200 staff disciplined by West Midlands councils since 2010
More than 200 council staff in the West Midlands have been sacked or suspended for discipline breaches such as falling asleep on the job or being drunk at work it has emerged.
New figures show 188 workers at Black Country authorities have been suspended over the past three years while a total of 42 members of staff have been dismissed.
Five people lost their jobs after being caught misusing the internet or social media while others were temporarily told to leave over allegations such as sexual misconduct, fraud and theft.
Dudley Council tops the table of dismissals with 19 people fired since 2011. It also had the highest figures for suspending staff with 72, followed by Sandwell at 56, Walsall at 36 and Wolverhampton with 24.
Seventeen members of staff from Sandwell Council have been sacked since 2011. Walsall Council reported five had lost their jobs while just one worker has lost their position in Wolverhampton.
Figures show in 2011/12 Dudley Council sacked nine members of staff for breaches including fraud, misuse of the internet and theft. The following year in 2012/13 seven workers were dismissed for offences including misuse of council equipment, driving without a valid document and abuse and threatening behaviour.
Three have been sacked since April for inappropriate use of social media, breach of council policy and inappropriate behaviour in the work place. Out of the 19 dismissals, 12 were school staff and seven worked directly for the council.
Councillor Gaye Partridge, cabinet member for human resources said: "Dudley Council operates in line with its policies and procedures with regards to managing staff."
Sandwell Council fired five members of staff in 2011/12. This was followed by eight in 2012/13 with four sacked since April.
It suspended workers for reasons such as making malicious allegations, stealing from the council/public, data protection breaches and sexual misconduct. Some of the reasons council staff in Walsall were suspended included inappropriate behaviour, serious negligence of duty and bringing the council into disrepute.
Despite Wolverhampton having the lowest number of sackings and suspensions bosses said they hadn't been lenient. Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Gurdip Thandi said: "We have a clear and robust disciplinary process in place that we use where necessary. The decision to suspend a member of staff can be used as part of our management of investigations into allegations and it is not something we take lightly."
Two members of staff at the city council have been suspended since 2011 for sleeping on the job. Another was given a suspension between 2012/13 for intoxication.