Dear Sir/Madam

I would like to know how many employees of the city council have
been absent from work due to either stress, anxiety, depression or
any combination of those ailments between 1st August 2004 and 31st
October 2008.

Please also confirm how many complaints of bullying have been made
by employees of the council against managers or colleagues during
the same period.

Please confirm how many employees have claimed constructive
dismissal within the same period for bullying/harassment.

Please confirm how many claims have been filed against the city
council at the Employment Tribunal within the same period for
bullying/harassment.

I would ask that you remember the statutory duty imposed upon
public authorities by virtue of Section 16 of the Freedom of
Information Act to provide advice and assistance to requesters. If
for any reason you are leaning toward rejecting any part of this
request or if you plan to argue that it is unmanageable or
unanswerable in any way then I would expect you to contact me
promptly to find ways to answer this request to our mutual
satisfaction.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

Dear Sir or Madam

I would also clarify when I mentioned constructive dismissal, I was
referring to the employee directly, similar point about bullying
and harassment complaints, there is no Employment Tribunal claim
called "bullying and harassment". This will usually form part of a
claim for unfair dismissal or one (or more) of the various
discrimination claim and/or under the Protection from Harassment
Act. Could you provide the information on the aforementioned.

Could you provide the information in electronic format via this
website.

Thank you for your full co-operation

Yours Sincerely

Vicky Gray

Dear Ms Gray,

Thank your for your recent request.

The total of staff sickness is as follows:

Stress, Anxiety and Depression-- 01.08 2004 -31.10.2008:

Total - 858

There are no records of any cases going to tribunal for bullying or harassment.

If you have any further queries regarding this request please contact me.

Yours sincerely,

F Weeks

Fred Weeks
Customer Support Services Manager
Directorate of City Strategy
01904 551622

show quoted sections

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of City of York
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bullying and Harassment'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bu...

York City Council has not answered my question of how many
complaints of bullying have been made by employees of the council
against managers or colleagues during the period of 1st August 2004
and 31st October 2008.

I pointed out to the council there is no constructive dismissal, I
was referring to the employee directly, similar point about
bullying and harassment complaints, there is no Employment Tribunal
claim called "bullying and harassment". This will usually form part
of a claim for unfair dismissal or one (or more) of the various
discrimination claim and/or under the Protection from Harassment
Act. The council answered this question referring to bullying which
would not provide the correct information.

On the basis of the foregoing, I would ask that a review be carried
out and that I be advised of the outcome of that review within the
timescales deemed appropriate in the Information Commissioner’s
recent guidance.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

Dear Ms Gray,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We have looked at your request again and the amount of work involved is prohibitive. Therefore it is exempt under section 12 of the Act.

The reason that the work involved is so extensive is that we do not keep the figures in the format you have asked for; and we would have to deploy staff to look through several hundred individual files.

I am sorry that I cannot take this any further, but if you do have any further enquires please let me know.

Yours sincerely,

F Weeks

Fred Weeks
Customer Support Services Manager
Directorate of City Strategy
01904 551622

show quoted sections

Dear Sir or Madam

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of City of York
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bullying and Harassment'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bu...

The statement about a central database is not the point at issue.
They do have the information and claim it would be too expensive. I
would ask for a breakdown of how the cost has been calculated. I
would also point out: I am mindful that the council have cited
the ‘costs’ exemption, yet section 16 of the FOIA imposes upon you
a duty to provide advice and assistance. Yet the council have not
done so.
The council have done nothing to assist me in seeking to find a way
that would help me obtain the information I am requesting.

The suggestion that to search through the files over four years is
slightly confusing as one would imagine each file would have a
section dealing with Bullying/Grievances/Harassment. If the files
are manual files held in what the Data Protection Act refers to as
a "Manual relevant structured filing system," one would expect it
would take at most a minute to extract a file from a cabinet, open
it, turn up the sickness tab and glance at the sheet and scribble a
note if the file refers to Bullying/Grievances/Harassment and put
it back again. The "relevant cost limit" from Section 12 is £450 or
two and a half days work. By those figures, one would expect you to
be able to review 1000 files in that time. If you ran a query on
your database, you could identify all employees who had submitted
Grievances/Bullying/ Harassment in the period I have requested and
then look at these files.

