Niedersachsen’s Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) has come under criticism after it was revealed that a close employee of his received a salary increase earlier than usual. The CDU has referred to this as a “salary scandal”. According to the State Chancellery, other employees also benefited from a promotion. This controversial salary increase for a close employee of the Minister President is said to not be an isolated case. In the past five months, at least two other employees of the ministries and the State Chancellery have also been promoted faster than originally planned.
The two employees, just like the employee of Weil, benefited from a new policy that allowed them to receive a higher non-tariff remuneration at the level of the A16 and B2 salary grades. Before the change, they would not have been eligible for this as they would have needed the same years of professional experience as officials in these salary grades. The question of how many employees have benefited from this change is crucial as Minister President Weil had argued that it was not about the individual employee but about increasing the attractiveness of the public service as a whole. The CDU, however, sees it as a “salary scandal” as a long-standing practice was changed for one person.
A parliamentary committee has been investigating the matter since April. The State Chancellery stated that it had reviewed the promotions approved by the cabinet over the past five months and asked the respective departments whether the individuals had benefited from the new regulation. The salary of the high-ranking employee of Weil increased by 1886 euros gross per month after the change, totaling about 22,600 euros per year. The CDU parliamentary group’s parliamentary manager, Carina Hermann, stated that they were not aware whether the two other promoted employees could have also been promoted under the old rules.
The CDU believes that the “salary scandal in the State Chancellery” only pertains to the Minister President’s employee. This assumption was confirmed by the initial questioning of witnesses from the Finance Ministry in the parliamentary committee. Hermann and the CDU parliamentary group leader Sebastian Lechner will hold a press conference on Friday to discuss the investigation committee. The overall goal is to shed light on the allegations of preferential salary treatment and determine if similar cases have occurred in the past or are ongoing within the state government of Lower Saxony.
