Settlement Agreements

Summary

The request sought details on Settlement Agreements issued by the Public Services Commission since September 2021, including a breakdown by reason and compensation, plus a blank template. The authority disclosed aggregate statistics and total monetary figures but withheld individual breakdowns and the template due to privacy exemptions and ownership by a third party.

Key Facts

• 49 conciliated settlement agreements were brokered between September 1, 2021, and December 30, 2024.
• Individual breakdowns were withheld to prevent the identification of employees.
• The requested blank template is owned by the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS), not the Cabinet Office.
• The response cites Section 25(2)(b) of the FOIA 2015 regarding absolutely exempt personal information.
• Confidentiality clauses within the agreements support the expectation of privacy for the individuals involved.

Data Disclosed

• 49
• 1 September 2021
• 30 December 2024
• 44
• £2,272,649.47
• 2
• £10,117.87
• 3
• £56,001.49
• 4339579
• 2886099
• 2995785
• 50349391

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25(2)(b) of the FOIA 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Article 5 of the GDPR (Data Protection Principles)
• Article 6 of the GDPR (Conditions for lawful processing)

Original Request

Dear Sir, Please may you provide me with the total number of Settlement Agreements that have been issued by the Public Services Commission between September 2021 and current. Please may this be broken down into a table which categorises the reason for the Settlement Agreement (e.g. disciplinary etc.) and also the monetary compensation figure associated with each respective Settlement Agreement. Lastly, please may you provide me with a blank copy of the Settlement Agreement that is currently on file that would be used as a template to fill in the blanks as per se. Thanks.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Our ref: 4339579 22 January 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 31 December 2024, which states:

"Dear Sir,

Please may you provide me with the total number of Settlement Agreements that have been issued by the Public Services Commission between September 2021 and current.

Please may this be broken down into a table which categorises the reason for the Settlement Agreement (e.g. disciplinary etc.) and also the monetary compensation figure associated with each respective Settlement Agreement.

Lastly, please may you provide me with a blank copy of the Settlement Agreement that is currently on file that would be used as a template to fill in the blanks as per se.

Thanks."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information.

The following information relates to PSC employees only. PSC employees comprise of civil servants, manual & craft workers and DESC staff (excluding Teachers and Lecturers) and are stationed in multiple Departments, Statutory Boards and Offices.

Between 1 September 2021 – 30 December 2024, there have been 49 conciliated settlement agreements brokered. The reasons for payment were MARS, voluntary redundancy, compulsory redundancy and loss of office payments. To supply the information broken down as requested would potentially identify individuals. However, in order to provide advice and assistance we have supplied the total monetary figure for each reason associated with the conciliated settlement agreements.

Reason Frequency Amount Loss of Office 44 £2,272,649.47 MARS 2 £10,117.87 Redundancy 3 £56,001.49

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Public Services Commission is unable to provide some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 (2) (b) of the FOIA 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information). Specifically, section 25 2 (b) (i) and (ii) due to the fact that:

• The Public Services Commission is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data which you are not the data subject; and
• The Public Services Commission is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the GDPR as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Public Services Commission 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.

Having considered whether redaction of the information was a viable alternative, given the size of some Departments and that of the island as a whole, this was considered not to be a viable alternative as it may still be possible that third parties could identify individuals.

This response was also guided by the information provided in FOI response #2886099 and #2995785 as well as following Decision notice 50349391 of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve- taken/decisionnotices/2011/658954/fs_50349391.pdf

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 as set out in section 3 is to make information available while maintaining amongst other things a balance with an individual’s right to privacy. FOIA does not override the right to privacy; on the contrary, the right to privacy has been upheld by courts and Tribunals in the UK. The Commission has also taken into consideration that the conciliated settlement agreements used within Isle of Man Government contain a confidentiality clause which makes clear what third parties the information can be shared with and under what circumstances. Given this, both parties concerned and in particular the individual can reasonably expect that the information contained within the agreement remains confidential.

This template is owned by the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS). Conciliated settlement agreements are brokered by an Industrial Relations Officer, in accordance with the provision of the Equality Act 2017. In most cases, a conciliated settlement agreement will contain a payment for notice pay, any contractual payment such as accrued but untaken holiday pay and, fairly typically, a payment for loss of office for the employee.

You may wish to make a request to the MIRS in order to obtain a blank template used for conciliated settlement agreements.

Please quote the reference number 4339579 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.