Billing error

9901 overtime hours paid out at Vienna General Hospital

(Bild: Holl Reinhard)

An employee at Vienna General Hospital received an unusual windfall. In spring, the employee was astonished when she was suddenly paid around 150,000 euros for her overtime. However, this was a gross error on the part of the personnel administration.

A total of 9901 hours of overtime were paid out. However, the woman had only registered 1.41 hours of overtime. According to the City Court of Audit, a data entry error in the personnel administration led to the incorrect booking. As a result, the joy did not last long and the transferred amount was refunded.

Key figure as hourly value
The reason for the error was apparently a mix-up. The code number for overtime in the case in question was 9901. Instead of the correctly entered 1.41 hours, the code number was charged as an hourly value. The City Court of Audit recommended that the Healthcare Association and Municipal Department 2 (Personnel Services) improve their internal control mechanisms.

The application of the dual control principle was recommended, as well as automated warnings in the system and payment limits in order to avoid unjustified transfers of this magnitude.