Request
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I would like to make the following request, under the Freedom of Information Act:
Could you please provide a list of all disciplinary actions made against NHS employees since 1 January 2009. This should include:
(a) date of each disciplinary action,
(b) job title/ category of the employee (if this is classified as personal data that cannot be released, could you please, provide some basic categorisation of their job to give an indication of their work - e.g. medic/ managerial/ cleaner/ etc.
(c) the reason for the disciplinary action - as much detail as possible.
Our Response
I refer to your email requesting information in respect of staff disciplinary action.
I can confirm in accordance with S.1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) that we do hold the information that you have requested.
However, we are of the opinion that the exemption provided under section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to the information that you have requested. This exemption relates to personal data about another individual whose disclosure would breach the data protection principles in the Data Protection Act 1998.
One of the main differences between the FOIA and the DPA is that any information released under the FOIA is released into the public domain, not just the individual requesting the information and disclosure under the Act must be made with that in mind. As such, any release that identifies an individual through releasing their personal data, even third party personal data, is exempt.
All persons whose personal data is processed by NHS East Midlands, regardless of whether they be staff or members of the public, have an intrinsic right to privacy and these rights are protected by virtue of the DPA. Release of the information subject to the exemption is likely to compromise those rights.
The Section 40 exemption is an absolute exemption. This means that it is not necessary to carry out a public interest test. It is our view that Section 40 (2) is engaged because the persons concerned are likely to be identified by the disclosure of the information in its entirety.
The information that you require also refers to very a small number of staff and our decision to withhold it is in line with the current guidance available to us on the use of small number data from which a person could be identified. The purpose of section 40 of the Act is to protect personally identifiable information and the privacy of living persons.
We are of the opinion that disclosing this information to you would be a breach of Principle One of the DPA. Members of staff can expect NHS East Midlands to secure their personal information and only process their personal information in line with the principles contained within the DPA.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your request you can ask us to review our decision by writing to:-
Mr Moosa Patel
Director of Corporate Affairs
NHS East Midlands
Octavia House
Interchange Business Park
Bostock's Lane
Sandiacre
Nottingham
NG10 5QG
If at the conclusion of any review you remain dissatisfied you may complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:-
The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
