Bristol City Council has been accused of “rewarding failure rather than success” after the number of staff on salaries above £50,000 soared by over a third. The authority’s accounts show that 363 employees earned at least that much in 2022/23, compared with 268 the year before – a rise of 95, or 35 per cent.
City Hall chiefs say the big increase is largely down to a cost-of-living pay award and progression of some workers from an “appointment rate” to a higher “competency rate” that rewards ability. The figures, revealed in the council’s annual draft statement of accounts, are in addition to the 18 most senior officers and highest paid interim bosses who were paid more than £50,000.
They also exclude the 112 teachers and other employees in schools who received at least that amount, up from 71 in 2021/22. Cllr David Wilcox (Green, Lockleaze) asked at a meeting of the council’s audit committee: “Why is there such a massive increase, and was that pay increase in line with other employees?
