BOLTON Council’s former chief executive Paul Najsarek — who quit his £160,000-a-year job after just five months — left with a settlement of £90,000.

The figure was finally disclosed to us this week after months of campaigning since Mr Najsarek quit his role last November in order to “prioritise his family”.

Council leader Cliff Morris said the news of the departure “shook us rigid”.

He said: “It was a real surprise for us and obviously a huge disappointment. You expect someone moving into that job to move to the area.”

Council bosses say they had been unable to reveal the figure any sooner as a confidentiality clause in his contract prevented them from doing so unless he gave permission.

They say he has repeatedly refused to give that permission — but the figure is now in the public domain as the council is legally bound to now publish its annual statement of accounts.

Mr Najsarek, described as the stand-out candidate when he took up the top position last May, received a one-off severance payment of £55,192 after leaving five months later.

It has emerged that the council said it successfully negotiated this figure down from a sum of £83,000 that Mr Najsarek was entitled to under the authority’s Voluntary Severance Policy, which bases such payments on an employee’s age and years of service.

The former chief executive also received a payment in lieu of notice amounting to £34,808 for an 11-week notice period that he did not work — resulting in a total settlement of £90,000, funded by Bolton taxpayers.

Council bosses say they asked Mr Najsarek on a number of occasions in the past seven months if they could provide The Bolton News with the information we requested — but they said he has always refused.

It has also been revealed that he was not subject to a probation period when he started his new job.

There was also no written stipulation in place to guarantee Mr Najsarek would move to the area from his home in London.

The council says it will now now look at changing this for future appointments.

'Disgrace' — reaction to Paul Najsarek's £90,000 pay-off after quitting council chief executive role

YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW: Our determination to reveal the figure to Bolton's council tax payers

Mr Najsarek, who has since gone on to land the chief executive’s position at Ealing Council, London, where he takes home a salary of about £170,000, has refused our requests for a response.

The council says it has been able to recoup the money paid to Mr Najsarek by not filling a deputy chief executive’s position.

More detail has emerged about the circumstances surrounding Mr Najsarek’s sudden departure.

Council leader Cliff Morris said that after receiving assurances that Mr Najsarek would be moving North with his family, he became aware that his situation changed.

Cllr Morris said: “At the selection process we asked the question and he said he would definitely be moving up to the area. He was from the North originally and we understood he was looking forward to returning.

“We agreed that he could initially work from home one day per week as he looked for a place to live. We took him around local schools that his children could have attended — we fully believed he would be moving.”

It transpires that after speaking with Mr Najsarek’s wife at last year’s Bolton Food & Drink Festival, opposition councillors informed Cllr Morris that they believed the chief executive’s family had no intention of moving away from London.

Cllr Morris said he then told Mr Najsarek it would not be appropriate for Bolton Council’s top officer to remain living in London, which led to the agreement that he would have to leave.

Shortly after news broke, The Bolton News requested information about any severance package he would be receiving.

We were initially told that this personal information was not available, so we submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

After that request was also refused, we began the process of contesting the decision. We asked the council to internally review its processes.

The process came to an end in April when Cllr Morris accepted that the information we were seeking would have to be made freely available when the council’s accounts were published.

He confirmed that Mr Najsarek had signed a confidentiality agreement but that Bolton Council had asked him to waive that in light of our request.

He said: “I do not know why he sat on it. We contacted his solicitors numerous times and they were adamant it should not be released — but it legally has to be in our accounts.”

Cllr Morris dismissed suggestions that Mr Najsarek’s departure came because his relationship with him was difficult.

But he admitted there had not been enough time for them to build up a meaningful rapport.

He said: “We had a very professional relationship and spoke to each other most mornings. But you do have to build these things up over time.”

He also said the council would learn lessons, including exploring whether something binding could be put in place to guarantee that future recruits to the position would move within a commutable distance of the town hall.

Mr Najsarek not being subject to a probation period when he took on the role is something that Cllr Morris said would be looked at.

But he rejected the idea that the council got the original appointment of Mr Najsarek wrong, after a three-day selection process which cost £8,000.

He said: “During that process, when someone says they will be moving back North, you expect that to happen — and that was where the issues arose from.

“It has been a difficult experience and we hope we can put it behind us.

“The council has learned valuable lessons.”