by political editor Paul Francis

Kent County Council has blamed "onerous" employment laws for a decision to pay a former director £365,000 after he quit the job he had after barely a year in the post.

Adam Wilkinson, pictured right, who is now chief executive of Derby City Council, was KCC’s former director of regeneration and transport but quit after just a year in the post.

We revealed in January how he and another former director, Graham Badman, between them shared remuneration of £670,000 in a year after leaving their posts, including their salaries and pay-outs when they left their jobs.

Both Mr Wilkinson and KCC have defended his pay-off, saying he was entitled to it under his contract with the county council.

But KCC chiefs signalled they were not happy about the issue in a statement that blamed "onerous" employment laws as a reason they were forced into big payouts.

In a statement, Cllr Roger Gough, KCC cabinet member for corporate services, pictured right, said: "We fully understand how people feel about large payments and we feel the same way.

"Kent County Council does not enter into contracts to pay people large sums of money when they leave.

"Mr Wilkinson’s time at KCC did not work out so it was mutually agreed that he should move on. At a personal level it was also the right thing for Mr Wilkinson.

"We moved quickly so as to not lose focus on delivering important vital services to the public such as roads, waste and the environment.

"This happened two years ago and has no impact on decisions we are making now. We are unable to say more because of the contractual agreement made with Mr Wilkinson. The problem we face is that employment laws are onerous and need to be reformed. We will lobby the Government for a change of the law."

Mr Wilkinson said: "Contractually, Kent had a responsibility to make me a payment. What I was entitled to on departure was a proportion of my salary and bonus and that’s what I was paid."

But the lobby group the Taxpayers’ Alliance described the payout, which included his salary for the year, as "jaw dropping".

Mr Wilkinson decided to leave Kent in 2008 after just over a year at the authority because he was returning to West Yorkshire each weekend, where his wife and four daughters lived.

He explained: "My family weren’t happy and it wasn’t working out with the commuting. I was living in Maidstone during the week and going back to West Yorkshire at the weekend.

"It was tiring and stressful. The salary was great from the financial perspective and the job was a great challenge, but the work and life balance was not working."