Termination payments to Senior Civil Servants: FOI release

Information requested

The monetary value of any pay offs, termination payments, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” paid to senior civil servants employed by the Scottish Government who have left their employment over the last 12 months. I would like this information broken down by each employee who has left, and also as a total figure.

The monetary value of any pay offs, termination payments, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” paid to special political advisors employed by the Scottish Government who have left their employment over the last 12 months. I would like this information broken down by each employee who has left, and also as a total figure.

Response

You have asked for:

1. information about any pay offs, termination payments, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” paid to senior civil servants employed by the Scottish Government who have left their employment over the last 12 months. You have asked for this information broken down by employee who has left and also as a total figure.
2. any pay offs, termination payments, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” paid to special political advisors employed by the Scottish Government who have left their employment over the last 12 months. You have asked for this information broken down by employee who has left and also as a total figure.

Interpretation:

Your request asks for information across a number of categories and so I have set out below how I have interpreted these categories for your information.

I have interpreted your use of the phrase “termination payments” to mean contractual payments made (where applicable) on termination of employment in respect of:

• accrued but untaken holiday pay
• unpaid wages
• any payments received instead of working the notice period, for example payment in lieu of notice (PILON)

This is in line with GOV.UK guidance on the definition of termination payments. I have interpreted your use of the phrase “pay offs, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” to mean situations where payments have been made to individuals over and above their contractual entitlements.

1. In answer to part 1 of your request (information in relation to senior civil servants in the last twelve months):
No “pay offs, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” were paid to senior civil servants who left employment.

Eleven senior civil servants received a termination payment. These termination payments total £67,052.44 and relate to contractual entitlements for annual leave accrued but untaken at the date of leaving employment.

While the Scottish Government’s aim is to provide information wherever possible, an exemption under s.38(1)(b) applies to your request. This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party / parties and disclosing it could lead to their identification and would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We are therefore unable to provide a detailed breakdown of termination payments made to individual senior civil servants.

2. In answer to part 2 of your request (information in relation to special political advisors in the last twelve months):
No “pay offs, exit payments or any payments which could be referred to as a “golden goodbye” were paid to special political advisors who left employment.

8 special political advisors (SPADs) received termination payments as per the provisions set out in their contracts. These termination payments total £223,897.38 and relate to contractual severance pay entitlements for payment in lieu of notice (£204,055.62) and/or annual leave accrued but untaken (£19,841.76). These payments are automatically payable by the employer on termination. Scottish Ministers are not involved in approved SPAD severance payments as they are contractual entitlements.

While the Scottish Government’s aim is to provide information wherever possible, an exemption under s.38(1)(b) applies to your request. This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party / parties and disclosing it could lead to their identification and would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We are therefore unable to provide a detailed breakdown of termination payments made to individual SPADs.

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