NHS Highland has apologised for not anticipating problems which have affected payments to victims of bullying.
It emerged recently that settlement pay-outs under the health board’s Healing Process are made through the payroll and subject to tax and national insurance.
It has led to significant reductions to money received by staff subjected to bullying, with one ex worker saying an expected £25,000 pay-out was reduced to £13,000.
The Healing Process was established following the independent review by John Sturrock QC on allegations of bullying and harassment within the health authority.
The authority is currently awaiting the outcome of a review of the scheme by HMRC, to clarify whether a dispensation can be made to treat financial payments as non-taxable in part or full.
NHS Highland human resources director Fiona Hogg said: “I am very sorry we didn’t pick this up as a potential issue sooner than we did. We know it’s caused a significant amount of concern and confusion. That was never our intention.
“This process is about healing and there has been a lot of effort and time to try to make the experience as smooth as possible. We are very sorry if anyone has been distressed as a result of it.”
She said with hindsight, specific discussions should have been held on how the payments were made to ensure everyone had the same understanding of the process.
However she said the board has no dispensation to make payments other than through the payroll.
“That’s the current status based on the specific and unique nature of the scheme and the detailed advice we received.”