'Shameful' and 'eye-watering' £243,130 pay deal leaves Sheffield Council's chief executive 'out of touch'

By David Walsh
Published 19th Apr 2023, 13:40 BST
Updated 19th Apr 2023, 13:40 BST
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Sheffield City Council chief executive’s “eye-watering” £243,130 pay deal is “shameful” and leaves her out of touch with the crisis facing working class communities, readers say.

Kate Josephs’ package - the best in Yorkshire and Humber and more than the Prime Minister - has been criticised amid soaring inflation and savage funding cuts. The Taxpayers’ Allowance revealed she tops the regional Town Hall Rich List with £204,311 pay and £38,819 pension, in a package worth £243,130.

It comes as a cost of living crisis has seen the price of food and fuel soar, with inflation in March continuing at over 10 per cent.

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Martin Mayer, of Sheffield Trades Union Council, questioned whether Kate Josephs could ever understand the difficulties facing ordinary people.

Martin Mayer, of Sheffield Trades Union Council, questioned whether Kate Josephs could ever understand the difficulties facing ordinary people.Martin Mayer, of Sheffield Trades Union Council, questioned whether Kate Josephs could ever understand the difficulties facing ordinary people.
Martin Mayer, of Sheffield Trades Union Council, questioned whether Kate Josephs could ever understand the difficulties facing ordinary people.

He added: “How can anyone on that sort of money be in touch with working class communities in this city? It’s too much money to be spending when we are in a cost of living crisis.

“Supermarkets’ low cost ranges have gone up 24 per cent, that’s the reality people are confronting. The council hasn’t got the resources to support them but it’s not complaining enough. I’m not convinced she’s doing a particularly brilliant job despite being on an eye-watering salary far beyond what ordinary people earn.”

The average annual household income in Batemoor and Jordanthorpe, Firth Park and Darnall is below £30,000, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.

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In February, hundreds of striking union members including teachers, lecturers and firefighters, marched through Sheffield to call for better pay. Newly qualified nurses earn just over £27,000 a year. The Prime Minister is entitled to an annual salary of £164,080.

Kate Josephs’ package - the best in Yorkshire and Humber - has been criticised amid soaring inflation and savage funding cuts.Kate Josephs’ package - the best in Yorkshire and Humber - has been criticised amid soaring inflation and savage funding cuts.
Kate Josephs’ package - the best in Yorkshire and Humber - has been criticised amid soaring inflation and savage funding cuts.

In Sheffield, Kate Josephs is among seven high flyers on pay and pension packages worth more than £100,000-a-year, costing a total of £1,151,317, the Taxpayers’ Alliance says.

Reader Adam Friend said: “It’s pretty shameful for a Labour-dominated council to pay those sort of salaries. I’m sure they would have various ‘justifications’ based on ‘market rate’ etc but if they were genuinely Labour they wouldn’t pay these sums.”

Ian Carey added: “Councils are complex organisations, requiring excellent officer leadership. With high salaries, good results should be expected. Having briefly worked for the council and based on recent events, as a rate payer, I remain unconvinced that I am getting sufficient value.”