One year on CIO remains on suspension
Linda Evans, Chief Immigration Officer
(CNS): Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans remains on required leave, on full pay, more than one year after she was suspended over a still unresolved disciplinary issue. Eric Bush, chief officer in the home affairs ministry, said that “pending the outcome of the disciplinary process”, Evans was still on leave. “It is hoped that this will conclude shortly. Unfortunately I am not able to comment further at this time,” he stated in response to CNS enquiries about the status of the head of immigration.
The details of Evans’ suspension have never been officially revealed but the ministry confirmed in the summer that she was not the subject of a criminal probe but that an internal disciplinary process was progressing. Despite comments from the ministry in the wake of her suspension that the allegations would be “investigated quickly and thoroughly”, the case has dragged on for more than a year without resolution.
Evans is not the first senior public official to be placed on leave as a result of disciplinary measures. According to sources close to the issue in government, the trouble for the civil service management is how to deal with internal allegations that are not criminal and either don’t amount to such serious misconduct that it would justify sacking the employee or where there is not enough evidence to substantiate the accusations.
Returning civil servants to their high level posts after such a public suspension with unsubstantiated rumours about the alleged misconduct can prove difficult.
As a result, it is often a choice between finding the civil servant a suitable and equivalent new post or coming to an out of court settlement, which often includes gag orders, sources told CNS.
One attorney told CNS that the gag orders may be put in place to protect the individual people involved but it also prevents the civil service from learning from its mistakes. The lawyer, who wished to remain an anonymous, said the secrecy surrounding internal disciplinary matters doesn’t help the public sector improve or move forward, which often leads to the same mistakes been made over and over again in the management of the disciplinary process, especially with senior managers facing accusations of misconduct.
Category: Jobs, Local News
This is how they “fire” people in the civil service. She is no longer working but she is still happy and won’t get back at the decision makers. Its really smart idea if you stupid. Hence it works here.
Well, Truth @ 4:12pm, here’s how they fire Caymanians in the private sector -at least at one very major law firm. They give them such a massive pay-off that they can build huge houses in desirable parts of the island and basically not work for many years after they have been fired for messing up the firm’s reputation by their incompetence and so big is the pay-off that despite the public “I’ll sue them” foolishness, it all dies down and nothing happens. Money doesn’t talk, it swears. Just ask the guy from East End and the lady from Bodden Town.
Amen 8:52.
One of the interesting aspects of all these cases is the way the people involved respond to the situation. If an ex-pat was treated like this they’d get lawyered up and start screaming but when it’s a Caymanian they go home, take the money and keep their heads down. Can anyone explain that?
Linda HAS lawyered up.
Is it any better without her? I don’t think so its still a total disaster decisions made by those in powers with no merit just a decision of what they believe is a benefit to their friends.
Recently my wife came from immigration she was there to discuss a matter with a nasty creature. Before my wife made it back to w bay she stopped to pull a social. Her friend was well aware she had been at immigration and her business was all over the road already.
Apparently a neighbor saw her in immigration called their link in immigration and proceeded to spread the news thru out the district. Its just so sad. Sadder yet is my wife has an investment of over 500k on the island and is treated like shit.
When those bosses who install family members, minions, protege’s and concubines in senior or top positions in an organization,are in turn then nominated and appoint to the positions which govern, rule or judge their appointee’s criminal & immoral misconduct its called the MAFIA in Cayman its called “Good Governance” We have no governor here what we have is an overseer.
Especially when your family members also happen to be your concubines.
Any superior that would allow an unresolved HR issue to persist for a year or more (at our expense) ought to be replaced themselves. This reeks of at minimum, indecision, and at worst, high level political corruption.
Only here in the land of Oz.
Is conflict of interest a criminal offense ?
Lol. Spoken like a true Caymanian.
Ask Edlin
Could someone please let me know where or how I can apply for a year plus of paid leave? I can barely get paid for the vacation I’m supposed to be entitled to in my contract…wrong industry I guess, or maybe just wrong employer.
My first reply was of a hostile angry type and I find this story distressing.
It seems the height of irresponsibility toward all involved to have lasted a year seems absurd. It would seem that those responsible parties would be ashamed or embarrassed at this lack of transparency and inefficiency, unfortunately even that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The creation of such a toxic and hostile work environment would make returning almost impossible for Linda Evans.
Of course there will be a gag order in her case. She knows to much and those at the tope will be implicated and we cant have that happen
I agree! Do not implicate the tope. The paint colour in the Immigration office has NOTHING to do with this.
