Request for information regarding Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

Summary

A Freedom of Information request was made to the Isle of Man Treasury regarding Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) policies, employee counts, and financial implications. The authority disclosed full information, including staff numbers, the absence of a specific union-negotiated TOIL policy, and the financial value of outstanding TOIL hours.

Key Facts

• The Treasury employs 291 full-time and 48 part-time officers.
• There is no specific TOIL policy negotiated directly with the Prospect union.
• Only two officers currently hold a TOIL balance totaling 24 hours.
• The average time taken to use accrued TOIL hours is 49 days based on recent data.
• The net saving to the Department from these two employees accruing TOIL instead of overtime is £425.09.

Data Disclosed

• 291
• 48
• 2
• 24 hours
• 49 days
• £631.01
• £1056.10
• £425.09
• 2020-09-16
• 2020-10-07
• 1st April 2016

Original Request

I am writing to you with regards to a Freedom of Information Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015. I am specifically requesting ; 1) How many full time employees are employed by the department? 2} How many part time employees are employed by the department? 3) Does the department have a negotiated and agreed policy relating to TOIL? 4) How many employees have a TOIL balance? 5) How are these hours approved and recorded? 6) What is the average length of time between TOIL hours being accrued and those hours being taken back? 7) What is the total amount of TOIL hours owed to all employees in the department? 8) What is the financial equivalent cost of the TOIL hours owed at a) flat rate and b) at the equivalent overtime rates? 9) What is the net saving to the Department by employees accruing TOIL as opposed to working and being paid overtime?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Seyrsnys Fysseree

The Treasury Government Office, Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 3PU

Telephone: (01624) 685605 Email: FOI.Treasury@gov.im

Government Website: www.gov.im

Our ref: 1474805 7 October 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 16 September 2020, which states:

"I am writing to you with regards to a Freedom of Information Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015. I am specifically requesting; 1) How many full time employees are employed by the department? 2} How many part time employees are employed by the department? 3) Does the department have a negotiated and agreed policy relating to TOIL? 4) How many employees have a TOIL balance? 5) How are these hours approved and recorded? 6) What is the average length of time between TOIL hours being accrued and those hours being taken back? 7) What is the total amount of TOIL hours owed to all employees in the department? 8) What is the financial equivalent cost of the TOIL hours owed at a) flat rate and b) at the equivalent overtime rates? 9) What is the net saving to the Department by employees accruing TOIL as opposed to working and being paid overtime?" In respect of your questions, I can advise you that each of the Divisions within Treasury have been contacted and their answers have been collated into a single response.

Answers: 1) How many full time employees are employed by the department? There are 291 full time officers employed by Treasury. 2) How many part time employees are employed by the department? There are 48 part time officers employed by Treasury. 3) Does the department have a negotiated and agreed policy relating to TOIL? (Clarification: point 3 relates specifically to a policy negotiated with the Union and agreed through normal bargaining processes and bodies such as JNC’S) Treasury has not negotiated a policy on time off in lieu (“TOIL”) directly with Prospect. I can however advise you that the use of TOIL is permitted within the Department in accordance with the terms and conditions of employment that apply to civil servants as follows - For those officers who were employed (and remain employed) prior to the 1st of April 2016 the following terms apply – C29 –Alternative to payment by the hour (time off in lieu):- https://hr.gov.im/terms-conditions-for-employees/civil-service/section-c-pay- overtime-and-pensions/overtime/
For those officers who were employed from 1st of April 2016 the following terms apply – 3.8 Time off in lieu:- https://hr.gov.im/terms-conditions-for-employees/new-terms-ntnsp/section-3- pay/time-off-in-lieu/) 4) How many employees have a TOIL balance? Two officers within Treasury currently have a TOIL balance. 5) How are these hours approved and recorded? TOIL hours are approved either by a Senior Officer or by an officer’s line manager. Hours are recorded either on the ‘Etarmis’ time attendance system; the OHR operated ‘People Information Programme’ (“PiP”) or on a mixture of both systems. Where those systems have previously been unavailable, hours have been recorded within a leave database. 6) What is the average length of time between TOIL hours being accrued and those hours being taken back?

In the last 12 months (September 2019 to September 2020), TOIL has been granted on five occasions within the Treasury.
A breakdown of the length of time between the TOIL hours being accrued and being taken back is given in the follow table – Occurrence of TOIL Number of Days Between TOIL Accrued and TOIL hours being taken 1 11 days 2 2 days 3 135 days 4 Not yet taken 5 Not yet taken In respect of the three cases where the TOIL hours have been taken back, the average length of time between the hours accruing and being taken, was 49 days. 7) What is the total amount of TOIL hours owed to all employees in the department? The current amount of TOIL hours owed to the two officers referred to in part 4 of this question as is 24 hours. 8) What is the financial equivalent cost of the TOIL hours owed at a) flat rate and b) at the equivalent overtime rates? In respect of the 24 hours owed to the two officers referred to in part 4 of this question, the financial equivalent cost of the TOIL hours owed are: • At flat rate - £631.01 • At equivalent overtime rate - £1056.10 9) What is the net saving to the Department by employees accruing TOIL as opposed to working and being paid overtime? The specific savings identified for the two employees who currently have a TOIL balance are £425.09.

Please quote the reference number 1474805 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will

be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely