Kent County Council has awarded more than £300,000 in cash “bonuses” to staff in nearly two years, figures show.

The council operates an awards scheme that gives discretion to managers to make “ex-gratia” payments for exceptional performance or additional work on top of their salary.

Figures obtained by the KM Group under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that in 2015-16, 380 employees qualified for cash bonuses totalling £233,000.

But payments were considerably less between April 2016 and February this year, with 178 employees receiving £72,890 in total.

In a few cases, bonuses were paid to a number of senior officers earning more than £50,000.

In 2016, two senior staff on a pay scale of between £94,581 and £112,415 were awarded £7,275 between them.

The same year, eight staff on a pay scale of between £73,719 and £93,095 received £25,500 in bonuses - the equivalent of more than £3,000 each.

A total of 34 managers earning between £43,642 and £51,114 were awarded £35,475 between them.

At the other end of the spectrum, three employees on the county council’s lowest pay grade - earning between £14,856 and £15,252 - were awarded £900 between them.

A KCC spokesman said: “Cash awards are made for additional or exceptional performance. The authorisation process depends on the amount, however all start with a manager’s recommendation.

"Awards for up to £500 require a director’s approval; those over £500 require the approval of a corporate director.”

“There are a number of grounds for these awards, including a significant contribution to a project over a period of time that has required additional effort and extra hours.”

“Other reasons include also covering the absence of colleagues and taking on additional duties outside their normal contract of work.”