Five-fold increase in States pay offs

Thursday 22 September 2016

Ministers signed off 90 pay outs for departing States staff in 2015, compared to just 19 across the previous four years.

In total they spent £3.6million last year on settlement agreements, as part of a bid to slash the States wage bill and help avoid a £113million black hole which could emerge in the Island's finances by 2019.

Between 2011 and 2014, the States spent £2m on 19 pay offs - even though this was a period when Ministers often promised they were getting to grips with expenditure, and comprehensively reviewing the size of the work force. That figure then shot up to £3.6m in 2015 alone, with the number of pay offs rocketing to 90. The scale of the potential deficit in the Island's finances emerged towards the end of 2014, and was originally estimated to be £145 a year, by 2019. 

The information has been revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request, on the eve of next week’s debate on the Medium Term Financial Plan Addition - the States’ proposals for the next three years to save money. 

In 2015 a total of 33 people from States Services finalised settlement agreements, which included the following departments: Chief Minister, Community and Constitutional Affairs, Environment, Social Security and Treasury and Resources.

Other departments which saw settlement agreements include Infrastructure (21), Education, Sport and Culture (15) and Health and Social Services (21). 

The costs were as follows: Infrastructure - £690,000, Education, Sport and Culture - £1.125million, Health and Social Services - £510,000, States Services - £1.126million. 

The total for all settlement agreements was £3.588million. Of the 90 agreements, 71 (78.9%) were related to the voluntary release scheme.