One would assume that a council would have a welfare officer, who
would be advised of all staff who had said they were being bullied,
it would be part of their duty of care under both the Health &
Safety At Work Act 1974 and also under most contracts of
employment. So details would have to be passed to that person or an
appointed person in HR.

I pointed out to the council there is no constructive dismissal, I
was referring to the employee directly, similar point about
bullying and harassment complaints, there is no Employment Tribunal
claim called "bullying and harassment". This will usually form part
of a claim for unfair dismissal or one (or more) of the various
discrimination claim and/or under the Protection from Harassment
Act. The council answered this question referring to bullying which
would not provide the correct information.

On the basis of the foregoing, I would ask that a review be carried
out and that I be advised of the outcome of that review within the
timescales deemed appropriate in the Information Commissioner’s
recent guidance.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

dear Ms Gray

My colleagues and I have carried out a review of your request.

Your first question was regarding the amount of staff sickness for stress, anxiety and depression between August 2004 and October 2008. This was answered in full.

Your next question was, in the same period, the number of cases that went to tribunal. Whilst there is no tribunal finding called bullying and harassment, we looked for cases that might have resulted from bullying and harassment and the answer was none.

Your remaining question relates to incidents of bullying and harassment recorded internally and you were advised that to retrieve this information would take more than two and a half days. We have looked at this again. We do have systems, procedures, and methods to help individual members of staff who complain that they are being bullied, but the information is recorded on individual files. We do not have an electronic database in which this information is stored or could be researched. There is no automatic mechanism to filter employee records for likely examples.

Your estimate of one minute to check each file after retrieval is a reasonable minimum (although some files are not separated into sections as you suggest). We have 7,500 employees and 2,000 casual staff at any one time. So these would take 158 hours to check. There would be an additional cost for retrieving from storage and checking files of staff who have left in the last 4 years.

You refer to the council's duty to provide advice and assistance. By far the most applicable provision of the "Section 45" Code of Practice is paragraph 14, which describes identifying alternative information that could be provided within the cost limit. It is possible we could choose a subset of files, of 1,000 or fewer, which could be reviewed and the number of bullying cases counted. However without applying specialist statistical knowledge, not readily available internally, the council could not identify a sample which was statistically valid, nor calculate the degree of confidence applicable to it. Further, the information in the files would not necessarily identify relevant cases with words such as "bullying" or "harassment". So whoever inspects the files would need to apply a degree of knowledge and skill, and care. The task would amount to creating information not already held. This work would be outside the obligations of the Act.

Other provisions of the Code relate to making an enquiry, which plainly you are well able to do; clarifying the request, which is already unambiguous and easily understood by us; limits to our duty; and other concerns about fees. Nothing suggests further action, except that described above. Therefore the original decision to refuse this part of your enquiry under Section 12 of FoI, the appropriate limit, is upheld.

I regret we are unable to pursue this question. If, however, if it would assist you we can send you copies of our policies and procedures for bullying and harassment. Please let me know if you would like to them to be sent you, and provide me with a postal address. There will be no charge.

Meanwhile if you are not satisfied with this review you may complain in writing to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

yours sincerely
Robert Beane

Robert Beane
Information Governance Officer, City of York Council
PO Box 31, Library Square, York, YO1 7DU
01904 552933
[City of York Council request email] or [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Beane

As you have suggested you could examine 1000 files within the
appropriate limit, I would ask you to do just that. Start at A and
keep going until you reach the 1000th employee.

I don’t want you to ‘interpret’ inferences which do not directly
relate to bullying and harassment, just provide the results of 1000
searches.

Thank you for your assistance

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

I'm at Northallerton this morning (13th).
please call 01609 533219

show quoted sections

dear Vicky Gray

As your earlier request, for the number of cases of bullying and harassment reported at City of York council, has been refused, and that refusal upheld following review, I shall treat this as a new request. I'll read it in the context of earlier correspondence though to save repeating things.

You wish no interpretation to be applied in the search you have requested, so it appears you are asking for the number of records in which the words "bullying" or "harassment" appear in the range you have specified. Is this correct?

yours sincerely

Robert Beane

Information Governance Officer
City of York council
PO Box 31, Library Square, York, YO1 7DU
[City of York Council request email] or [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Beane

I note that you have stated that this now constitutes a new request
- personally I do not agree. My original request was not subject to
an offer of advice and assistance under S16 and only at internal
Review stage did you offer this. Following your offer of what you
could have done, I accepted the offer of 1000 records and now you
tell me that constitutes a new request.