When CIG has a leader WITHOUT skeletons in the closet, then the Civil Service will have objectivity, fairness and efficient decision-making
I thought it was declining after Franz left. It has collapsed since Linda left. Not entirely their fault though. Has anyone bothered to read the law they are supposed to implement?
@ 7:38 Nice to see the myth that everything at immigration was hunky-dory under Franz survives. In fact from my experience things started to get a lot better after Linda Evans took over – maybe that’s why she’s been suspended?
Wasn’t any better with or without her. That in itself speaks volumes.
Another reason the Labour law should apply to government. No private sector employee would be treated like this.
I personally know two lawyers and one accountant, who were put on “gardening leave” for 3+ years. I am still working on the exact formula to get there myself.
Totally agree. In the private sector her position would be untenable and no business owner would tolerate paying someone that was not working for one year. They would have to s$/t or get off the pot at some point.
The main problem with the PSML is that, because it is prepared by civil servants, there is no one to advocate strongly for the employer when the law is being drafted. The law is ridiculously one sided in favor of the employee. No one sees this as a problem…. until something like this happens and suddenly someone has to think like a business owner and, guess what, they’re in a box of their own making.
Hence the labour law should apply to the CS. You can be sure that law will never be one sided in favor of the employee. The balance can be argued and shifted but at least there will be a debate!
11:13, the PSML allows Civil Service employers to dismiss employees once due process has been followed. I’ll repeat that, once due process has been followed. Since its inception, several civil servants have been dismissed, though not on the front page of the Compass or in a sensational story on CNS. Not surprisingly, these civil servants have felt the PSML favored the employer not them the emloyee. If the government has a watertight case against a civil servant under the PSML, it should proceed under the PSML to deal with them. But if the government has a loose (?non due process/flimsy evidence) case against the employee, the employee should be returned to his/her post.The fault is not in the law but in the civil service/political directorate’s reluctance to deal with Caymanian incompetence or other issues.
Eloquently written BS. The disciplinary process under the PSML is impossibly cumbersome as anyone that has ever tried to utilize it knows.
The fact remains that the PSML applies not only a different standard but a different process to do splinter action compared to the private sector.
Why?
Why should Caymanians in the private sector not be entitled to the same protections as those in the public sector?
Thank you, 1:08, for acknowledging that my post was ‘eloquent’. It is not, to use your distasteful expression “BS”, though. The disciplinary process under the PSML, according to you, is “impossibly cumbersome” . (Damn that due process foolishness). Yet civil service managers have used it to discipline and even dismiss employees. Would you like it to be an easy no due process Law? No Parliament would sanction such a law even though some Compass writers and CNS posters would like it to exist, so long as it applied only to the civil service. You write two interesting sentences which I would like to repeat: “The fact remains that the PSML applies not only a different standard but a different process to do splinter action compared to the private sector”. I’m eloquent but haven’t a clue what the “splinter action” process stuff means! The other one is this: “Why should Caymanians in the private sector not be entitled to the same protections as those in the public sector?” Well, yes, I agree, why not?
Caymankind to their own!
That’s ridiculous. Either she’s not trusted to be at work in which case sack her, or she is in which case get her working!
So much for due process and innocent until guilty, right? Even in the private sector fi you ‘just sacked her’ you’d be up on unfair dismissal charges if you didn’t have more than rumour and innuendo to work with. And given the ‘political’ pressure on many civil service posts they have to be better protected than the private sector or people would ‘just be sacked’ every year or two when they annoyed someone who complained to whoever has the ‘just sack them’ power.
Complete joke if this was the RCIPS and DPP they would be slaughtered. And how much is this costing the government!!!!!
Shows incompetence at the top of the stream. Where is the Deputy Governors foresight? Time to clean house and let the chips fall where they may.
We pay.
RCIPS and DP would be slaughtered – really? Because we have seen so many senior RCIPS and DPP individuals hung out to dry for their failures – NOT. Not sure what Ms Evans is accused of, but sure its not of the order of magnitude of presiding over a system that let someone put 57Kg of drugs back on the streets in an inside job, or has presided over some lamentable prosecution failures roundly criticised by the judiciary, all of which without any apparent consequence for either the leadership or those directly involved.
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
Incompetence at its Cayman best. Like this has never happened before. Maybe they just ask “hey, who fancies a couple of years off on full pay?”
Me, me! Pick me please, I beg you!
the usual nonsense from cig and the civil service………zzzzzzzzzzzzz
We all agree that this suspension had gone on too long. But I refuse to lay blame on either side until the facts come out. Only a few CNS posters can make decisions without facts. That really puts me to sleep.zzzzzzz
Accountability is real in the civil service. We asked for it now we got it.
“Accountability is real in the civil service. We asked for it now we got it.”
Surely you are joking!