fp Turks and Caicos

One third of all government employees were sent voluntary severance package quotations just before Christmas, but it’s unclear how many will get cash to leave their jobs.

Employees who requested the quotes have been given three weeks from Dec. 22 to decide if they want to apply for the severance package, but that doesn’t guarantee they will get it. Government can deny applications by employees who have “essential skills.”

Government has said that it is looking to reduce staff by 200-300 employees from among the approximately 2,200 current employees. If enough don’t apply for the package, more will be forced off their jobs “via a subsequent compulsory scheme whose terms will be less favourable than the voluntary programme,” government has said.

Included with the severance quotes sent out Dec. 22 by the Office of Public Service Management is a support package:

“This support includes financial advice from a variety of sources such as TCInvest and all the locally represented banks, (curriculum vitae) and interview skills advice, general careers advice, how to identify private sector job opportunities, vocational and academic training and skills courses.”

The amount of money to be paid to those accepting voluntary severance is based on wages and years of service, but it can be up to two years’ salary for monthly paid staff.

Those accepting severance will be barred from jobs with government and statutory bodies for four years.

Members of statutory bodies are not eligible for the severance package.

The Civil Service Association (CSA), which represents about one-third of all government employees, encouraged civil servants to request severance quotes but wasn’t please with the haste with which the government announced the plan and set deadlines.

After complaints from the CSA and others, His Excellency the Gov. Ric Todd made several changes to the severance plan.

He extended the deadline for weekly waged workers to seek severance quotes, and he doubled the lump sum severance terms for weekly paid workers from one to two weeks wages per year of service.

All civil servants had their pay reduced 10 percent in April 2010, and the governor decided that severance payments should be based on salaries before the reduction.

The initial plan also would have banned those taking severance from ever working for government or statutory bodies again, but that has been changed to a four-year ban.

Severance payments were first proposed as lump sums but were changed to allow employees to choose to receive payments in quarterly or monthly installments.