In answer to your question - Yes, you are correct, that is the data
I am asking for.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

I'm at Northallerton today.
please call 01609 533219

show quoted sections

dear Vicky Gray

My colleagues and I have looked again at your request. You have pointed out the duty to provide advice and assistance, which regrettably I can only offer by repeating my earlier observations. We have not (and could not) identify a statistically valid sample. Instead you ask us to count the incidence of particular words in an arbitrarily chosen set of records. This will not generate meaningful information. It will not help us or you to understand, or estimate, the incidence of bullying and harassment among our staff. My colleagues and I are not prepared to carry out the task you have set because the result would not be a meaningful item of information. It would be a number, not a statistic, and likely to mislead a member of the public who read it.

If you wish to correspond specifically on bullying and harassment you can write to the Head of Human Resources at the address below. The offer to send you copies of our policies and procedures for bullying and harassment stands, if you can provide a postal address.

Formally, I will accept your view that this is not a new enquiry. Therefore, as your request has already been reviewed and the refusal upheld, this correspondence is closed, except to repeat that you may complain in writing to the Information Commissioner.

yours sincerely

Robert Beane

Robert Beane
Information Governance Officer
City of York council
PO Box 31, Library Square, York, YO1 7DU
[City of York Council request email] or [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Sir or Madam

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of City of York
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bullying and Harassment'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bu...

TO STATE THAT I NEED TO SUBMIT A FRESH REQUEST FOR THE INFORMATION
THAT I HAVE PREVIOUS REQUESTED, I FEEL IS INAPPROPRIATE. Therefore
the only conclusion I can draw is that you are purposefully seeking
to conceal the number of cases of bullying within your
organisation.

I do not accept that you have made an adequate case for refusing to
supply me with the information and can only conclude that because
of the clearly appalling record of appropriately dealing with the
bullying that appears to be endemic within the council that you are
seeking to avoid further embarrassment by refusing to supply
detailed figures.

The internal review should be an independent, impartial review
based on the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and
associated case law. It is not an emotive proceeding where personal
views or opinions on the requester are to be given any weight. It
should be fair and objective and should there be any suggestion of
anything to the contrary, be assured the matter will be taken
before the Information Commissioner and if necessary the
Information Tribunal.

I would remind you that by law you have a legal obligation to
respond truthfully and not try to hide the bullying figures...be
honest and open and prove you have nothing to hide.

Thank you for your full co-operation

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

dear Vicky Gray

I'm afraid I can only repeat that the council does not have the information you want, and this correspondence is closed

yours, Robert Beane

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Beane

I have now submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner
via his online inquiry form regarding your poor handling of my
request.

Whilst acknowledging your terse and abrupt virtual slap-in-the-face
response, I feel it is only fair to comment upon several of your
remarks for the benefit of others reading this thread.

You have stated that “We have not (and could not) identify a
statistically valid sample.”

I don’t remember asking you to - nor does the Act require you to,
nor is the fact that you cannot do so a valid exemption so
precisely why you are attempting to do so is somewhat puzzling.

Additionally you state “Instead you ask us to count the incidence
of particular words in an arbitrarily chosen set of records.” I did
indeed - but my asking you to do so might have had something to do
with the fact that in your reply of the 6th February, you offered
to do so. As you seem to have forgotten, you said “It is possible
we could choose a subset of files, of 1,000 or fewer, which could
be reviewed and the number of bullying cases counted.” Until you
said this, I hadn’t asked you to do it, yet you are now claiming
that I came up with the idea. I merely accepted your offer, which
as anyone reading this can see came from you in the first place.

Your contention that “This will not generate meaningful
information. It will not help us or you to understand, or estimate,
the incidence of bullying and harassment among our staff.” The
Freedom of Information Act is purpose blind, yet you are ascribing
motive and purpose to my request for information that may or may
not be correct and which is not for you to determine.

I am amused by the defiant nature of your remark that “My
colleagues and I are not prepared to carry out the task you have
set because the result would not be a meaningful item of
information. It would be a number, not a statistic, and likely to
mislead a member of the public who read it.”

I can almost see you stamping your foot as you say that - but stamp
as you might, you may wish to remember that it was you who
originally offered to do this. I merely accepted your offer.

