28 May 2002

Comment On Auditor-General Report Into Severance Payments In The Public Sector

The Report of the Auditor-General into Severance Payments in the Public Sector will provide useful guidance for government agencies faced with difficult employment disputes or personal grievance issues, State Services Minister Trevor Mallard said today.

Trevor Mallard says the Government welcomes the principles that the Auditor-General puts forward in the report.

“In particular, we support the report’s guidance that:

- termination of employment should not be used as a first resort in managing employment difficulties;
- severance payments should only be used with appropriate expert advice as a means of resolving a grievance dispute; and
- confidentiality clauses around severance payments should be discouraged.

“Confidentiality clauses should be avoided if possible as the report makes clear that there cannot be guarantees given by government agencies on the issue of confidentiality, for example select committees have extensive inquiry powers under Standing Orders,” Trevor Mallard said.

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