Rector re-hired, but still gets severance pay

When Ralf Hemmingsen stops as Rector at the age of 67, he will, yet again, receive a sizeable sum in severance pay. In total, Rector will get DKK 1 million, writes Politiken.dk.

The newspaper has looked at the University of Copenhagen’s contract with Ralf Hemmingsen, who after eight years has now been re-hired to continue until 2017.

Professor Flemming Ibsen from the Department of Political Science at Aalborg University calls the scheme a “theatre of the absurd”.

Board: In line with the rules

“I just don’t understand how the University of Copenhagen can agree to this. This is completely meaningless, and the scheme should not be upheld. You can do a lot of strange things in the private sector, because it is the company’s own money. But this is the taxpayers’ money, and this does not look pretty”, he says.

According to Ralf Hemmingsen there is “nothing unusual in the contract”. He will not comment on whether it is fair for him to get severance pay when he is continuing in the job.

Chairman of the Board of the University, Nils Strandberg Pedersen, says that the payment is “completely in line with the rules and regulations for all contracts of this type in state and municipalities”.

Reduced salary

Ralf Hemmingsen’s salary is now just under DKK 2 million, including pension. In the new term, Rector’s salary is reduced to 1.7 million. In comparison, writes Politiken, the Danish Prime Minister gets just under DKK 1.5 million.

Link to Politiken article (in Danish) here.

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