Government tackles the issue of billions paid to suspended employees

THE government has promised to stop paying billions of rand to its suspended employees to stay at home, and tighten the management of discipline among public servants.

Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu recently revealed suspensions of thousands of public servants pending the finalisation of their disciplinary hearings cost the government R4.5 billion between 2019 and January this year.

The Department of Public Service and Administration’s new guide on managing discipline in the public service, dated March 2021, states the formal process involving serious allegations of misconduct dealt with by holding a disciplinary hearing should lead to suspensions of not more than three months.

The sanction of suspension without pay should also not be longer than three months after the presentation of mitigating and aggravating factors.

In terms of the guide, the appeal of sanctions internally must be finalised within 30 days and, if not concluded, the employee on precautionary suspension must return and wait for the outcome.

The government said a disregard for complying with prescripts, ethics and integrity had created a perception in the public that the government and its officials were not sensitive to safeguarding public funds.

”This perception is strengthened when taking into account the huge amounts of monies paid to employees who are suspended and sitting at home,” stated the guide.

Mchunu said there were more than 6 000 on suspension – 6092 in national government departments and another 292 across the provinces.

Mchunu said the government had spent nearly R2.42bn in the 2019/20 financial year and about R2.1bn as of January 2021.

Public Service and Administration director-general Yoliswa Makhasi said the department hoped the move would not only institutionalise the values of professional conduct advocated by the Constitution, but also improve service delivery.