South Yorkshire fire chiefs to pay back money earned during strike action

Payments totalling nearly £40,000 were made to three senior officers with South Yorkshire Fire Service for working during strikes in 2014/15 but were not publicly recorded by the local fire authority.

The payments were deemed lawful but bosses will voluntary pay back the amount.

A South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue spokesman said: “Principal Officers at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue have agreed to voluntarily pay back contingency payments earned whilst covering firefighter strike action, following a recommendation by the Fire Authority’s Audit Committee.

“A report to the committee was clear in its view that the payments, for maintaining fire cover to local communities during nearly 300 hours of strike action, were lawful.

“However, after considering the concerns of Fire Authority members, principal officers have agreed to pay the money back so that all parties are better able to work constructively together to meet the significant transformational challenges the service faces in the future.”