COUNCIL staff have earned thousands of extra pounds by working in town halls and polling stations during county and European elections.

Figures obtained by the Gazette show, in north Essex, staff were able to rake in more than £50,000 on top of their council wages, by working in polling stations or acting as presiding officers.

They did not have to take leave from their permanent jobs.

Tendring Council employees earned the most, at £24,566.

In Colchester, staff were able to bring in £12,750.

In total, staff employed at north Essex councils earned £53,940 on top of their annual salaries.

Thirty-one Tendring Council workers acted as presiding officers for the county elections, each being paid £315, while 20 earned £198 each as polling clerks.

In total, 68 people were employed for the county poll.

For the European election, 17 of the 60 people employed were Tendring staff members and were paid between £56 and £98 each.

Nigel Brown, Tendring Council’s communications manager, said: “The majority of those appointed are not council staff.

“Anyone can apply to take on the role. We do tend to use a number of our own staff, who have expertise for these roles.

“It is correct they are not required to take a day’s annual leave, and poll clerks work from 6.30am to 10pm, while the presiding officers work even longer.”

The council’s chief executive, John Hawkins, also earned £9,889 as a returning officer. He is reported to give a large proportion of this towards paying staff in the election process.

Colchester Council employed 249 people for the elections, of which 75 were council staff.

Twenty-five of them were paid £234 for presiding officer roles, and 50 earned £138 as poll clerks.

Sarah Cheek, Colchester Council’s electoral services manager, said: “Staff who assist with election duties, and work for Colchester Council, are not required to take leave to perform these extra functions.

“If people are interested in becoming involved in the election process, they can get more information from the elections office.”

The councils said the wages were paid by the Ministry of Justice and Essex County Council.

But Matthew Elliot, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said it was “shocking” council employees received full salaries for work on the election.

He said: “They were handsomely rewarded, so effectively taxpayers have been paying twice.

“Their job is to serve the local community. They should have been forced to take a day’s leave.”