total cost of £330,063.62, meaning the ROI could be recouped in 18 months.

The Voluntary Severance Scheme is a Cabinet initiative to contribute to savings on the staffing budget in support of delivery of the medium-term financial plan.

A post in the Children & Schools would see a pay-out of £106,563.50; a Human Resources post a pay-out of £106,375.08, and a Finance post a pay-out of £117,125.04.

The posts will be absorbed in restructuring of the departments.