Non-resident public sector employees (FOI)

Request

Please could you provide the number of permanent, temporary or contractual States of Jersey employees who are not resident in the island but who travel to Jersey regularly (at least monthly) to fulfil their roles. Could you please also provide the total cost of travel, accommodation and salary for these employees, preferably disaggregated by States department (for example Health, Education). Finally, could you provide where these employees are resident (for example UK or France).

Response

We do not hold the information in a central database of employees who are not resident in the island. It is the decision of the employee to arrange at their cost, their own domestic arrangements, and while it is important that we are transparent about the use of public money the duty of transparency must be balanced against the personal right to privacy of employees. In this instance Article 25 of the Freedom of Information Law has been applied.

The Taxes Office may hold the information but are are prohibited from disclosing information by virtue of Part 3 and Schedule 1 to the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 whereby the Comptroller (and Deputy) and Officers of that department take an Oath of Office before the Royal Court which provides, inter alia, that: 

“you will not disclose any information which may come to your knowledge in the performance of your duties, except to such persons only as shall act in execution of the said laws and where it shall be necessary to disclose the same to them for the purposes of the said laws, or in so far as you may be required to disclose the same for the purposes or in the course of a prosecution for an offence against the said laws.” 

Therefore, the information requested is absolutely exempt information under Article 29 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, because the disclosure of the information by the Scheduled Public Authority holding it is prohibited by or under an enactment. 

Exemptions applied 

Article 29 - Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 - Other prohibitions or restrictions 

Information is absolutely exempt information if the disclosure of the information by the scheduled public authority holding it – 

(a) is prohibited by or under an enactment; (b) is incompatible with a European Union or an international obligation that applies to Jersey; or (c) would constitute or be punishable as a contempt of court.