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The Government spent a total of £1.3m on severance payments last year - with £192,500 given to a long-serving civil servant, who was kept in the dark about a major shake-up to the department he led.
Former Director General of GHE (Growth, Housing and Environment) John Rogers (pictured top) left his role at the end of March 2020.
The high-profile exit came just six months after it emerged that the senior government worker hadn't been told about plans to significantly slash his portfolio.
It wasn't until a public Scrutiny hearing that Mr Rogers was informed – accidentally – that he would effectively be losing the ‘G’ in his department’s name, with that element moving into a new independent 'Economy' department.
At the time his departure was announced in early March 2020, the then-CEO Charlie Parker said it was agreed that "it was time for [Mr Rogers] to take on a new challenge in Jersey" and that he should leave weeks later.
His 'loss of office compensation' was revealed in the Government's Annual Report and Accounts 2020, which have been published today, following delays.
They also reveal that Mr Parker himself received an exit payment of £500,000 following his departure sparked by the fall-out over his second job as a Non-Executive Director at UK real estate firm New River. The Chief Minister said this payment was necessary to avert any legal action against the Government.
In total, around £1.3m was paid out by Government to 34 individuals in severance and ex- gratia payments in 2020, compared to 40 individuals receiving a total of around £2m between them in 2019.
Of these, nine payments were made due to compulsory or voluntary redundancy, 18 (including Mr Rogers) were due to loss of office, six were due to outsourcing of their roles, and one was due to voluntary early retirement.
Pictured: A breakdown of exit package expenditure in 2020 and 2019.
Mr Parker is not included in the figures because, although it was referenced in the 2020 accounts, his payment was actually made on 29 January 2021.
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