zombie workers, USA News (London, United Kingdom): Around 800 Scottish public sector staff members are receiving full salaries totalling £27million annually whilst having no permanent roles to fulfil, an investigation has found. The Sunday Times revealed workers across the National Health Service, local councils and Government quangos who remain employed despite their positions no longer existing.
The situation stems from a 2007 prohibition on forced job losses within Scotland’s public sector, which was introduced by the Scottish National Party. First Minister John Swinney has maintained support for this policy even as Scotland confronts a projected £5billion deficit.
Those affected enter redeployment pools where they wait for suitable alternative positions, generally receiving comparable remuneration and benefits to their previous posts. The most shocking case involves an NHS Highland employee who has drawn full remuneration and benefits for 17 years without holding a specific position. The health board declined to disclose either the individual’s activities during this period or their total compensation.
NHS Highland currently has 88 staff members in redeployment, with 26 having lacked permanent roles for a minimum of five years. A further four have been awaiting new positions since 2015 at the latest. Across Scotland’s public sector, the investigation identified 255 workers without fixed employment for more than 12 months. An additional 49 individuals have received full salaries for five years or longer after their original positions became redundant. Police Scotland, Scottish Water and NHS 24 also reported retaining multiple employees without permanent posts for five years or more.
Political and Expert Reaction
The Scottish Conservatives have called for the Auditor General for Scotland to examine the findings as a public spending watchdog investigation. Craig Hoy, who serves as the party’s finance and local government spokesman, characterised the public sector as having become “a gravy train for insiders with a ghost workforce of hundreds costing taxpayers millions every month”. He described individuals who have been “left languishing in zombie jobs for 17 years” as “a jaw-dropping indictment of a system completely out of control”.
Mr Hoy stated that the auditor-general must investigate this scandal and establish how taxpayers’ money is being squandered. Opposition politicians argue reforming Scotland’s health boards will prove impossible whilst the redundancy prohibition remains in effect.
Professor Alan Boyter, a former senior human resources director with 40 years of NHS experience, acknowledged redeployment pools could prove sensible to avoid redundancy costs and premature pension liabilities. However, he maintained instances where staff spent years receiving full salaries without permanent positions demonstrated the system’s failure. He characterised five-year waits as poor management and described anything approaching 17 years as outrageous.
Valentin Boboc, senior economist at the Institute for Economic Affairs, noted that taxpayers deserve clear evidence that public funds are used to deliver value. He argued whilst workforce redeployment makes financial sense for retaining expertise, guaranteeing protection from compulsory redundancy simply puts the cart before the horse.
Government Response and Cost Breakdown
The Scottish Government defended its position, stating its no-compulsory-redundancies policy continues in force. Public organisations must ensure employees awaiting redeployment remain engaged in appropriate work for their pay scale, according to a Government spokesman. Officials emphasised NHS redeployment policies allow boards to utilise staff expertise even as positions change. Workforce management tools, including voluntary severance, will contribute to public service reform focused on frontline delivery, the Government added.
Scotland’s NHS spends £1.4million monthly, totalling £16.8million yearly, on employees lacking permanent positions, based on data covering 315 workers. Information regarding another 185 individuals was withheld. This expenditure approximates the cost of providing 1,100 patients with knee replacement procedures at private facilities or conducting 2,850 such operations within NHS services. Scottish local authorities face annual expenses of £5.8million for retaining surplus employees, encompassing salaries, pensions and national insurance. This sum roughly equals the expense of employing approximately 135 newly qualified teachers.
NHS Highland stated it adhered to national policies and remained committed to supporting colleagues through periods of change.
