Action must be taken against parties involved in unlawful dismissals: Audit

Auditor General Hussain Niyazee has instructed that action must be taken against individuals involved in the unlawful dismissal of Civil Service employees and against employees who are negligent in appealing employment cases in the courts.

According to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) audit report for 2022, signed by Auditor General Niyazee and released last week, the Commission was required to pay MVR 1.4 million in compensation for various employment cases during the year. The report stated that in some cases, the Commission failed to appeal, resulting in compensation payments due to the negligence of CSC staff in paying the appeal fee. Furthermore, the report highlighted that no system is in place to take action against the parties involved in unlawful dismissals.

Therefore, the report recommends that the CSC must formulate a system to take action against parties involved in dismissing employees without completing the legal procedures. It also stresses the need to take action against employees who are negligent in appealing cases when the CSC decides to challenge unsuccessful employment cases in court.

The audit report also noted that since the law does not specify the maximum period for which loss of income compensation can be awarded in wrongful termination cases, the CSC must include the maximum duration for which such compensation can be awarded both in the law and in its regulations.

In addition, the Auditor General instructed in the report those in cases where compensation is required due to unlawful termination; the necessary pension contributions were not calculated and paid to the Pension Office in accordance with regulations. Therefore, the report mandates that these outstanding pension funds must also be paid.