More Dundee City Council employees could be in line to retire early as part of its cost-cutting drive.
Councillors will be asked next week to approve a repeat of last year’s voluntary early retirement and voluntary redundancy programme that cut millions from the payroll.
This includes special provisions to allow retirees to have up to five years added to their pensionable service a better deal than normal.
A report prepared by officials explains that the 2010 scheme had been successful in contributing to the council’s efficiency savings but some long-term projects were still under way.
These include the restructuring of departments, which has already seen several senior officers leave and the number of departments reduced.
The report states, “The move towards larger, but fewer, departments is producing ongoing opportunities for rationalisation and efficiency savings.
“In the course of this, a number of employees have indicated that they would have applied for early retirement provisions offered last year had they appreciated the extent of the mergers and integrations of functions now being implemented.”
The report adds it would “assist matters greatly” if the same rules that governed how much people were paid to leave last year were to be made available again now.
Councillors will be asked to give chief executive David Dorward authority to approve voluntary early retirements and voluntary redundancies, provided the staff cuts meet criteria including cost and impact on services.
The policy adopted last year gave employees aged 50-plus the chance to retire. Their years of pensionable service were increased on a sliding scale, depending on how long they had worked.
Anyone who had completed at least 30 years had five years added, while those who had been employed for less than 10 years received one extra year.
Redundancy payments of up to 30 weeks’ pay, limited to the statutory maximum of £380 per week, were offered to other workers who were ineligible for the enhanced pension.