Ministers have been urged to launch an investigation after it emerged the ‘fired’ chief executive of publicly funded lifeline ferry operator CalMac received more than £170,000 in annual pay after being removed from his post just three days into the year.
The annual earnings of Robbie Drummond included an estimated £150,000 'golden goodbye' pay off and has sparked concerns of an alleged 'breach' of the Scottish Government's public sector severance rules, the Herald on Sunday can reveal.
The executive was removed from his post and sent home on April 3, 2024, just three days into the financial year, but it can be revealed that his remuneration package for the year - including paid gardening leave — amounted to £175,000.
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Details of the severance formed part of a settlement that was kept confidential for nearly two years by the under-fire publicly funded ferry operator.
It included not just paid gardening leave for six months estimated to be worth over £100,000 but also £48,000 compensation for "loss of office" despite being having his contract terminated.
The Scottish Government's public finance manual over the proper handling and reporting of public funds that sets out severance policy states exit payments in public bodies "must be capped at £95,000" and includes both contractual and non-contractual elements.
Under Scottish Government financial guidance, if there are "compelling" reasons that the cap cannot be applied, a full business case has to be submitted and ministerial views sought.
Ministers are now under pressure to probe into what has happened and to explain what they knew about the secret exit arrangement which one ferry user group official referred to as "utterly obscene".
While Mr Drummond's contract was terminated after just three days of 2024/25, financial statements seen by The Herald show a remuneration package amounting to £175,000, including £18,000 employer pensions contributions and £4,000 other 'benefits in kind'.
The Scottish Government declined to answer questions from The Herald over whether they were even aware of the extent of the pay off let alone the apparent breach of the cap and whether ministerial views were sought.
And when the questions were passed to their Transport Scotland agency, they at first would only say that issues around the departure were "a matter for the CalMac board".
Mr Drummond was placed on six months 'gardening leave', for which he was paid, after the board made a "unanimous decision" to terminate his contract. The Herald on Sunday has been told that there was no formal board vote.
Gardening leave is a practice where under normal circumstances during a period of notice instructs them to stay away from the workplace and refrain from performing their regular duties. The employee remains employed and continues to receive their salary and benefits, but is not required to work.
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The Herald previously revealed how Scotland's official anti-secrecy regulator ruled that CalMac had broken transparency laws by wrongly hiding the full extent of the severance package, after forcing him out.
A settlement agreement was sanctioned in July 2024, three months after he was forced out which also included a sum for reimbursement of his legal fees, "compensation for loss of employment" and further funds for holidays not taken.
The ferry operator has been ordered to make a full disclosure by January 26 and received a warning that failure to comply could ultimately result in the case being referred to the Court of Session.
The authority has been told that if there was non-compliance, the court could deal with CalMac as if it had committed a contempt of court.
Holyrood's transport committee convener Edward Mountain said there should be a probe into what went on, saying: “The inability of this Government to control the CalMac Board - who have paid over £150,000 to the chief executive, whom they sacked - will anger islanders as much as their failure to deliver the new ferries.
“There are regulations surrounding termination payments in public bodies and they are there for a reason – to protect taxpayers’ money.
“The secrecy surrounding this payment, and the fact that neither the government nor Transport Scotland will answer questions on it, suggests they have something to hide."
The Scottish Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP added: "In the real world, people are paid for success, but in the world controlled by this Government, it appears that failure reaps rewards, and the real costs of those affected are ignored.
“Fiona Hyslop should investigate this fully, and if the payment exceeds what is allowed, then someone should resign or be sacked. The only problem is that they would probably get a huge payout as well!”
Official records show that Erik Ostergaard, chair of CalMac’s parent company David MacBrayne Ltd, alerted the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency on March 25 to the board’s intention to replace the chief executive — nine days before Robbie Drummond was informed.
In an email to then First Minister Humza Yousaf, Transport Scotland chief executive Alison Irvine said Mr Drummond’s contract would be terminated on April 3, stating CalMac believed it needed leadership that better reflected the views of island communities and could manage the fleet’s operational efficiency in the years ahead.
A central criticism of Mr Drummond’s tenure centred on how CalMac handled ferry breakdowns while operating an ageing fleet. As previously revealed by the Herald, CalMac was fined £21.3 million for failing island communities — before ministers went on to award it a new £4 billion, 10-year contract to operate lifeline services from October 1.
The penalties imposed over the nine years to September 2025 were almost 16 times higher than those accumulated in the operator’s first nine years running west coast island services. In its final year alone, previously undisclosed performance deductions reached a record £4.335m.
Alba Party leader and former SNP cabinet minister Kenny MacAskill said there should be an inquiry into what happened, and expected that a parliamentary committee should demand answers.
"A severance payment is one thing, a huge bung quite another. It’s not simply that CalMac has been beleaguered and staff and especially islanders left to pay the price. There are also clear rules for severance payments in the public sector and not only do they not appear to have been met but it looks as if there’s been efforts to hide what payments have been made.
"We need to know what has been paid, how and when and also why it’s been paid in this fashion which is really quite extraordinary. The Scottish Government need to be open and transparent. Beleaguered communities deserve no less."
Mounting anger over the way ferry services were being run boiled over on South Uist in the summer of 2023 after the island was again hit by service cuts, leaving it without a ferry for much of June due to breakdowns and delayed annual maintenance.
Islanders said South Uist was repeatedly chosen to bear the brunt of disruption because CalMac’s contingency planning prioritised routes affecting the fewest passengers. Around 500 residents, along with 200 cars, 40 vans and 20 lorries, converged on Lochboisdale — the island’s mainland lifeline port — in protest.
Following Scottish Government intervention, CalMac launched a review of its disruption criteria, which was later changed.
At a public meeting attended by around 250 people, residents unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in the ferry operator, as chief executive Robbie Drummond faced criticism for what some dismissed as “PR visits” to apologise and explain the company’s actions.
A ferry user group official said: "This is, of course utterly obscene, and the Scottish Government and the CalMac hierarchy have to be answerable not just about what amounts to a huge golden goodbye, which is a reward for failure, but how the full details have been kept secret for so long, and continue to be.
"While there is no doubt past lack of investment in our ferries has caused major disruption to islanders and visitors alike, the way things have been handled by CalMac leaves a whole lot to be desired, which is why there was a vote of no confidence in them two years ago."
Transport Scotland said the CalMac board is appointed by ministers to provide strategic direction and to make the decisions that they believe are in the best, long term interests of the business.
A spokesman added: “Ministers have been very clear that this was a matter for the CalMac board, as it is for them to take decisions on senior management appointments. Scottish ferry services need to be well run to meet the needs of the communities and businesses that depend on them. That requires the board of CalMac to ensure that the necessary management arrangements are in place to achieve that."
Later, Transport Scotland added: "Based on the information provided to us we are satisfied that the severance package was applied in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. It is for CalMac to provide detail on this matter."
CalMac in response, said Mr Drummond's employment contract did not formally end until July 12, 2024, when a settlement agreement was finalised, despite him being removed from his role with immediate effect on April 3 and carrying out no executive duties thereafter.
The ferry operator said that the ending of Mr Drummond’s employment with CalMac "was negotiated between April 3 and July 12 [when a settlement agreement was reached], and the board felt it would be "inappropriate for a person in such a senior position to be present in the workplace while his departure from the business was being concluded".
The Herald on Sunday asked CalMac why it thought it had complied with the severance pay rules, among other clarification questions but did not directly respond at the time of publication.
