Millions spent on suspended workers

National government departments spent R22m on suspensions of employees in the September quarter in 2019, a sharp increase on the previous quarter’s R8m.

Employees on suspension do not report for work, but receive full pay until the finalisation of their disciplinary cases. This can take years at considerable huge cost to the taxpayer.

The amount spent on suspensions is likely to be much higher as there is underreporting by departments on suspensions and disciplinary cases, the members of parliament’s public service and administration committee heard from departmental officials on Wednesday.

Departments have also failed to comply with the ruling that disciplinary cases must be finalised within 90 days and that suspensions must not be for longer than 60 days.

The worst offending department in the three months to end-September 2019 was the department of agriculture forestry and fisheries, which spent about R10m in this period on suspensions.

During the September quarter, national departments reported 1,283 misconduct cases and had 559 cases pending.

The deputy director-general of the department of public service and administration, Geeva Pillay, said in a presentation to the committee that the department was working with the Treasury in an effort to use the government payroll system Persal for reporting and capturing disciplinary cases and suspensions so that it could gather accurate data.

The information was at present consolidated manually in a paper-based system.

With effect from April 1, there would be a new unit in the department to enhance its ability to intervene where there were systemic blockages with regard to disciplinary matters, among other things.

“This gives the minister the power to intervene. We did not have it previously,” Pillay said.