A claim that refuse workers were paid £800 for just one day’s work will be investigated by councillors.

About 150 employees at Brighton and Hove City Council’s Cityclean were offered one-off payments to clear a waste backlog during the festive period last year.

But the local authority is now investigating claims that more than a dozen workers only completed one week out of the two needed to be eligible for the £830 sum.

The lump payments were made available instead of overtime as an incentive to clear the city’s streets quickly after the disruption caused by the Christmas break and the Big Freeze.

Council staff could only claim the fee if they worked Saturday and other extra hours in addition to their usual duties for two weeks in December and January.

But one worker claimed a number of staff only completed one of the “make-up” weeks, stating for some this amounted only to a morning’s worth of additional hours.

Cityclean employee Brian Salvage, 64, of Colbourne Avenue, Brighton, who made the complaint, said: “I think the taxpayers’ have a right to know where their money is being spent.

“There are at least 15 people I know who only worked only one of the weeks.

“It is unfair and a ridiculous waste of rate payers’ money for people to be paid that for a day’s work.”

The claim, which was backed up by two other Cityclean workers who spoke to The Argus, will be discussed by a cross-party group of councillors on December 10.

The local authority did not comment on whether some refuse workers would have to repay the money if the complaint was upheld.

A council spokeswoman said: “Staff were given a fixed date to clear everything as quickly as possible so the service could return to normal.

“Employees have to meet strict requirements to be eligible for their bonus and that we consider each case individually and fairly.”

To become eligible for the payments, the work had to be deemed satisfactory by an operation manager.

According to guidelines, anyone who missed a day, excluding a Saturday, due to illness or annual leave was docked £83.

The scheme will return to previous conditions for this year’s three festive bank holidays, with staff being paid a total of £230.

She said: “The arrangement has worked for more than ten years and is the most effective way of catching up on a backlog.”