Request for details of a compromise agreement for a specific employee (FOI)

​Request

Note personal data has been redacted from this request and response.

The amount paid to [name redacted] as a compromise agreement, regardless of whether this was in the terms of [their] contract or not, following [their] departure from the post, which came after [redacted information]. The terms of the contract that provided for that payoff. Plus an explanation of the reasons behind [their] departure.

Response

A compromise agreement is justified if it permits the resolution of a situation that is undermining a department’s performance at a reasonable cost; they are normally mutually beneficial to both parties, employer and employee, and are accompanied by a confidentiality clause.

Whilst it is important that we are transparent about the use of public money, the duty of transparency must be balanced against the personal rights to privacy of former employees who have signed compromise agreements.

The information you require is exempt under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information Jersey) Law 2011 (the “FOI Law”), which refers to personal information. The information cannot be disclosed because its disclosure to a member of the public would contravene one or more of the data protection principles, which are set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005. As a public authority, the States of Jersey must observe all of the data protection principles when processing personal data. The exemption from the duty to disclose personal data, where to do so would breach a data protection principle, is an absolute exemption, therefore the public interest test in Part 2 of the FOI Law does not apply

Exemption

25    Personal information

(1)    Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.

(2)    Information is absolutely exempt information if:

(a)     it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005; and

(b)     its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.