Health considers allowing 85 managers keep top up pay

The number of voluntary hospital and health service agency managers potentially in line to retain controversial top-up payments paid in addition to their official salary has risen to 85.

The Department of Health said this week it had received 85 business cases from the Health Service Executive seeking approval for individual pay levels in excess of the official rate.

These applications had been put forward by the voluntary hospitals and agencies for their senior managers.

If they are approved, the payments would be authorised for existing senior managers in various voluntary hospitals and agencies, known as section 38 organisations, on a personal-to-holder basis. “Further information was sought on a number of these cases and the department is in the process of reviewing all of the information received.

“No decisions have been made to date,” the Department of Health said.

That department may liaise with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform before a final decision is made.

Contractual entitlement

In September, the HSE said it had received 73 business cases which argued that senior personnel had a contractual entitlement to receiving the top-up payments.

In April, the HSE rejected about 100 applications from voluntary hospitals and health agencies to continue making top-up payments to senior staff in addition to official salaries.

This followed a wide-ranging investigation into breaches of Government pay policy in the voluntary health sector.

The HSE directed that payment of such top-ups should end by the beginning of July.

It is understood that a number of the organisations maintained they could be sued by senior staff if the payments were ended.

Some also sought a HSE indemnity in the event of legal action.

The HSE rejected the provision of such indemnification.

The HSE subsequently wrote to some of the agencies and set out how some executives could retain the controversial additional payments. The HSE said in the letters the agencies would need to provide evidence to support claims of a contractual entitlement if they were seeking to retain top-up payments.

Existing beneficiary

Under this scenario, top-up payments currently made in addition to the authorised salary would be made personal to the existing beneficiary.

The HSE also told the hospitals and agencies they would need to confirm extra payments would not be made to future staff.

The Irish Times reported in September last year that a confidential HSE internal audit had found that senior personnel in voluntary hospitals and agencies were receiving more than €3.2 million in allowances and benefits on top of official salary rates.

The top-up revelations led directly to the issue surrounding payments made to senior personnel in the Central Remedial Clinic, and ultimately the Rehab controversy. Section 38 organisations receive their funding directly from the State and their employees are considered to be public servants.