Complaints against staff

The request was successful.

Dear Aberdeen City Council,

I am writing to you to request the following information.

1) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of formal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or councillors.

2) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of informal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or councillors.

3) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the estimated total number of staff employed by the council.

Yours faithfully,
Conor Matchett

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Did you know that the quickest way to make a request for information is to
make your request online? Please visit
[1]https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
to make a request.

 

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Access to Information Team, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen City Council

1 Attachment

Reference: FOI-316612849
Date of request: 16/03/2021
Title of request: Complaints against Staff

Dear Conor Matchett,

Thank you for your completing your Freedom of Information Request.

We aim to answer all requests within 20 working days.

You will receive a response via email and an update in [1]your self-serve
account.

For information about how we handle your request please see our [2]Freedom
of Information privacy notice.

For information about your appeal rights please see [3]Freedom of
Information reviews and appeals.

Kind regards

Access to Information Team
Aberdeen City Council | Customer Development | Customer Experience |
Customer
Marischal College | Broad Street | Aberdeen | AB10 1AB
[4]www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC |
Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

Your personal data is very important to us. Please refer to [5]information
on why and how we use your data.

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information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
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delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
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this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
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opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

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3. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
4. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk /
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Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Matchett,

 

Thank you for your request for information.

 

We would like to ask you to clarify your request so that we can identify
and locate the information which you have requested.

 

1) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of
formal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or
councillors.

 

2) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of
informal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or
councillors.

 

We would be extremely grateful if you could clarify whether your request
includes complaints regarding “staff conduct” from members of the public
in relation to a service the customer has received/requested?

 

Clarifying these points will help us to be sure we are providing, where
possible, the information you are interested in.  Please note we will keep
your request on file for 20 working days whilst we await your
clarification.  It can often be helpful to discuss your request with a
member of our team who may be able to help you frame your request or
explain more about how ACC holds its information; if this is something you
feel may be helpful please do call us, and we will be happy to assist you.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way we have handled your request or the
content of it, you are entitled to ask for an appeal. You can do this from
your [1]Aberdeen City Council self service account.

 

For more information on your right to review, please visit [2]Freedom of
Information Review and Appeals.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Your sincerely,

 

Anna Buchan

Access to Information Officer

 

[3]ACC_Crest_for Anna Buchan | Access to Information Officer
mac email
Aberdeen City Council | Access to Information Team |
Customer Feedback |Customer

Marischal College | Business Hub 6 | 1^st Floor  | Broad
Street | Aberdeen | AB10 1AB

 

Dial: 01224 522166

[4]www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC |
Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

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2. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
4. http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/

Hi Hannah,

I wouldn't consider my request to cover external complaints covering staff conduct in terms of provision of service, no.

Hopefully that helps, apologies about the delayed response.

Yours sincerely,

Conor Matchett

Dear Anna,

Apologies for getting your name wrong as well - very embarrassed by that.

Yours sincerely,

Conor Matchett

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Did you know that the quickest way to make a request for information is to
make your request online? Please visit
[1]https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
to make a request.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Did you know that the quickest way to make a request for information is to
make your request online? Please visit
[1]https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
to make a request.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...

Access to Information Team, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen City Council

Reference: FOI-316612849
Date of request: 16/03/2021
Title of request: Complaints against Staff

Dear Mr Matchett,

Many thanks for your recent clarification of your information request and
please accept our apologies for the delay in acknowledging your
clarification.

The scheduled date for our response to your request for information is on
or before 4 May 2021.

If you are dissatisfied with the way we have handled your request or the
content of it, you are entitled to ask for an appeal. You can do this from
your [1]Freedom of Information reviews and appeals | Aberdeen City
Council.

 For more information on your right to review, please visit [2]Freedom of
Information reviews and appeals | Aberdeen City Council.

 Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries in the
meantime.

