The result has come as a surprise to council leaders who were seemingly unaware that their employees were so disgruntled.

A survey of nearly 1,500 members of the Calderdale Talkback Panel is now under way to see whether they would consider working for the authority, what they think would be the main benefits and what they think could be done to improve the council's image.

Those results are due to be published at the end of April.

Labour group leader Tim Swift was disappointed with the outcome of the staff survey and described it as a "wake-up call."

"Most of our staff work hard on providing vital public services – they need to know their role is valued and supported by councillors.

"The problem is the way Calderdale Council is run at the moment. The only time many staff will talk to councillors is when there is a problem," said Coun Swift (Town).

According to the town hall union Unison the council "still has some way to go before becoming a model employer".

A Unison spokeswoman said: "This is a clear message that councillors need to be more concerned about their relationship with their employees."

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