SENIOR bosses at County Hall shared £32,000 in bonuses while axing hundreds of jobs and slashing services.

Six of Essex County Council’s most senior staff shared £32,023 between them in the same year the authority got rid of 363 jobs.

Opposition councillors and critics have blasted the spend, but County Hall insists that bonuses for senior staff are here to stay – because they reward officers for making cuts.

Jamie Huntman, the leader of the Ukip group at County Hall, said: “At a time when we are suffering cuts, generosity seems to still be available to a privileged few.

“We have to remember this is taxpayers’ money and one has to question the wisdom of this whilst so much of our front line services are under pressure.”

David Finch, the leader of the Conservative administration, said: “Our corporate management board members, like the majority of Essex employees, have performance related pay, and they have overseen the delivery of more than £450million of savings.

“We believe that linking pay to performance encourages high performance.

“This is crucial if we are to achieve our objectives and deliver the high quality and value for money services our residents expect.”

Essex County Councillor for Harwich, Ivan Henderson, said: “I am very surprised people are receiving bonuses at the same time as that number of jobs are being cut.

“The types of jobs and services we are talking about are youth services, elderly care and meals on wheels.

“It sends the wrong message to people who are struggling and leaves a bitter taste for those who have lost their jobs.

“I can’t see how people can be rewarded for performance when we are seeing so many cuts at the moment.”