Scottish Government staff suspended with pay statistics: FOI release

Information requested

1. The number of civil servants who are currently suspended with pay.

2. In the past three years, the number of civil servants who have been suspended with pay.

3. The average length that civil servants have been suspended with pay in the last three years.

4. The longest period of time for which a civil servant was suspended with pay in the last three years.

5. How many civil servants were dismissed after being suspended with pay in the last three years.

6. The cost of paying the salary of civil servants who were suspended with pay in the last year.

7. What are the most common reasons that a civils servant would be suspended with pay.

Response

In your request, you have asked for information about Scottish Government staff. Our response covers permanent staff employed in Scottish Government Core Director-General business areas, as outlined in Annex A. Requests for information about other agencies/bodies should be sent directly to them.

You have asked for information about staff who have been suspended in the last three years. The data used in this reply is therefore based on cases where the suspension start date was between 17 June 2022 and 17 June 2025 (that is, the date of your request).Suspension is only used in very exceptional circumstances and in line with our disciplinary policy (please refer to FOI 202500446732 for a copy of this policy) and ACAS guidance. The need to suspend a member of staff is kept under regular review.

The number of civil servants who are currently suspended with pay.

As of 17 June 2025, there was one civil servant who was suspended on full pay. 

In the past three years, the number of civil servants who have been suspended with pay.

Since 17 June 2022, there have been 5 civil servants suspended with pay.

The average length that civil servants have been suspended with pay in the last three years.

The average length that civil servants have been suspended with pay in the last year three years is approximately 6.7 months.

The cost of paying the salary of civil servants who were suspended with pay in the last year.

Please see Table 1 which provides information in relation to the length of time that civil servants were suspended with pay and the cost of paying the salary of civil servants who were suspended with pay:

	Length of Time	Salary Range
Case 1	Up to 3 months	£36,944-£42,244
Case 2	1 year or more	£29,013-£31,177
Case 3	3-6 months	£36,944-£45,894
Case 4	3-6 months	£32,455-£35,203
Case 5	Up to 3 months	£86,237-£87,404

Table 1: Staff Suspended on Full pay in the last 3 years

The salary ranges during the periods of suspension were subject to change in line with Scottish Government pay agreements. This information is already publicly available in FOI response 202400443567, which provides the relevant salary ranges. Therefore, in accordance with Section 25 of FOISA (Information otherwise accessible), we are not required to provide this information again. Please note that this exemption is absolute and is not subject to the public interest test.

The longest period of time for which a civil servant was suspended with pay in the last three years.

The longest period of time for which a civil servant was suspended with pay in the last three years was 2 years and 3 months.

How many civil servants were dismissed after being suspended with pay in the last three years.

The number of civil servants that were dismissed after being suspended with pay in the last three years was 3.

What are the most common reasons that a civils servant would be suspended with pay.

While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to that information. This exemption applies because the information is the personal data of third parties (the members of staff in question) and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles set out in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the public interest test, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500471341 - Information Released - Annex A

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