Government refuses to disclose CEO’s contractual pay-out

Wednesday 11 November 2020

The Government is refusing to confirm what financial settlement the outgoing Chief Executive will be entitled to under his contract after he “agreed” to step down in the wake of controversy over his second job at a UK real estate firm.

Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré confirmed yesterday that Charlie Parker would not be receiving his residential qualifications, or any additional pay-out on top of his contract rights.

But, while he said there would be no “extras”, the CEO is entitled to a sum for his early departure under his contract – but the Government refused to disclose it when challenged by Express.

Instead, they said the public would have to wait until next year to find out.

“The financial arrangements associated with Mr Parker’s departure are consistent with his contractual entitlement. This information will be reported in the applicable Annual Report and Accounts in due course,” a spokesperson said.

Express understands that there are still other severance arrangements to be agreed. When asked about these, the Government responded: “We cannot discuss any outstanding items that have not yet been finalised.”

When the Government finally released the CEO’s contract following a seven-month campaign by Express, one of the most significant omissions appeared to relate to severance arrangements.

Pictured: One of the more significant redactions within the contract, which falls within the 'Termination of Employment' section.

They were potentially covered in the largest redacted section, taking up nearly a third of the page and falling within the section entitled ‘Termination of Employment’.

The section explains that Mr Parker has to give six months’ notice should he wish to leave the States, but that this can be waived with the States Employment Board’s permission. 

The other significant redaction was a section of around seven lines, following the topics ‘Basic salary’, ‘Pension’ and ‘Hours of work’.

The Government is also refusing to release the minutes of a crunch meeting of the States Employment Board (SEB) – the official ‘Employer’ of Mr Parker and all Government workers – about whether to retrospectively approve the CEO’s New River role.

This is despite minutes of previous meetings being made pubic – sometimes in redacted form. Express will be challenging this under the FOI law.

“This will not be possible as SEB discusses private employment matters, some of which will be legally privileged,” the spokesperson said.

However, SEB Vice-Chair Constable Richard Buchanan appeared to shed some light on discussions during yesterday’s vote of no confidence debate.

Pictured: SEB Vice-Chair Constable Richard Buchanan.

He revealed that, while the SEB had initially been satisfied with the role, they later felt concerned about potential conflicts of interest, ultimately leading them to change their view and write to the Chief Executive.

Days later, Mr Parker announced that he had agreed to step down.

Constable Buchanan explained during the debate: “We’ve all seen the statement from the Chief Minister about the current position, which hopefully draws a line under this saga. The SEB took their decision on second roles based on policies and principles - they’ve tested those principles throughout this period and they are sound principles.

“The New River situation was specific but still based on the principles of personal development, no personal financial benefit and no conflicts of interest. It met these tests at one stage.

“But the SEB continued to do their own due diligence and we’d become concerned about possible conflicts of interest, at which point we gave the Chief Executive the right of reply. 

"The SEB are custodians of employees’ rights. However, after that, the SEB were not satisfied that all the tests had been met fully and took their decision based on this. It was a principled, evidence-based decision and one not based on conjecture.”

In a letter to the Chief Minister announcing his agreement to step down, Mr Parker said he had “offered to continue in post for as long as the Government requests me to, in order to ensure an orderly transition.” 

CLICK TO READ IN FULL: Mr Parker's letter announcing that he has agreed to step down.

This statement was yesterday challenged by Education Minister Senator Tracey Vallois, who questioned whether the Government in this instance meant the SEB or the Council of Ministers, who had previously been firm in their view that Mr Parker’s second job was “not compatible” with his role as Jersey’s top civil servant.

The Chief Minister did not respond to this during the debate.

When asked for clarification on the timeframe by Express, a spokesperson said: “Mr Parker has offered to stay in post until arrangements allow for an interim CEO. An announcement on transition and handover will be made in due course.”