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Investigation Report on the delay by the MWHB in calculating arrears of superannuation payable by two Public Health nurses for previous service

3. The Investigation

3.1 Background

3.1.1 On 3 January 2003, I wrote to the Chief Executive Officer of the Mid-Western Health Board advising him of my intention to carry out an investigation of the complaints received under the provisions of Section 4 of the Ombudsman Act, 1980. I enclosed with my letter to the Chief Executive Officer, Statements of Complaint in respect of both complainants.

3.1.2 With regard to Ms Mary Dillon, the Statement of Complaint read as follows:

"Ms. Dillon was appointed to a permanent position in the Mid-Western Health Board on 6 December 1997. Under the Local Government (Superannuation) (Consolidation) Scheme, 1998 she was required to make contributions in respect of previous temporary part-time and temporary wholetime service. The provisions of the Scheme specify that contributions payable by fully insured officers are levied on the person's pensionable pay at the time the contributions are being paid.

The Board, by letter dated 19 October 2000, notified Ms. Dillon, some three years after her appointment, that the total arrears payable amounted to £9,492.32.

Ms. Dillon's salary had increased substantially from the date of her appointment to the date the arrears were calculated and notified to her.

The delay on the part of the Mid-Western Health Board in calculating the arrears of superannuation due in respect of her previous reckonable temporary service resulted in a substantially increased cost to the complainant with a consequent adverse effect for her.

The failure of the Board to advise the complainant of the relevant calculations, within a reasonable period of time, after her appointment to a permanent position is contrary to fair or sound administration."

3.1.3 With regard to Ms Patsy O'Sullivan, the Statement of Complaint read as follows:

"Ms. O'Sullivan was appointed to a permanent position in the Mid-Western Health Board on 26 January 1998. Under the Local Government (Superannuation) (Consolidation) Scheme, 1998 she was required to make contributions in respect of previous temporary part-time and temporary wholetime service. The provisions of the Scheme specify that contributions payable by fully insured officers are levied on the person's pensionable pay at the time the contributions are being paid.

The Board, by letter dated 1 February 2001, notified Ms. O'Sullivan, some three years after her appointment, that the total arrears payable amounted to £12,587.49.Ms O'Sullivan's salary had increased substantially from the date of her appointment to the date the arrears were calculated and notified to her.

The delay on the part of the Mid-Western Health Board in calculating the arrears of superannuation due in respect of her previous reckonable temporary service resulted in a substantially increased cost to the complainant with a consequent adverse effect for her.

The failure of the Board to advise the complainant of the relevant calculations, within a reasonable period of time after her appointment to a permanent position is contrary to fair or sound administration."

3.1.4 Two members of my staff subsequently met with the Board's Acting Director of Human Resources and Human Resource Manager to discuss the Statement of Complaint. At the meeting the Board's representatives accepted that delays had occurred in dealing with these cases and also with a considerable number of other cases.

They attributed the delay which had occurred to the fact that :

(i) it was necessary to check the previous service of the complainants with other agencies as they relied on other agencies to provide them with details of temporary and part-time service;

(ii) relatively new and inexperienced staff were responsible for carrying out the enquiries involved in the verification of previous service;

(iii) experienced staff were absent on unpaid leave and maternity leave;

(iv) the backlog of work on hands was increasing; and

(v) recruitment increased considerably in 1999, 2000 and 2001 (there had been 500 extra posts filled in 2001).

3.1.5 I later received the Board's formal response to the Statement of Complaint in which it set out the circumstances that gave rise to the complaints and elaborated on the reasons underlying the delay and steps taken to address it.

The Board explained that in 1999, following representations from staff and unions, a process of converting temporary posts to permanent posts was undertaken. This was part of a national agreement and, in the Mid-Western Health Board's case, involved some 350 staff nurse posts.

Since 1999, four permanent staff had left the Superannuation Section on promotion. It had not always been possible to fill the vacancies immediately. When the vacancies were filled, there was at least a six month induction period before the new staff member could become proficient in the processing of cases. There had also been a number of persons on maternity leave and special unpaid leave during the period in question, in addition to the normal profile of annual and sick leave for which locum cover could not be provided due to the specialised nature of the work.

Although one additional member of staff was assigned to assist with the problem, (and there were later additions to deal with the backlog), the effectiveness of these additional staff was reduced by delays in obtaining service records. Each previous employer had to verify the service record. Frequently, this might involve three or four written or telephonic reminders before a response was received.

The lead-in time for new staff to become productive is at least 6 months in relation to standard cases involving verification of minimum wholetime service, costing and checking and preparation of the statement of superannuation contributions due.

The Board advised that to facilitate staff awaiting statements of superannuation contributions due, an individual had the option, under an arrangement introduced in 2002, of commencing contributions by way of lump sum or additional periodic deductions from salary, pending notification of the final amount due. In addition tax relief, subject to conditions, was available on all superannuation contributions.

The Board repeated that it had asked the Department of Environment and Local Government about possible concessions to affected staff in respect of the delays. The Board was advised by the Department that it could not depart from the statutory requirement of the superannuation scheme.

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