Exit package for Sport Aberdeen managing director exceeds £100,000
The former managing director of Sport Aberdeen received an exit package valued at over £100,000 after proposing the removal of his own role on the basis of "financial efficiency," BBC Scotland News has learned.
Sport Aberdeen, a charity managing more than 30 leisure and sports venues, receives millions of pounds in public funding annually from Aberdeen City Council.
Alistair Robertson departed the organisation in March 2024, with his role replaced by a chief executive position.
It is understood that the proposal to make Robertson's position redundant, including the severance package, was never discussed or scrutinised by the full board. Robertson has been approached for comment.
Sport Aberdeen stated that the payment was fully and transparently disclosed.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) indicated earlier in the year that concerns about Sport Aberdeen had led to a formal investigation.
At Sport Aberdeen's 2024 annual general meeting, chairman Tony Dawson informed members that Robertson had "retired."
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation reveal that discussions regarding Robertson's departure and severance package occurred at a special business committee meeting, rather than the full board.
Sport Aberdeen confirmed the payment was fully and transparently disclosed within the organisation's 2023/24 audited accounts.
Sources close to board members report that when questions arose about the payments, some board members themselves became subjects of investigation.
Several board members have since left the organisation.
BBC Scotland News has reviewed extracts of minutes documenting Robertson's exit process, obtained via FOI request.
The minutes show that on 20 June 2023, Sport Aberdeen's special business committee was informed that Robertson intended to step down and had proposed release from his position citing "financial efficiency."
Funding challenges
At a meeting on 21 July 2023, attended by senior figures including the chairman and head of HR, committee members were informed that the managing director had offered to step down on a mutually agreed date and suggested that the post could be removed from the management structure.
They were advised that deleting the managing director post would save £130,000 annually.
The minutes indicate that this proposal was made against a backdrop of projected "significant funding challenges" expected to persist for the "foreseeable future."
The committee was presented with documentation outlining various options for ending Robertson's employment.
These documents, prepared after consultation with advisers from the North East Scotland Pension Fund, detailed the financial implications of different approaches.
The papers weighed the immediate cost of an exit package, including pension-related liabilities, against the longer-term savings from removing the post.
Sport Aberdeen's audited accounts for 2023-24 show a termination payment of £55,000 was made to a staff member.
An additional £50,492.19 was paid to the pension provider in June 2024 to cover a "strain on fund" cost.
This payment is made by an employer to a pension scheme when an employee is allowed to access pension benefits earlier than the normal retirement age or on enhanced terms.
Together, the termination payment and pension strain cost exceeded £105,000.
Sensitive matters
When asked if the payment had been passed, agreed, or discussed by the full board, Sport Aberdeen stated that "relevant matters were considered and determined" by its special business committee, a longstanding sub-committee of the board.
The organisation explained that the committee, composed of committee chairs and other non-executive members, is used to consider "time-critical or sensitive matters such as senior leadership pay" under established governance arrangements.
Minutes from the July 2023 meeting show that Robertson's proposal to leave was treated confidentially.
The committee agreed that the chair and vice-chair, in consultation with the head of HR, should finalise arrangements related to the managing director's severance.
Sport Aberdeen noted that the committee has been in place since 2014 and that the composition of all board committees and sub-committees is approved annually by the board.
A spokesperson for Sport Aberdeen said:
"The payment referenced was a termination payment made to the former managing director and is fully and transparently disclosed within the organisation's 2023/24 audited accounts.
Those accounts, including the relevant disclosures on remuneration and termination payments, were independently audited and approved by the board at its meeting on 24 June 2024 in line with standard governance and reporting requirements."
Sport Aberdeen chairman Tony Dawson declined an interview request.
