Top officials paid bonuses for extra work, says Interior Ministry
All three undersecretaries at the Ministry of the Interior and four department directors received bonuses for extra efforts made at work, according to the ministry's HR director.
"An individual is paid for their regular work," explained Aivi Sirp, director of the Personnel Policy Department at the Ministry of the Interior. "A bonus is given subject to their work requiring significant further efforts. "This could mean, for example, that these directors have contributed a significant amount of their personal time to the fulfillment of their job duties by working on nights and weekends."
According to directives issued by Permanent Secretary Lauri Lugna, Undersecretary for Population, Civil Society and Family Policy Raivo Küüt, Undersecretary for Resources, Planning and Technology Piret Lilleväli and Undersecretary for Rescue, Emergency Services and Crisis Management Viola Murd each received bonuses of €2,400.
In addition, Communications Department Director Monika Viidul received €2,200, Internal Audit Department Tarmo Olgo and Personnel Policy Department Aivi Sirp each €2,000 and EU and Foreign Relations Department Triin Toompuu €1,600 bonuses.
"In the case of these directives, these were directors directly subordinate to the permanent secretary, which include undersecretaries, the director of the Communications Department, the director of the Personnel Policy Department and the director of the EU and Foreign Relations Department," Sirp said. "The permanent secretary awarded bonuses to his direct subordinates for their 2019 work outcomes. As the state uses accrual-based accounting, then this is the correct solution."
According to the HR director's provided explanation, based on the ministry's salary guide, bonuses and commissions are paid out on an ongoing basis year round. Proposals for the payment thereof are made by an employee's immediate superior after the employee achieves outstanding work outcomes.
In mid-January, ERR reported that the Ministry of the Interior frequently pays its employees bonuses for "values-based behavior." The most recent recipients of such bonuses, with a directive issued by Minister of Population Riina Solman (Isamaa), included a ministry driver as well as Population and Family Policy Department Director Lea Danilson-Järg.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
