Worker 'distancing' costs council extra $1m a week

Many hours of overtime have added to Auckland Council’s costs of contending with covid lockdowns. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Sat, 11 Dec 2021

The Auckland Council spent about $11 million extra on employee overtime over a three month period as it adapted to the covid lockdown that eventually lasted for 107 days.In its first quarter performance report to Sept 30, the council noted total employee costs of $261m, an $11m increase on its expected $250m salary bill for the three months.This equates to about $1m per week and relates to "more overtime taken as a result of additional shift work required to facilitate physical distancing as well as utilisation of annual leave".And de...

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