Highland Council overpaid past and present staff by £1.2 million with £396,000 yet to be recovered
Highland Council revealed that it overpaid staff, past and present, by more than £1.2 million between April 1 2022 and the end of September 2024.
Most of that has since been recovered but £396,000 – likely to stem from former staff – is yet to be returned to the cash-strapped local authority.
This follows a question from the council’s Lib Dem opposition leader Alasdair Christie who asked for a “list of all current and past employees who have had a salary overpayment”, how much was overpaid and what the outstanding balance is.
The response stated: “Salary Overpayments for the period 1 April 22 to 30 September 24 were £1.246 million. The balance outstanding is £396,000.
It also confirmed overpayments according to directorates comprising multiple departments – now called clusters – with People £871,000; Place £349,000; and Corporate £26,000 – totalling £1.246 million.
The council’s reputation for financial management is yet to recover after we revealed hundreds of former staff continued to be paid months after leaving the employ of the local authority.
It took another hit after former staff spoke out about the methods used by officials to regain some of the cash they overpaid were described as intending to “intimidate” them.
