ACC removes bonus payments for executive staff after report finds they're 'no longer appropriate'

Photo / Richard Tindiller, RNZ

By RNZ

ACC has removed bonus payments for its executive staff and some senior leaders following a review, instead adding the majority of those payments to staff's base salaries.

The move comes after the agency was criticised by ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni earlier in the year for pursuing the executive bonus scheme during Covid-19 pay restraint.

Led by ACC board chairwoman Dame Paula Rebstock, the review found bonus payments for 17 staff members were no longer appropriate and removing them for the past financial year and going forward was in line with the Public Services Act.

Instead, 80 per cent of the bonus payment value would be added to the staff's base salary.

In ACC's specialist investment area, bonuses remain in line with private and commercial sector remuneration and performance structures.

Last week, it was revealed that a $74 million restructure of the way ACC manages claims had left staff with "overwhelming caseloads" and so stressed they're "dropping like flies", according to a Public Service Association (PSA) union survey.

The aim of the restructure was to increase productivity and make ACC more "client centric", but union members said it's having the opposite effect.