COUNCIL workers claiming sick pay could see their entitlements slashed by half in a new wave of cost-cutting proposals, the Echo can reveal.

The suggestion is one of a raft of measures being considered in a bid to further reduce Devon County Council's overheads.

However, it has raised concerns with unions, who say they fear the measures could hit the severely ill the hardest.

The proposals, which are out for consultation and could be implemented from April next year, include:

Halving sick pay.

Freezing overtime pay.

Ceasing pay for those working from home.

They come just days after the Echo revealed that the authority was axing 60 jobs from its children's services after being told to shave £6million off its current budget.

The council claims these latest measures will help prevent large-scale redundancies and could save it a total of £20million.

If implemented, the proposals would mean that staff on long-term sick leave who had at least five years' service at the council would receive a maximum of three months on full pay and three months on half pay, instead of six months on full pay and six months' half pay.

Union representatives claim halving sick pay would only net the council a saving of £700,000 — a 'drop in the ocean' compared to the massive £60million unions claim the council could be forced to cut next year.

An email has been circulated to all staff informing them of the proposals.

In the memo, a copy of which has been obtained by the Echo, council chiefs outline the measures which include halving sick pay and stopping overtime payments for staff on salaries of £21,000 or more.

And they also want to put an end to payments for those working from home — despite previously championing home working as a green initiative designed to cut the county's carbon emissions.

In the memo to staff Paul Jones, director of the county council's Employment Strategy, said: "We are all too aware of the difficult and uncertain times facing local government, and here at Devon County Council we have been working for some time to prepare for the tough times ahead, and to look to protect and support staff wherever possible.

"Part of this preparation work is the Corporate Employment Strategy, which was approved by Cabinet last November and includes a number of alternative measures to large-scale redundancies and supports cost reductions."

Tony Dowling, regional officer for the GMB union, which represents 3,500 staff working for Devon County Council, said: "The halving of sick pay is a matter of concern for us and will affect the people who have serious illnesses such as cancer.

"We want to reduce that as much as possible.

"The quoted saving from halving sick pay is £700,000 a year for the council, but this is hitting people who are ill and is not a huge amount in savings compared to the £60million they may have to cut."

Mr Dowling said the union had already received several calls from concerned members.

"Clearly, if the council reduces costs it will save jobs, which is important," he said, "but there are still going to be many job losses in the next couple of years.

"We're holding round-the- table negotiations."

The council says it is also considering promoting short- and long-term unpaid leave, phased retirement and adjusting mileage rates to increase possible savings.

A spokeswoman said: "As part of our commitment to be a more businesslike council and to work in more efficient ways, Devon County Council's Cabinet agreed a Corporate Employment Strategy in November last year.

"The strategy proposed a four-year plan incorporating a number of alternatives to large-scale redundancies with the aim of reducing employment costs by £20million.

"Since November, meetings have taken place regularly with the trade unions to discuss the strategy and now a formal consultation period has begun over a package of measures."

Business leaders in the private sector and the Taxpayers' Alliance said the cost-cutting measures proposed were justified.

Fiona Mcevoy of the Alliance said: "For a long time now there's been a disparity between the public and private sector in terms of how much staff can claim in sick pay, with public bodies paying out significantly more. This is a gap that's been widening, and Devon County Council are right to see sick pay as somewhere they can make savings.

"Times are tough for local government and they're under pressure to cut costs.

"It's wrong to say that £700,000 is merely a drop in the ocean; it's the cumulative effect of fat-trimming like this that will make the difference."

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: "Sadly, however hard-nosed it sounds, cuts like these are inevitable. We are in completely unprecedented territory and have got to take painful decisions, and they are all decisions that the private sector has already had to take. Every other authority is going through the same process.

"It will have an impact on individuals' ability to spend money in the local economy, so the private sector will also take a hit, but to save £60million the council would need to make cutbacks on lots of small schemes and this seems a perfectly appropriate area to save costs."