The biggest percentage jump was in bonuses that were paid out on top of base salaries and basic performance pay known as “pay at risk.”
The amount of money the government paid out in bonuses jumped from $913,914 in 2009-10 to $2.2 million in 2010-11 – an increase of 144 per cent. The average bonus for executives fortunate enough to get them went from $1,671 in 2009-10 to $4,156 in 2010-11.
Bonuses and “pay at risk” are part of the federal government’s Performance Management Program designed to encourage, recognize and reward strong performance by its top officials. The performance of each executive is assessed after the end of the government’s March 31 fiscal year and performance pay is generally paid out in the fall.
For the 2011-12 fiscal year that has just ended, executives will be judged in part on how successful they were in cutting costs in their departments during the government’s strategic and operating review. The strategic and operating review, also known as the deficit reduction action plan, has resulted in more than 10,000 public servants receiving work force adjustment letters over the past two weeks advising them their jobs could be in jeopardy and more may be delivered this week.
Judging by the increase in performance pay spending, the Conservative government was satisfied with the work of its top executives in 2010-11.
While a small number of departments like James Moore’s Canadian Heritage reduced bonuses or didn’t hand them out at all, in most departments there were triple digit percentage increases in bonus money doled out executives. A sampling:
In Jim Flaherty’s own Department of Finance, the average executive bonus handed out to 27 executives rose 425 per cent to $4,890 from $931 in 2009-10. In Treasury Board President Tony Clement’s department, the average executive bonus received by 23 executives rose 202 per cent, rising from $1,700 in 2009-10 to $5,148 in 2010-11.
The department with the highest average bonus in 2010-11 was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s own Privy Council where eight executives got average bonuses of $6,581. That is up 53.4 per cent from the $4,290 they got in 2009-10, the second largest annual bonuses that year.
The second highest average bonus in 2010-11 was $6,403 for the Office of Infrastructure of Canada – a 972.5 per cent increase over the $597 average bonus in 2009-10.
The third highest was the Canada School of Public Service where there average executive bonus was $6,366, up 134.7 per cent from the $2,712 average bonus in 2009-10.
Ten of 55 larger departments or agencies handed out no executive bonuses in 2010-11 and five of them hadn’t awarded bonuses in 2009-10 either.
However, bonus money pales in comparison to “pay at risk” (at risk because it is tied to performance reviews) which can add up to thousands of dollars for executives.
The average pay at risk payment for federal executives rose 4.6 per cent in 2010-11. In 2009-10 the government awarded pay at risk to 5,596 executives and the average payment was $12,584. In 2010-11, 5,505 executives received it and the average cheque was $13,168.
Base pay for federal government executives in 2010 ranged from $99,600 to $191,900.
While the government announced a departmental budget freeze with much fanfare, its overall spending on pay at risk rose 2.9 per cent from $70.4 million in 2009-10 to $72.5 million in 2010-11.
That’s nearly double the 1.5 per cent wage increase for public servants that year. Salaries of MPs were frozen at $157,731.
However, there was considerable range in the percentage increase by department when it came to pay at risk.
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, which answers to Minister of State Gary Goodyear, increased its spending on pay at risk by 55.4 per cent, from $110,270 in 2009-10 to $171,333 in 2010-11. The Passport Office had the second largest rise in pay at risk spending, rising 33.7 per cent from $284,259 to $380,106.
The third largest increase was at the Justice Department where the spending on pay at risk rose 26.7 per cent to $603,075 from $475,810.
Overall, 37 of 55 large departments or agencies increased their spending on pay at risk.
In the case of 18 departments, however, the amount spent on pay at risk dropped. The biggest percentage drop was in the offices of the Information and Privacy commissioners where spending on pay at risk dropped 45.6 per cent, going from $163,301 in 2009-10 to $88,816 in 2010-11.
The Canadian Transportation Agency had the second largest percentage decrease in pay at risk spending, dropping 17.6 per cent from $138,199 in 2009-10 to $113, 912 in 2010-11.
Seven executives at the Canadian Grain Commission got the highest average pay at risk payment, an average of $17,408. That was followed closely by 31 executives at the Department of Western Diversification where the average at risk payment was $17,068 and the Privy Council office where 115 executives received pay at risk and the average payment was $15,925.
Among large departments, the lowest average pay at risk payments in 2010-11 was at Library and Archives where 40 executives received pay at risk and the average was $6,574. Citizenship and Immigration had the second lowest pay at risk payments. While 177 executives received pay at risk, the average was $9,601.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency had the third lowest average pay at risk payments with 19 executives getting an average of $9,624.
The vast majority of federal government executives received some form of performance pay for the 2010-11 fiscal year on top of their six figure salaries.
Figures show 85.6 per cent of those in the EX category, or 5,174 people, received pay at risk. Another 8.9 per cent of executives, 538 people received both pay at risk and a bonus.
Only 5.4 per cent of federal government executives, 331 people, received no performance pay at all.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Elizabeth Thompson
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