Redundancy Payments For Olympic Executives Cost $4.3M In '12-13

The financial reports of the Olympic Delivery Authority show 144 officials were paid a share of more than £2M ($3M) "ahead of the authority winding down in 2014," according to the BBC. Exit payments to staff on permanent contracts cost £2.8M ($4.3M) in '12-13. ODA CEO Dennis Hone was paid £80,000 ($122,000), with £373,000 ($242,000) for his pension. The financial reports note that the CEO "was entitled to receive statutory redundancy pay and a terminal bonus equivalent to 60% of his salary as part of his employment rights." An ODA spokesperson said, "We needed to recruit and pay for the best talent from the private and public sectors, requiring people in many cases to give up secure long-term jobs elsewhere, with no certainty of the project's success or getting a job after the Games" (BBC, 7/22).