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The salary of the island's most senior civil servant has been increased for the first time since 2018, rising from £250,000 to £276,000.
It was yesterday confirmed that Dr Andrew McLaughlin's contract had been extended to December 2026.
The previous contract – obtained by Express under the Freedom of Information Law - saw Dr McLaughlin awarded the same annual salary as previous CEO Charlie Parker, who was appointed in 2018, and the Chief Executives who followed. He was, however, entitled to a greater amount of holiday – 36 working days compared to Mr Parker's 31, excluding bank holidays.
Following yesterday's announcement, Express asked the Government to to confirm if all the terms of the contract and renumeration remain the same as before.
No response had been received at the time of writing, but the Chief Minister announced Dr McLaughlin's salary increase in yesterday afternoon's States sitting.
Responding to questions from Deputy Helen Miles about the CEO's contract, the Chief Minister said: "The terms and conditions are broadly the same, but adapted accordingly to reflect his status and longer contract."
Deputy Lyndon Farnham added: "The salary of the CEO was set at a level of £250,000 and its been at that rate since 2018.
"Under the new contract, the CEO's new salary will be £276,000."
The rise comes despite a recent Government-wide savings drive, which has seen numerous key projects delayed or cancelled, a nine-month recruitment freeze for civil servants across the public sector earning £66,000 or above, and all departments asked to stop spending on consultants and cut other costs or grants to other arms-length bodies, such as Jersey Finance, which faced a £400,000 funding cut.
Pictured: Charlie Parker's contract (left) entitled him to 31 days of annual leave, whereas Andrew McLaughlin's previous contract (right) includes 36 days.
It also emerged in yesterday's States Assembly meeting that Dr McLaughlin has not been part of the procurement process for the ferry tender.
Deputy Farnham explained: "The CEO was formerly employed by one of the lenders to Condor Ferries and, whilst his employment has ended and he would no longer have a direct or pecuniary interest in that, it was just deemed more appropriate that the CEO stayed out at this stage – and that was agreed by ministers and officers as a sensible course of action."
However, the Chief Minister confirmed that "under normal circumstances", the CEO would be involved in the tender process for large procurement contracts for the island.
Pictured: Dr Andrew McLaughlin has now signed a two-year contract which will see him continue as Government CEO until December 2026.
Dr McLaughlin was appointed Interim Government CEO in September last year on secondment from NatWest bank, where he co-led its ‘Commercial and Institutional’ division.
His initial nine-month contract came to end in May 2024.
Express later revealed that over £60,000 was spent on the recruitment process for a permanent Government CEO which was abandoned after just two months.
That process was never restarted, and Dr McLaughlin was appointed as the substantive Government CEO from 1 July 2024.
His initial contract was fixed-term for six months, with an option to extend if both the Government and the CEO agree.
When concerns were raised about the stability of such a short-term contract at the time, the Chief Minister said he hoped Dr McLaughlin would remain in post “as long as possible” and at least until the next election in mid-2026.
Dr McLaughlin was also given the green light to take on a second job – as Chair of the Board of the Bank of Gibraltar – while in post, despite this being the unravelling of a previous CEO. The Government did not confirm why the arrangement was approved or how it would be managed alongside his role leading the civil service.
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