HIE says it can claw back £4m staff payout

THE development agency for the Highlands and Islands claims it can recoup almost £4 million in redundancy payments within the next two years.

A total of 53 workers will be leaving the Highlands and Islands Development Agency (HIE) on voluntary redundancy. The move is another slimming down of the organisation. In 2008, 59 staff took voluntary redundancy and another 150 moved to the new body, Skills Development Scotland.

But there is still a staff base of 270 working from 13 offices across the region, which stretches from Lerwick to Lochgilphead, and a budget of 83 million.

The average payout for the staff leaving this week is 63,600, including severance pay and any contribution HIE makes to the pension fund. Among those leaving is Douglas Yule, the agency's director of operations.