800 Scottish public sector workers being paid for jobs that don’t exist – report

The Scottish Government says its “no compulsory redundancies” policy remains in place after reports that hundreds of public sector workers are being paid millions of pounds per year – despite the fact their jobs no longer exist.

Citing Freedom of Information requests, the Sunday Times reported that around 800 NHS, central Government, council and Quango workers no longer have a fixed role but remain on the public payroll, at a cost of at least £27m per year.

The SNP-led Scottish Government has long maintained a policy of no compulsory redundancies for public sector workers, which the newspaper reported had led to around 255 workers not having a fixed post in more than a year, with at least 49 of those having been on a full salary for five years or more, even though the job posts they had been initially hired for were now obsolete.

The newspaper said one NHS Highland worker has been receiving their full salary and benefits for 17 years despite no longer having a specific job.

People whose jobs have been cut are placed in a redeployment pool while waiting for a new role in their organisation to open up, the newspaper said.

The Scottish Conservatives have called for the Auditor General for Scotland to investigate the findings.

Craig Hoy, the party’s finance and local government spokesman, said: “Scotland’s public sector has become a gravy train for insiders with a ghost workforce of hundreds costing taxpayers millions every month.

“Some have been left languishing in zombie jobs for 17 years, a jaw-dropping indictment of a system completely out of control.

“The Auditor General must investigate this scandal and establish how taxpayers’ money is being squandered on a system that has been allowed to spiral out of control.”

In response to the reports, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our policy for no compulsory redundancies remains. Public bodies are expected to ensure that they deliver value for money and to see that all staff, including those who are redeployed, are engaged in appropriate work for their pay scale.

“For example, the NHS has clear redeployment policies that helps boards to make use of staff with experience and expertise even while their posts may change.

“Public bodies manage their workforce through steps such as redeployment, attrition, vacancy management, reskilling and, where necessary, voluntary severance.

“These tools will form part of our work to deliver public service reform – focusing on frontline delivery, with the right staff in the right roles to deliver real improvements in public services.”