NBN can’t deny the facts about its average staff costs – so resorts to misstating its own 2009/10 end of year headcount

‘NBN Co last night sought to respond to analysis of its average staff costs by misstating its own headcount numbers at the end of the 2009/10 financial year,’ said Paul Fletcher, Member for Bradfield.

‘Yesterday, I released data showing that NBN Co’s average staff costs per employee, at approximately $224,000, were more than double those of Telstra and Westpac and comparable to those of Macquarie Bank (approximately $254,000.)

‘These calculations used the standard methodology of calculating an average headcount for the year based on start of year headcount and end of year headcount.

‘The same methodology was used in calculating the comparable figures for Macquarie Bank, Telstra and Westpac.

‘IT Wire quotes a spokesman for NBN Co as saying last night that I had divided the 2010/11 staff costs by the 2009/10 headcount of 531, and the appropriate calculation would be to divide it by the closing headcount for 2010/11 of 855.

‘The spokesman is wrong on three counts.

‘First, he is wrong about NBN Co’s 2009/10 headcount.  It had 207 employees at the end of 2009/10 – not 531 – as its Annual Report states on page 16.

‘Secondly, he is wrong about which figure was used to divide staff costs by – it was average head count for 2010/11, not closing headcount for 2009/10.

‘Thirdly, he is wrong about the correct methodology to use for calculating average staff costs.

‘To use end of year headcount as he proposes is incorrect, because this includes people who may have only joined the organisation a month or two before the end of the financial year, and hence a full year’s worth of salary and on-costs (including such costs as superannuation and training referred to by NBN Co’s spokesman last night) is not included in the employment costs figure of approximately $119 million.’