5 workers per supervisor on average

The government’s revealed it has, on average, just over five workers for each manager.

Onchan MHK Peter Karran asked a question for written reply during this month’s Tynwald sitting about the numbers of staff and managers in each department, office and statutory board.

Policy and Reform Minister John Shimmin gave the figures – which vary widely across the whole of government.

In his reply, Mr Shimmin gives details of the staffing levels at 20 different arms of the Manx government, from the Post Office to the Department of Economic Development.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, which employs just four people, has the lowest ratio – with one manager for each worker, while the Office of Fair Trading has around six supervisors for just eight staff.

In contrast, each manager at the Department of Infrastructure has roughly 13 workers under them, while the Department of Economic Development has one manager for every two members of staff.

And the recently-created Cabinet Office is among the most-managed government departments, with 98 managers overseeing its 229 workers.