Employees statistics since 2023

​Request ​808089294​

Since 2023, during the time Dr Andrew McLaughlin has been leading the public service, 

1.  What was the number of people employed directly by GoJ in September 2023, and what was this figure split across the various departments? 

2.  Since September 2023 how many recruitments have taken place to date. 

3.  Since September 2023, what number of those roles were new and not replacing an existing employee who was leaving the organisation, or filling a vacant role? 

4.  Of the recruitments taken place since September 2023, what is the figure split out across the various departments? 

5.  How many of these recruitments made since September 2023, were deemed essential roles? ​

Response

For all responses below, the figures exclude any employees solely on a zero-hour contract, variable hour contracts, any workers not on our payroll (such as agency or contingent workers), any interns, as well as any non-states workers. The data has been mapped against the 2026 department hierarchy. Where an employee has more than one role, they are counted once, for their main role. The main role is defined as the one with the most hours per week.

1)     The below table shows the actual headcount for each Government Department as at 01 September 2023. 

​Further information about employee headcount, staffing numbers and changes can be found in our Annual Report and Accounts, therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

Relevant links are provided below: 

2023: States of Jersey Group 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.pdf pages 154 – 173.

2024: States of Jersey Group 2024 Annual Report and Accounts.pdf pages 121 – 140. 

The 2025 report is due to be published in late April 2026. 

2) The below table shows the number of new starters for each department and year, since 01 September 2023 (which includes the new starters that joined on the 01 September 2023) up until and including 13 March 2026. A new starter is defined as someone who joins government employment on a permanent or fixed-term contract. It does not include internal transfers and internal recruitment. The table splits the figures down into Pay Groups, to better indicate the types of roles of the new starters. Please note that the Civil Servant pay group does include roles such as Psychologists, Psychotherapists and other mental health professions, as well as Biomedical Scientists and some other healthcare science professions. The Civil Servant pay group also includes administrative and clerical staff who support education, medical personnel and clinical teams - for example, Medical Secretaries and Ward Clerks – it also includes engineering roles.

​3) The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) does not hold the requested information; therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law applies.

4) Please refer to the response and table in question 2 above. The table provided in question 2 has the data broken down by department. 

5) The figures provided in the table in question 2 represent the number of new starters in each department and year from 1 September 2023 to 13 March 2026. Prior to July 2025, we had no way of reporting on recruitment requests, which are reported through WEAR (Workforce Expenditure Approval Request) forms and where 'essential' status is recorded and so data prior to this date is not held, therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law applies. Data from July 2025 onwards for WEAR forms is reportable, however we currently have no way of automatically linking it to our new starters. It would require manually mapping WEAR forms to our Headcount data to establish which New Starters (by role) were Essential. This request would exceed the 12.5 hours allowed for Freedom of Information responses under Regulation 2(1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

However, to assist where possible, we have included a breakdown of the pay group each new starter joined in. This may provide an indication of whether the role was considered essential, as the following pay groups would fall within that category: 

• ​Allied Health Professionals
• Ambulance
• Doctors and Consultants
• Education Support Staff
• Fire & Rescue
• Nurses and Midwives
• Police
• Prison
• Residential Childcare Officers, Youth Service
• Social Workers
• Teachers and Lecturers (incl Heads and Deputies)

It should also be noted that essential roles may exist in other pay groups. For example, the Civil Servant pay group does include roles such as Psychologists, Psychotherapists and other mental health professions, as well as Biomedical Scientists and some other healthcare science professions. The civil servant pay group also contains administrative, clerical and support roles that are critical to clinical services for example, Medical Secretaries and Ward Clerks who provide essential support to medical staff and clinical teams. 

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.

(2)  Despite paragraph (1), a scheduled public authority may still supply the information requested on payment to it of a fee determined by the authority in the manner prescribed by Regulations for the purposes of this Article.

(3)  Regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the Regulations prescribe, if two or more requests for information are made to a scheduled public authority –

(a)  by one person; or 

(b)  by different persons who appear to the scheduled public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign, the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them. 

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.​​