Details of non-salary rewards: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for:

How much have you spent, in total, on non-salary rewards in each of the last 5 years - 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20 to date.

Please provide a breakdown of the five highest individual awards, the value, the type, (eg cash payment, vouchers, goods, etc), reason for the award, the date, and ideally the job title of the person paid to.

Response

Pay for staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is subject to Scottish Public Sector Pay Policy which does not allow non-consolidated performance related pay (bonuses). The pay systems of the Scottish Government Main and Marine pay bargaining units do not include any of the elements you have asked for, i.e. cash payments, vouchers, or goods.

Pay for staff in the SCS is reserved and operates within the UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework. This allows for non-consolidated performance awards but in line with Scottish Public Sector Pay Policy, the Scottish Government has not made any such payments since 2010-11.

However, there are two exceptions where performance payments have been paid. A payment was made to a single SCS member of staff under a contractual arrangement agreed at the time the individual commenced employment which pre-dated the current policy on performance payments. A payment was also made to an individual who transferred to the Scottish Government from another (UK) Government Department and payment was made on behalf of the exporting organisation.

An exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested as it pertains to personal information and release may enable identification of specific members of staff.

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The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.