DETAILS of bonuses paid to a member of council staff cannot be revealed because the information may invade their privacy, the authority has claimed.
Freedom of Information campaigner Jeremy Ginnerly asked for details on any bonus payouts made by Waltham Forest Council, but it refused to disclose the figures.
According to a correspondence published on the www.whatdotheyknow.com website, the authority claimed such information would breach the Data Protection Act.
Tessa Mapley, of the council's HR department, said that the request for bonus payments listed by employment grade levels might lead to the identification of a member of staff.
She wrote: "While I clearly recognise a strong public interest in favour of openness and transparency by the council, this does not override other considerations...in particular the expectation of privacy by the data subjects and the need to avoid causing damage or distress to individuals in making the disclosure."
...Mr Ginnerly appealed the council's decision not to disclose further details.
He did not require the person's job title, and would be satisfied with information on their level within the council and salary grade.
He said: "As employees funded by the public purse it cannot be fairly stated that there is no expectation of public disclosure."
In the comments Mr Omneo says:
...What I find interesting from the wording is the way it seems that a bonus payment is an automatic and annual entitlement.
Back in ye olden dayes when I worked in companies that 'occasionally' paid bonuses to staff, it was for work done that was considered over and above the call of duty, not something on which you could rely upon.
I wonder what contract of employment Cllr Robbins is on?
Via @TimMinogue.
0 comments:
Post a Comment