Disciplinary

Summary

The request sought a detailed breakdown of civil servant disciplinary cases since 2017 by department, complaint nature, and outcome. The Cabinet Office provided aggregate statistics but withheld specific details that could identify individual employees under data protection exemptions.

Key Facts

• A total of 47 disciplinary cases involving civil servants were recorded since January 1, 2017.
• The Department of Infrastructure had the highest number of cases with 12, followed by Home Affairs and Health and Social Care with 10 each.
• The most common outcome was 'Ongoing' with 11 cases, followed by 'Resigned' with 8 cases.
• Specific breakdowns by department and complaint type were withheld to prevent the identification of individual employees.
• The response cites Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 and GDPR principles as the basis for exemption.

Data Disclosed

• 47
• 3
• 10
• 12
• 5
• 4
• 11
• 8
• 7
• 6
• 5
• 4
• 3
• 1
• 2017-01-01
• 2021-05-17
• 2021-06-03
• 1794441

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (data protection principles)
• Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation (conditions for lawful processing)

Original Request

Since January 1 2017, how many civil servants have faced disciplinary action. Please can we have this broken down by department, the nature of the complaint which led to the disciplinary action and a breakdown of the outcomes of this disciplinary action.

Data Tables (4)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 1794441 3 June 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 17 May 2021 and which states:

"Since January 1 2017, how many civil servants have faced disciplinary action. Please can we have this broken down by department, the nature of the complaint which led to the disciplinary action and a breakdown of the outcomes of this disciplinary action."

Our response to your request is as follows: Breakdown of Civil Service Disciplinary Cases per Office of Human Resources Records Department Count of Disciplinary Cases involving complaints against Civil Servants Cabinet Office 3 Department of Environment Food and Agriculture 3 Department of Home Affairs 10 Department of Health and Social Care 10 Department of Infrastructure 12 Treasury 5 Other Departments, Offices and Statutory Boards 4 Total 47 Nature of Complaint Count Breach of regulations/procedures/standards 4 Conduct/Gross Misconduct 5 Criminal investigation 3 Disciplinary 13 Dishonesty 5 Misuse of IT/Data breach 6 Other 8 Safeguarding 3

Total 47 Outcome Count Complaint not supported by evidence 7 Dismissal 5 Final Written Warning 3 Written Warning 4 Oral Warning 5 Resigned 8 Other 4 Ongoing 11 Total 47 Please note it is not possible to supply this information in the format requested as it would enable the identification of individual cases and information which is confidential to that employee. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information that you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Cabinet Office can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. Please quote the reference number 1794441 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