A NOTTS council, which had denied paying a "bonus" to its lowest-paid workers is spending about £60,000 of taxpayers' money on a "£250 one-off pay award", the Post can reveal.
Newark and Sherwood District Council twice denied making the payments because, it said, of the way the question was phrased by the Post.
When we reported that Labour-controlled Ashfield District and Gedling Borough councils were making £250 payments to their lower-paid workers, we asked all Notts councils if they were doing "anything similar or comparable".
A spokesman for Conservative-controlled Newark and Sherwood twice told us it was not.
We then saw reports of the council's April cabinet meeting, ratifying the "£250 one-off payment" to staff earning less than £21,000, and asked for an explanation.
A council spokesman told us: "We said we weren't paying a bonus to our staff, because it is not a bonus and it is not similar or comparable to one."
Francis Towndrow, 55, of Cleveland Square, Newark, said he welcomed the idea of helping lower-paid workers in hard times but added: "I cannot understand why the council didn't say they were paying out the bonus, or whatever you might call it, initially.
"Maybe they are embarrassed to reveal this to the people of Newark and Sherwood.
"I think they should be honest with the public."
Councillor Stan Crawford, leader of the Labour opposition on the council, said: "I don't understand the reasoning behind denying the payment.
"It's the right thing to do and we openly decided to do it in April as part of this year's budget. I find it peculiar."
Council leader Roger Blanley said he was puzzled but could not comment further.
Councillor Tony Roberts, deputy leader and chairman of the human resources committee, said: "We decided to do this in view of the fact that staff had a wage freeze for three years and this was allowed for by the Government.
"It's not a Christmas bonus or any kind of bonus."
Chancellor George Osborne said in 2010 that, because of his two-year pay freeze on public sector pay, workers on less than £21,000 would get a "flat pay rise" of £250 in each of those years.
Both Ashfield and Gedling councils are adamant that the cash should not be regarded as a bonus.
Gedling called it "a Christmas pay boost" in a press release issued on October 31.
Ashfield's finance chief, Dave Greenwood, who criticised his own council for agreeing to the payment, referred to it as a Christmas bonus. But Ashfield's Unison branch, which pushed for the payment, said calling the payout a bonus had led to many officers being verbally abused. The union vowed to "take further steps about the misinformation that had been put out".
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