West Dunbartonshire Council workers' fury at tax U-turn

Nov 28 2008 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald (main ed)

WOMEN workers fear they will be left with nothing from hefty compensation payouts after their council bosses “backtracked” on a promise not to penalise them for council tax debts.

West Dunbartonshire Council insisted in October that cash owed for council tax would not be deducted from the equal pay settlements.

When equal pay cash was issued previously, women workers received council demands days later telling them to pay their debt or face a bank arrestment. But the authority said there were no plans to adopt similar tactics this time around.

Last week hundreds of workers who owe money to the authority received letters from the council’s finance department telling them to stump up.

Staff, who are to receive the compensation cash in December, were warned that if they did not sign a mandate to pay a substantial portion of their debt, their wages would be arrested.

One worker, who did not want to be named, said: “We were told we would not be penalised for owing council tax but we have been. It’s a disgrace.

“Christmas is out the window. There are people who will end up with nothing after they pay their council tax arrears.

“This is money that was owed to us.”

Another employee, who is being made bankrupt, says the council went over her head and contacted creditors to inform them that she was receiving a cash windfall.

She added: “The full amount – several thousand pounds – has been divided between my creditors and I’m not getting a penny.

“I have a family and now have nothing left for Christmas. I was greeting all day and don’t know what I’m going to do.”

One worker thought her compensation payment would be safe because she had an arrangement in place to clear her council tax arrears.

She said: “I’ve been sticking to that arrangement but I got a letter from the council saying the compensation is a change in my circumstances and they want something from it.

“I called finance and was told they wouldn’t accept any less than a third of my compensation.

“Nothing was mentioned about council tax arrears when we signed the compensation agreement, when we had the opportunity to seek legal advice. Had I known, I would never have signed.”

A council spokeswoman said that as the compensation payments represented a material change to an employee’s circumstances, the council would seek to renegotiate any repayment plan in place, as would be the case for any local council tax payer.

She added: “The priority for the council is to reach an individual agreement with each employee over an appropriate deduction depending on their circumstances.

“The council would not make a deduction from a compensation payment without a signed mandate from the employee.”

She urged employees to contact the finance department to avoid further action.