Furthermore nowhere in the Freedom of Information Act is there an
exemption which can be cited to give validity to your refusal based
upon your statement above - irrespective of and notwithstanding
your arrogance, even you do not have the authority to add
exemptions to already existing legislation. I am sure that there
has been much information disclosed under the Freedom of
Information Act which is not meaningful to many people, that is in
no way a valid or for that matter lawful reason for non-disclosure.
The very concept of ‘redaction’ makes a huge amount of disclosed
information fundamentally misleading to any who may read it, yet
the Act allows for this and you do not have the authority to
overturn the legislation based upon your narrow-minded view and
desire to conceal the extent of bullying in your organisation.

Your offer of receiving policies and procedures is equally
valueless (and why is a postal address required - the Act requires
an address for correspondence and an e-mail address is precisely
that). All the policies in the world do not stop bullying from
occurring - particularly in organisations which have a culture of
secrecy about bullying and which go out of their way to oppose any
measure to bring the subject to light or to make it public (a bit
like York).

So now you “accept your view that this is not a new enquiry.” Well
pardon me but a few e-mails ago you were telling me it was a new
enquiry.

So, let me get this straight - You offer me information which I
accept, then you tell me I would have to make a new enquiry to get
the information you have just offered me, then when I complain
about that, you change your mind yet again and eventually accept
that it is not a new enquiry after all but then you decide make up
non-statutory reasons why you will not now do what you originally
offered to do?

Even more bewildering is your final statement that the council does
not have the information I want... Really, you have already
confirmed that you do and have cited a costs exemption, but now you
are telling me you don’t have it? Do you actually know what you do
or do not have? Or even what you have said in previous
correspondence?

I hope that when the Information Commissioner’s investigation
officer is looking through this they can follow your convoluted and
frankly bewildering thought processes.

I am sure I am not the only person who has been left wondering why
you are so desperate to conceal the details of bullying in York,
could it be that you have been complained about for that sort of
behaviour?

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

dear Ms Gray

the Information Commissioner's complaints officer has written
asking me to contact you again, about your request about complaints
of bullying and harassment at City of York Council. Since our
correspondence a staff survey has been completed which included
questions about bullying. Extracts of the results are attached as
PowerPoint pages which I think are self-explanatory.

The survey was carried out in February 2009 but the results were
not available until our correspondence had closed. May I remind you
that the survey was not compulsory, so the respondents are a
self-selected group and not necessarily representative of the whole
workforce. This information is not what you asked for, which was
the actual number of complaints made about bullying and harassment
- but it does give a subjective view from those who completed the
survey. I am sure this is a better substitute for what you wanted
than the "word search" would have been.

yours sincerely Robert Beane

Dear Mr Beane

This is not the information I asked for. You have been requested by
the information commissioner to provide me with the correct
information. You have not complied with this request.

Address the questions I have asked otherwise I will be forced to
make a formal complaint to the Information commissioner. AGAIN. As
you quite rightly pointed out I did not request a survey on
bullying and harassment. Your suggestion that it is a better
substitute for a "word search" is your opinion and I have not
requested your OPINION. I am sure you are not as incompetent as you
are making out. If the your are not capable of dealing with the
request pass it on to your colleague or manager.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Gray

dear Ms Gray

I'm sorry you found the alternative information inadequate. I'll make the Commissioner's complaints officer aware of your dissatisfaction.

yours sincerely Robert Beane

VERITAU EMAIL DISCLAIMER

Veritau Ltd is a company jointly owned by North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council.

This communication is from Veritau, a company providing internal audit, counter fraud and information governance services and other related assurance service to the public sector. Any opinions or statements expressed in this e-mail are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Veritau, or its clients.

The information contained within, and in any attachment(s), is confidential and legally privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s), please note that any form of distribution, copying or use of this communication, or the information within, is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Equally, you must not disclose all, or part, of its contents to any other person.

If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender at the above address, then delete and destroy all copies of it.

Veritau's computer systems and communications may be monitored to ensure effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes.

Although we have endeavoured to ensure that this e-mail and any attachments are free from any virus we would advise you to take any necessary steps to ensure that they are actually virus free.

Veritau disclaims any liability for action taken in reliance on the content of this communication.

Veritau Limited, Company number 6794890, Registered Office Douris House, Roecliffe Business Centre, Roecliffe, YO51 9NE.

Dear Mr Beane

I have already reported you to the information commissioner.

Yours faithfully

Vicky Gray