Cllr Radford said: “In some cases, we are paying twice for services. If we are paying honoraria to people who are covering for others, then we shouldn’t be paying for those absent as well.

“We need to clamp down on sickness. But you also have to ask, if we can manage with that many people either off sick or absent, do we need their positions at all?”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said absence rates were often to do with staff working in “high pressure” areas, but that efforts to “keep them to a minimum were on-going”.

A council spokesman said: “Honoraria are paid to members of staff who ‘act up’ and take on additional responsibilities of a more senior member of staff.

“This is usually for a limited period of time and can be to cover a vacant post while it is being filled, or while a member of staff is absent through illness.

“They can also be paid when members of staff take on additional responsibilities or project work. In many cases, the honoraria payment does not involve an extra cost to the council if cover is being provided for a vacant post.”