States employees earning over £100,000 rises to 232

Wednesday 10 June 2015

The number of States employees on more than £100,000 has increased to 232 – with the top-earner on around £315,000 per year.

The top earning figure is thought to be the Bailiff - the figures released are for last year, when Sir Michael Birt held the post, leading the pack of public sector employees.

The figures have been revealed in the States accounts for 2014, which were published this morning. They show that 37 States workers have joined the "100 Club" of employees with pay, pension and benefits packages running to six figures.

The accounts also show that staff costs amount to £364,050,000 per year – or just shy of £1 million every day of the year.

Ministers are currently aiming to cut that pay bill by £60 million per year by 2019 as part of their package of measures to address a deficit of £125 million in States finances. The cuts to the pay bill will be achieved through a mix of pay freezes, like the one proposed for this year, and a mix of voluntary and enforced redundancies.

The first letters inviting States workers to take redundancy – effectively a payout to quit their jobs – have gone out in the last week.

Treasury Minister Alan Maclean said that work was about restructuring the States to make it more efficient and save money, not about cutting pay. He added that a high proportion - 103 out of 232 - of the big earners were doctors and hospital consultants.

"I think if you have the right people in the right jobs, you need to pay them whatever the market rate is," he said.

"We just need to make sure that we are structured the right way. We need the right services delivered in the right way."

The accounts reveal that the number of States employees earning over £100,000 in salary, allowances and pension contributions in 2014 was higher than it was the previous year.

In 2013, there were 195 earners on combined packages over £100,000 – that figure was below the 198 in 2012.

The 232 public sector workers currently between £100,000 and £320,000 per year take home £31,410,000 between them.

They are made up of: 103 doctors and consultants, 72 civil servants, 34 lawyers and judges, nine air traffic controllers, seven headteachers and Highlands College staff, and seven police officers.