Value of payments to staff 2018-2025

​​Request 805525875

Provide the information held of value and number of payments to staff, that are above their contractual rights, that involve them leaving the organisation. Break down into department and cover 2008 to 2025, showing which were subject to compromise agreements and which were not.

Response

Since 2014 all exit packages and the annual amounts paid by the Government of Jersey in severance payments to employees, which would include Compromise Agreements, have been disclosed in the States of Jersey Annual Reports and Accounts. Data prior to 2014 is not held, therefore article 3 has been applied.

Details for 2025 will be published in the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts, which is due to be published in April 2026, therefore Article 36 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

The link to the Annual Report and Accounts for 2024 is below, and the relevant information is detailed on page 132: 

States of Jersey Group 2024 Annual Report and Accounts.pdf​

The link to the Annual Report and Accounts for 2023 is below, and the relevant information is detailed on page 166: 

States of Jersey Group 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.pdf (gov.je)

In addition, information for 2014 to 2022 is publicly available in a response to a previous Freedom of Information request, which can be accessed via the link below. Government of Jersey Compromise Agreements (FOI) .​ Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied.

It is not possible to break the figures down by department and year. Based on our assessment, completing this work would exceed the 12.5‑hour time limit set out in the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. As a result, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

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 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.

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.

Article 36 - Information intended for future publication

1) Information is qualified exempt information if, at the time when the request for the information is made, the information is being held by a public authority with a view to its being published within 12 weeks of the date of the request.

2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant –

a) of the date when the information will be published;

b) of the manner in which it will be published; and

c) by whom it will be published.

3) In this Article, “published” means published –

a) by a public authority; or

b) by any other person.

Public Interest Test

Article 36 is a qualified exemption, which means that a public interest test has to be undertaken to examine the circumstances of the case and decide whether, on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure

• disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public.

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information

• It is intended to publish the Annual Report and Accounts on www.gov.je within 12 weeks of the receipt of this request. Publishing the draft document in such close proximity to the final version could potentially lead to confusion. It is reasonable for government to publish reports in an orderly manner, following completion of appropriate internal processes, and publishing in advance, and in such close proximity to the expected publication date, would potentially undermine the orderly publication and conduct of government work (when the public benefit of earlier publication under the Law would derive limited benefit).