A TasNetworks executive walked away with more than $712,000 after tax when his job was axed in a restructure at the state-owned power provider.
Ross Burridge received $844,000 in termination benefits after his operations executive position was made redundant last year.
The payout included $635,752 in redundancy pay under his contract, plus leave entitlements and notice payments.
TasNetworks chairman Roger Gill told a parliamentary hearing the massive payment was linked to old employment arrangements from when Hydro Tasmania was split up decades ago.
“Those entitlements, contractual arrangements, we were obligated to pay them,” he said. “We recognise that they are large.”
Gill said executives on these legacy contracts had helped run Tasmania’s power system for 30 years.
Chief executive Sean McGoldrick said the company cut its executive team from eight to five over three years to improve efficiency.
“We reconfigured the business, his role was redundant and we have now only five executives reporting to me as chief executive,” he said.
McGoldrick said the restructure would save money within a couple of years, despite the hefty termination costs.
Burridge is the last executive on this type of contract. Another executive received $102,000 when he left in March this year.
The company paid out $22 million in total redundancy costs during its transformation, which saw 151 staff voluntarily leave.
The workforce dropped from 1,250 to around 1,100 employees.
Previous financial year payouts were similarly substantial. Executive Wayne Tucker received $711,000, while two others got $269,000 and $380,000 respectively.
People executive Renee Anderson said no one was forced out during the restructure.
“Anyone whose role was made redundant, if they wanted to stay in the business, we actively worked to find them a redeployment or a suitable role,” she said.
