The Office of the Auditor General has recommended that civil servants should include in their employment contracts an amount mutually agreed upon to be paid or received as compensation, in case the court finds that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) improperly dismissed them.
According to the CSC’s 2021 audit report released by the Auditor General’s Office, the commission had to pay more than MVR 2.7 million in compensation for illegal dismissals in 2021 alone.
They include a total of 17 employees from nine different state agencies.
The audit report said the compensation should have been paid in cases where the Employment Tribunal and the courts had decided the case against the Commission. The total amount includes more than MVR 200,000 for late payments by the CSC.
The report added that in cases where legal advice was obtained without going to the higher courts, there was no mechanism in place to ensure that those who were dismissed did not follow legal procedures for neglect of their responsibilities and hold them accountable.
In addition, the Audit Office noted that the maximum period of compensation in the civil service is not stipulated in the Employment Act or the Civil Service Act and Regulations and employment agreements.
In cases where the courts find that the CSC was wrongly dismissed, the amount of compensation will be fixed and the contracts of the current employees will be renewed.
In addition, the Audit Office has recommended a procedure for taking administrative action against employees who neglected to fulfill their responsibilities based on the small amount of compensation that the state had to pay in cases related to the loss of employment.
The Audit Office also recommended that if additional fines are paid during the period without implementing the decisions of the higher courts, the money should be recovered from the employees who neglected to do so.
