HIGHLY paid council staff have received more than £350,000 in taxpayers’ money to help with moving costs as an incentive to come to work in Sussex, The Argus can exclusively reveal.

Council bosses agreed to pay the stamp duty, removal van hire, internet modems and key cutting costs for newly appointed senior employees.

The majority of relocation costs were paid out by the county’s three biggest councils, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex, with employees receiving up to £10,000 each.

Unions said the perks for staff earning wages far in excess of colleagues now facing redundancy was deeply concerning but council officials said they were needed to attract the best talent.

West Sussex County Council made the most payouts: 27 totalling more than £156,000 since 2012/13, followed by Brighton and Hove with almost £110,000 to 21 employees.

East Sussex has also been frequent users of the perk, 16 times in five years, while Crawley, Eastbourne, Horsham, Rother and Mid Sussex have all made at least one payout since 2012/13.

Other Sussex authorities including Worthing and Adur and Hastings, have been able to attract staff without using relocation payments.

Sue Beatty, from Unison, said: “It is of deep concern that, at a time of severe cuts being made to many services, including those to frontline services for the vulnerable, £100,000 has been spent on relocation costs for senior staff.

“These staff are already earning substantial salaries that most of our members can only dream of, particularly those currently at risk of redundancy.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “The fact we have a relocation package in place helps to attract the best talent, thereby improving outcomes for residents.”

An East Sussex spokesman said: “Relocation packages are offered for roles where we know we face challenges in recruiting suitable staff and for which we may have to recruit from outside the area.”

A West Sussex spokesman: “In order to offer the very best service to residents, we need to attract and retain the very best people for the job, sometimes that might mean offering a package to help them with the costs of moving to the area.”