Report causes a shake of the head Civil servant is released for 9 years and collects 670,000 francs
A new report by the State Court of Auditors of Rhineland-Palatinate (D) shows an astonishing picture: several civil servants were released from their duties for years - with full pay. The costly personnel decisions cost taxpayers almost 1.5 million euros.
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- In Rhineland-Palatinate, civil servants were paid for years even though they were not working.
- One case in Ludwigshafen is particularly serious, where an employee was exempted for nine years.
- The State Court of Auditors is now calling for claims for damages to be investigated.
The new municipal report by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Court of Audit is causing considerable disquiet. The auditors document several cases in which local authorities released employees from work for years - without them working a single hour. According to the report, the total sum that flowed at the expense of the population amounted to around 1.5 million euros.
The case of the city of Ludwigshafen is particularly striking. An employee there was completely relieved of his duties for a total of nine years - with his salary and job ticket allowance continuing. At the end, he also received almost 60,000 euros for vacation not taken. This decision cost taxpayers around 720,000 euros, the equivalent of almost 670,000 francs. According to the report, the exemption was clearly unlawful.
The city explained to the auditors that the man had attracted attention due to his "unusual behavior" and had caused increasing internal rejection. It was no longer possible to find an area in which he could have been deployed. For the Court of Auditors, however, this argument is not tenable: a new assignment or, if necessary, an orderly resignation would have been legally mandatory.
Double wages collected on transfer
The Palatinate District Association is also being targeted by the auditors. A senior civil servant there is said to have stayed at home for five years until retirement - also with full pay. His deputy was given another year's leave of absence. Explosive: a relative of the civil servant received double salary payments at times due to an internal transfer. According to the report, the damage in this complex amounts to almost 490,000 euros.
The Enforcement Panel is calling on the bodies concerned to examine claims for damages against those responsible at the time. In particularly serious cases, the events could even have consequences under criminal law. The report's message is clear: dismissals for reasons of convenience or conflict-averse personnel decisions are unlawful - and a misuse of taxpayers' money.
