Costs relating to the dismissal of Mr Alwitry (FOI)Costs relating to the dismissal of Mr Alwitry (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Government of Jersey and published on
07 July 2020.Prepared internally, no external costs.
Request
My question refers to the case of unfair dismissal against Mr Alwitry, the eye surgeon.
A
Could you please tell me how much in total has been spent to date fighting this case?
B
Could you please provide a breakdown of legal fees (by year) and man hour costs of States of Jersey staff in any capacity?
C
Could you please list and itemise all additional expenses?
D
Could you please tell me who has signed off on these expenses?
Response
Mr Alwitry brought a claim of breach of contract against the States Employment Board (SEB).
A
The information you have requested is already in the public domain and therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. The information was provided by the SEB in a tabled answer to a written question in the States Assembly on 16 June 2020. The position has not changed since then.
Written Question - WQ.230/2020
B
To break down the external legal fees (by year) would exceed the cost limit set down by Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. States of Jersey officers do not record their time and therefore this information is not held.
C
Please see the following table which lists and itemises any additional expenses incurred:
Expense | Date | Amount |
| Medical expert witness for Royal Court trial | September 2018 | £1,809 |
| Witness costs and expenses for Royal Court trial | September 2018 | £3,380 |
| Independent mediation (including mediator fees and venue hire) | July 2019 | £1,323 |
| Court of Appeal fees for Court of Appeal hearing | July 2019 | £5,540 |
D
Either the SEB and / or officers at Director level or above within Health and Community Services or People Services can authorise these expenses.
Articles applied
Article 16 A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive
(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information
may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.
Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 allows an authority to refuse a request for information where the estimated cost of dealing with the request would exceed the specified amount of the cost limit of £500. This is the estimated cost of one person spending 12.5 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
Article 23 Information accessible to applicant by other means
(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.
(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.
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