 Kind regards

Access to Information Team
Aberdeen City Council | Customer Development | Customer Experience |
Customer
Marischal College | Broad Street | Aberdeen | AB10 1AB
[3]www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC |
Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

Your personal data is very important to us. Please refer to [4]information
on why and how we use your data.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
2. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
3. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk /
4. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/your-dat...

Access to Information Team, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen City Council

1 Attachment

Reference: FOI-316612849
Date of request: 16/03/2021
Title of request: Complaints against Staff

Dear Conor Matchett,

Thank you for your clarified information request. We have completed the
necessary search for the information requested. Our response is now
detailed below.

1) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of
formal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or
councillors.

Please see below the number of Council Staff Bullying and Harassment cases
(as defined in the enclosed Bullying-Harassment-Policy) recorded as
starting in each of the following calendar years:

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Year |Known Cases with an Informal |Cases with a Formal|
| |stage* |stage |
|---------------------+------------------------------+-------------------|
|2018 (1 Jan – 31 Dec)|5 |9 |
|---------------------+------------------------------+-------------------|
|2019 (1 Jan – 31 Dec)|1 |19 |
|---------------------+------------------------------+-------------------|
|2020 (1 Jan – 31 Dec)|0 |6 |
|---------------------+------------------------------+-------------------|
|2021 (1 Jan – 31 Dec)|0 |0 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

*Please note that only informal cases requiring professional HR advice
will be logged in HR records as per policy guidance.  Also, as a Bullying
and Harassment case can start at the informal stage and then progress to
the formal stage, a single case may appear twice on the table above (once
in the ‘informal’ column and a second time in the ‘formal’ column). 

Please also note that ACC only holds the requested information in relation
to staff and does hold it in relation to councillors.  Complaints
regarding the conduct of a councillor go to the Standards Commission for
Scotland via Ethical Standards in Public Life Scotland: [1]Encourage
fairness, good conduct & transparency in public life in Scotland | Ethical
Standards Commissioner

We are unable to provide you with information on for each year between
2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of formal harassment or
bullying complaints against councillors. In order to comply with its
obligations under the terms of Section 17 of the FOISA, we are informing
you that we do not hold this information.

2) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of
informal harassment or bullying complaints against council staff or
councillors.

Please refer to the table above.

We are unable to provide you with information on for each year between
2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the total number of informal harassment or
bullying complaints against councillors. In order to comply with its
obligations under the terms of Section 17 of the FOISA, we are informing
you that we do not hold this information.

3) For each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive), the estimated total
number of staff employed by the council.

This information can be found on the following gov.scot website
page: [2]Public sector employment in Scotland: web tables - gov.scot
(www.gov.scot)

Please note that gov.scot will publish the 2021 figures in June 2021:
[3]About public sector employment statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot

As information on the estimated total number of staff employed by the
council for each year between 2018 and 2021 (inclusive) is otherwise
accessible via the above website page, it is exempt from disclosure.  In
order to comply with our obligations under the terms of Section 16 of the
FOISA, we hereby give notice that we are refusing your request under the
terms of Section 25(1) in conjunction with Section 25(3) - Information
Otherwise Accessible - of the FOISA.

We handled your request for information in accordance with the provisions
of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

If you are dissatisfied with the way we have handled your request or the
content of it, you are entitled to ask for an appeal. You can do this from
your [4]Aberdeen City Council self service account.

For more information on your right to review, please visit [5]Freedom of
Information Review and Appeals.

We hope this helps with your request.

Kind regards

Access to Information Team
Aberdeen City Council | Customer Development | Customer Experience |
Customer
Marischal College | Broad Street | Aberdeen | AB10 1AB
[6]www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC |
Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

Your personal data is very important to us. Please refer to [7]information
on why and how we use your data.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ethicalstandards.org.uk/
2. https://www.gov.scot/publications/public...
3. https://www.gov.scot/publications/about-...
4. https://integration.aberdeencity.gov.uk/...
5. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
6. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk /
7. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/your-dat...