Suspended Angus Council staff have been paid almost 12 years’ worth of wages while under investigation over the last five years.
The new figures show the local authority has paid 618 weeks’ wages to 55 suspended employees — 3090 working days — 38 of whom were later sacked or left.
A Freedom of Information investigation has revealed two of the workers were sacked after investigations that dragged on for 69 and 64 weeks, respectively, during which time they both received full pay.
The authority has said it aims to apply disciplinary procedures “equally and fairly” in every case and in accordance with employee legislation.
Reasons for dismissals included drug misuse, social media policy breach, child protection matters, careless driving, and misconduct.
Employees were also sacked for theft or misappropriation of money — after 42 weeks’ pay in one instance — careless driving, abuse of internet policy and falsification of records.
In 2011, the council dismissed three members of staff after an elderly woman was found dead in her home in October that year.
Angus Council launched an investigation after Yvonne Carrie’s family claimed she twice activated her community alarm but no-one had gone to help her.
The 74-year became ill at her home in Inveraldie, near Dundee. She was found the following morning by her carer.
Mrs Carrie had a community alarm that was monitored by an Angus Council control room in nearby Kirriemuir.
In 2014, disgraced former Arbroath High head teacher Gillian Rew was suspended and later sacked amid allegations of drunken behaviour with pupils on a school trip to Lockerbie.
Other notable full-pay suspension periods included 13 weeks for misconduct, nine weeks for a theft, 17 weeks for careless driving and 28 weeks for a breach of professional code of conduct.
One staff member was suspended for 10 weeks for misuse of flexi-time.
Another was suspended for two weeks for drunk driving, but they were not sacked.
The exact amount paid out, likely to be hundreds of thousands of pounds, cannot be revealed because of data protection legislation.
North East MSP Liam Kerr said the spending was “difficult to justify” at a time of budgetary constraints.
He said: “While internal disciplinary procedures have to be followed, the public will feel that substantial sums are being wasted at a time the council should be tightening its belt.
“This type of spending is going to become increasingly difficult to justify as officials work to balance the books.”
An Angus Council spokesman said: “Disciplinary procedures are applied equally and fairly and resolved as soon as practicably possible.
“Each case is dealt with according to its own circumstances.
“On occasion, it is necessary to give consideration or precedence to other matters, such as a criminal enquiry, which may delay the process.
“In accordance with employee rights, a suspended member of staff will continue to receive pay while an investigation is ongoing.”
