By John Elworthy FENLAND Council finance chief Mat Taylor did not voluntarily give up his job last year but was made redundant, it was disclosed today. He is now involved in negotiations with the council over his sacking and the amount of redundancy pay

By John Elworthy

FENLAND Council finance chief Mat Taylor did not voluntarily give up his job last year but was made redundant, it was disclosed today.

He is now involved in negotiations with the council over his sacking and the amount of redundancy pay he can expect. There is also some doubt as to whether Mr Taylor had been promised a continuation of a part time contract with the authority.

The former �100,000 a year executive, who continued working for the council whilst living 10,000 miles away in New Zealand, was told in November that the director post he previously held with the council was being deleted.

The news was given to Mr Taylor after he returned to New Zealand following a return to Fenland Hall for four days a week during the summer when he headed a group piloting through �2 million of savings over the next two years.

He returned to New Zealand in the autumn, expecting to continue to work one day a week for the council but following a confidential meeting of the staff committee in November he was made redundant.

Members of the staff committee who agreed to the redundancy did not know their decision at November's meeting was to axe Mr Taylor. Members confirmed they were simply asked to make changes to the council's corporate management team.

Minutes of the meeting record that a review had been undertaken by senior officers which resulted "in the deletion of one permanent executive director from the council's corporate management team."

The report notes the "redundancy implication of this deletion and the associated efficiency saving realised as a consequence."

Mr Taylor, 45, had worked for the council since 2003 but in 2008 opted to emigrate to Australia, later moving to New Zealand, but continued to work one day a week for Fenland Council.

A spokesman for Fenland Council said of the staff committee minutes that "due to the nature of this item being a confidential staffing issue, we are unable to comment any further."

New council leader Alan Melton also refused to comment and declined to comment on increasing speculation that former legal chief Perry Holmes, who quit the council last year, was paid any form of compensation.

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