Thousands on States payroll now paid after 'error'

The States apologised for the error

Payments have now been made after thousands of people on the States of Guernsey payroll were not paid salaries and pensions on time.

The States cited a "human error" as the cause of delay, which affected about 5,000 staff including police officers and firefighters.

A spokesperson said payments have now been made and they "apologise to our staff and former employees for the inconvenience and anxiety these issues have caused".

Pensioner and former politician Sandra James said she was "concerned" for those who were "reliant upon their pensions".

She said: "My concern initially was, I'm not totally reliant upon my pension but I was thinking of people that are and I was really concerned."

A statement from the States said: "In order to arrange same-day payments, we had to send them to our bank in batches of no more than 500 payments."

They added they had "some challenges" in sending them through.

"If anyone has incurred any financial challenges as a result of these late payments, they are asked to please contact [e-mail] so that we can support them."

The error had impacted staff including airport personnel, prison workers and staff in the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre.