Government of Jersey

Information on States of Jersey employee roles

Produced by the Freedom of Information office
Authored by People Services and published on 26 February 2026.
Prepared internally, no external costs.

Request 800991449

1.Copies of any documents, records, or policies that state whether the following roles are classified

as:

a) civil service / States of Jersey employee roles, or b) uniformed officer roles:

• Prison Governor

• Deputy Prison Governor

• Former Prison Service “Chief Officer” role (if applicable)

Clarity requested:

What is meant by classified?

The Prison Service “Chief Officer” role, has not to our knowledge been in role for many years and would outdate data held, please can you offer any clarity?

Clarity response:

By “classified”, I mean how the relevant role is formally designated within States of Jersey / Jersey Prison Service records, including (but not limited to):

whether the role is treated as a civil service / States of Jersey employee role or as a uniformed officer role;

the employment status of the role (for example civil servant, office holder, or otherwise); and any formal designation within HR frameworks, grading structures, contracts, job descriptions, organisational charts, policies, or Prison Service Orders.

I am seeking copies of documents that record or evidence this designation, rather than narrative explanation.

Former Prison Service Chief Officer role

I understand that the former Prison Service “Chief Officer” role may not have existed for many years. My request is limited to any information or documents that are currently held, regardless of age.

2. Copies of any documents that distinguish the Prison Governor, Deputy Prison Governor,

former Chief Officer roles from “prison officers” for the purposes of:

• discipline, or

• employment status.

Clarity requested

As this role is still not part of data held as in place to the best of our knowledge many years ago.

For Information Held, are you looking for policies or terms held that show this for the other roles?

Clarity received

I am seeking any documents held that distinguish the Prison Governor or Deputy Prison Governor

from prison officers for the purposes of, discipline, or employment status

Response

1. For the purposes of pension, both the Prison Governor and Deputy Prison Governor are classified as Uniformed members. This information is held within the Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Membership and Benefits) (Jersey) Regulations 2015 (Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Membership and Benefits) (Jersey) Regulations 2015).

For the purposes of employment status, the role of Prison Governor is classified as a Personal Contract Holder. The role of Deputy Prison Governor is classified as Uniformed. Both roles are employees of the States Employment Board. Information surrounding their employment status is held within their individual contract of employment This would constitute the release of personal information, which is absolutely exempt under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

2. Both the Prison Governor and Deputy Prison Governor are subject to the Disciplinary Policy for Public Servants (Disciplinary policy for public servants).

For the purposes of employment status, the role of Prison Governor is classified as a Personal Contract Holder. The role of Deputy Prison Governor is classified as Uniformed. Both roles are employees of the States Employment Board. Information surrounding their employment status is held within their individual contract of employment. This would constitute the release of personal information, which is absolutely exempt under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Article applied

Article 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 2018.

(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 2018; and

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

Internal Review Request

I write to request an internal review of the response provided to my Freedom of Information request concerning the classification of the Prison Governor, Deputy Prison Governor, and former Chief Officer roles.

I am grateful for the information provided; however, I believe the response is incomplete and that certain aspects of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 have not been fully complied with.

1. Scope of Recorded Information Held My request sought copies of any documents, records, or policies that record or evidence how the relevant roles are formally designated, including within HR frameworks, grading structures, contracts, job descriptions, organisational charts, policies, or Prison Service Orders.

The response refers to pension regulations, disciplinary policy, and individual contracts of employment. However, it does not confirm whether any additional recorded information is held within scope (for example job descriptions, grading frameworks, organisational charts, or Prison Service Orders), nor does it state that no further information is held.

I respectfully request confirmation as to whether any further recorded information within the scope of my request is held, and if so, that it be disclosed or properly exempted.

2. Former Chief Officer Role My request expressly included any information currently held relating to the former Prison Service “Chief Officer” role, regardless of age. The response does not confirm whether any information relating to that role is held or not held.

Please confirm whether any recorded information relating to the former Chief Officer role is held within scope. If none is held, please confirm this explicitly.

3. Application of Article 25 (Personal Information) The response states that employment status information is contained within individual contracts of employment and that disclosure would constitute personal information exempt under Article 25.

However, my request concerns the classification and employment status of the roles themselves, not personal data such as names, addresses, signatures, or other identifying details. I did not request personal identifiers.

Please clarify:

• Why redaction of personal identifiers would not allow partial disclosure;

• Which data protection principle would be contravened by disclosure of role classification information; and

• Whether consideration was given to providing redacted copies in accordance with the duty to provide partial disclosure where possible.

4. Distinction from Prison Officers In relation to documents distinguishing the Governor and Deputy Governor from prison officers for discipline or employment status purposes, the response does not confirm whether any documents beyond those cited are held.

Please confirm whether any further recorded information within scope is held.

I would be grateful if this internal review could reconsider the completeness of the searches undertaken and the application of Article 25, and provide a fresh response confirming all information held within scope, together with reasons for any exemptions relied upon.

Internal Review Response

This internal review has been conducted by an official of appropriate seniority who has not been involved in the original decision. As part of their review, they will be expected to understand the reasons behind the original response, impartially determine whether the response should be revised, and how so, considering the request and the information held, any relevant exemptions, or other relevant matters under the Law.

The Internal Review Panel was asked to review the original response and confirm the following: Does the FOI request relate to a body to which the Law applies, or information held by a body covered by the Law?

If the answer is no, all the other questions are not applicable. Further questions if above is a yes:

i. Was the right information searched for and reviewed?

ii. Was the information supplied appropriately?

iii. Was information appropriately withheld in accordance with the articles applied and were the public interest test/ prejudice test properly applied?

Following discussion, it was agreed by the Panel that the decision was overturned, and the following was agreed.

Response

1. We have taken each role and provided detail around data held and links to relevant laws / policies for each role in turn and confirmed the relevant articles applied.

Prison Governor

For the purposes of pension, the Prison Governor is classified as a Uniformed member. This information is held within the Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Membership and Benefits) (Jersey) Regulations 2015. This can be found here. Article 23 has been applied as this information can be found elsewhere.

For the purposes of employment status, the role of Prison Governor is classified as a Personal Contract Holder. This role is an employee of the States Employment Board at Tier 2 executive role.

The Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law confirms who is an employee of the States. This information is publicly available and can be found here. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

We have also provided:

• Copy of the Prison Governors job description and this also has an organisation chart within it.

• Copy of the template contract of employment for the level of Prison Governor. The Prison Governor is classed as an executive tier 2 role.

• Government of Jersey HR Frameworks which are known as HR policies are all applicable to the Prison Governor and are publicly available here. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

• The Jersey Gender Pay Gap 2024 shows the grading structure for this role and is publicly available here. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

• Copy of the recruitment pack held for the Prison Governor Recruitment.

There are no published pay scales for this role and therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Deputy Prison Governor

For the purposes of pension, the Deputy Prison Governor is classified as Uniformed member. This information is held within the Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Membership and Benefits) (Jersey) Regulations 2015 (Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Membership and Benefits) (Jersey) Regulations 2015). Article 23 has been applied as this information can be found elsewhere.

For the purpose of employment status, the role of Deputy Prison Governor is classified as a Uniformed role and is an employee of the States Employment Board.

We have also provided:

• Copy of the Deputy Prison Governor job description and this also has an organisation chart within it.

• Copy of the template contract of employment for the level of Deputy Prison Governor. The Deputy Prison Governor is classed as a tier 3 role.

• Government of Jersey HR Frameworks which are known as HR policies are all applicable to the Deputy Prison Governor and are publicly available here. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied

• The Jersey Gender Pay Gap 2024 shows the grading structure for this role and is publicly available here. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

There are no published pay scales for this role and therefore Ariticle 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Prison Service Chief Officer

We do not hold any data which identifies that there was a Prison Service Chief Officer. Therefore Ariticle 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Prison Service Orders

People Services do not hold any data on Prison Service Orders. Ariticle 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

2. Discipline

Both the Prison Governor and Deputy Prison Governor are subject to the disciplinary policy for Public Servants which is also applicable to Prison Officers. This can be found here Therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Employment Status

We have provided information showing the employment status of both the Prison Governor and Deputy Prison Governor in response to 1.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a) it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b) it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

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