Hulhumalé Hospital has said a technical fault during a change to its payroll software caused a cut to the night-shift allowance paid to doctors, nurses and laboratory technologists, and that the deducted money will be returned to staff.
September salaries were paid with the allowance for duty between midnight and 6am reduced from MVR 100 to MVR 60. The MVR 40 allowance for work between 6am and midnight was unchanged.
On the evening of 22 October, the hospital said the reduction resulted from a problem that arose while its human resources and salary software was being changed.
Hospital Information Officer Abdulla Maroof said work was under way to fix the problem and that the deducted allowance would be restored to the affected staff.
Two allowance schemes
The MVR 100 night rate was set under the Finance Ministry's pay framework after health sector salaries were raised in May 2023.
A Civil Service Sector Benefit published by the National Pay Commission on 16 August sets MVR 60 for work between midnight and 6am and MVR 40 for work between 6am and midnight.
Overtime pay for civil servants is capped at 10 percent, and allowances are used to make up for the difference.
Staff had raised concerns over the cut. A medical officer at the hospital said the number of patients needing care late at night had not fallen and the number of doctors had stayed the same, adding that staff shortages meant doctors often worked on their days off.