Dear Mr O'Neill,

I acknowledge receipt of your email below dated 07/11/20.This has been allocated reference FOI20-404 which should be quoted in all correspondence.

In order for us to deal with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I should be grateful if you could please provide your full name in accordance with section 8(1) of the Act. Information regarding the legal requirements for making a valid request under the Act is available on the Information Commissioner's website at: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...

Yours sincerely,

University Secretary’s Office
 
Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University
 
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House
 
Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
 
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
 
CF10 3AE
 
 
 
E-mail: [email address]
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
 
E-bost: [email address]
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi.

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Dear Harry,

I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 11th November 2020.

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI20-404 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 7th December 2020.

Please note that in order to fulfil your request we need to liaise with other teams across the University. Due to the current Coronavirus pandemic most staff are now working remotely, and it is likely that there will be a delay in responding to your request. Staff may not be able to assist as they may need to prioritise other work, cover for colleagues who are ill or be away from work themselves due to illness. However, we will do our best to meet this deadline and keep you informed should we be unable to do so.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

Kind regards,

University Secretary’s Office
 
Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University
 
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House
 
Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
 
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
 
CF10 3AE
 
 
 
E-mail: [email address]
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
 
E-bost: [email address]
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi.

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Dear Mr O'Neill,

Please accept my apologies for the incorrect name in the acknowledgement below.

Kind regards,

University Secretary’s Office
 
Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University
 
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House
 
Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
 
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
 
CF10 3AE
 
 
 
E-mail: [email address]
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
 
E-bost: [email address]
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi.

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Dear Mr O’Neill,
 
I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 7th
November 2020.
For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.
 

 1. What activities are recognised by the workload model for Chemistry
staff?

 
In line with the University’s overall approach to academic workload
modelling, the workload model in the School of Chemistry recognises
allocated workload across the full breadth of the academic role, including
teaching and student learning support, research, scholarship, management
and administration, PGR supervision and examination, engagement, impact,
and continuous professional development.
 

 2. What tariffs are associated with each activity (i.e. how much time is
allocated for each activity) for Chemistry staff?

 
The amount of time for each activity varies for academic staff across the
School, depending on factors such as career pathway, level of expertise,
and individual circumstances.
 
To disclose the tariffs and information requested could lead to a
distortion of the market by revealing sensitive information that would be
advantageous to other competitive organisations and universities
worldwide. The strategic plan of the School/University to recruit
outstanding academic staff and deliver on the ambitious teaching and
research targets enables the University to raise its profile within this
particular sector. Providing a suitable workload tariff distribution
underpins this business strategy and it is anticipated this will play a
key role in supporting the recruitment of leading academic staff and
researchers, resulting in the development of high level associated degree
programmes and attract students from all over the world. As a thriving and
innovative research organisation, one that connects our academics to
industry, business, government and the third sector in Wales, the UK and
internationally, we rely on the recruitment of highly talented academics
from around the world. Developing alliances with other academic
organisations, industry and government is essential for us to realise our
research ambitions. These alliances allow us to combine complementary
expertise, increase our research capacity and help us to turn original
thought into real world impact. They also provide exciting
cross-organisational opportunities and alternative funding streams for
academics. Disclosure of the work load allocation tariffs per every
individual task would undermine that strategy and would not provide a
level playing field in comparison to other institutions not subject to FOI
legislation in what is an increasingly competitive and global HE
environment. Competitor institutes could thereby benchmark their own
tariff allocation to be more generous and competitive, thus undermining
and damaging our ability to recruit the staff we need to deliver our
business needs founded on staff.
 
Based on the above it is considered that the commercial interest of the
University would be prejudiced by release and as such the Section 43(2)
exemption is engaged. 
 
In applying the Section 43 exemption the University has taken account of
the public interest as required by the Act. The University has reviewed
the arguments in favour of disclosing the information (openness and
transparency in public life) and found them to be outweighed by the
greater general public interest in protection of the University's
competitive edge and market positioning.
 
The University must consider the public interest test when applying this
exemption and this is considered below.
 
Public Interest Test
 
Factors in Favour of Disclosure
It is in the public interest to release information that provides a
greater public understanding of the way the University operates and its
provisions for future delivery of its services.
 
Factors in Favour of Non-disclosure
It is not in the public interest to release information that would be
likely to damage the commercial interests of the University by undermining
its ability to compete in the market place.
 
It is not in the public interest to release information that would reduce
the efficiency and effectiveness of the University by having the effect of
damaging the ability of the University to pursue its staff recruitment
strategies on an equal footing to other public and privately funded
education institutions.
 
On balance it is considered that it would not be in the public interest to
release the workload modelling details that the University uses and
therefore the information will not be released at this time.
 
Furthermore, we would consider this information exempt by virtue of
Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act entitled Personal
Information. The exemption applies where disclosure would be likely to
breach any of the data protection principles, most notably the first
principle relating to fairness. The names and job titles of many staff at
the School are already in the public domain on the University website. As
such if we were to release the WAM data, it would be possible to associate
tariffs with individual staff members, disclosing personal data about
them. As such the disclosure is likely to be unfair and be a breach of the
data protection principles. As such the exemption under Section 40(2) of
the FOI Act is engaged.
 

 3. How is the total workload of a member of Chemistry staff modelled
(i.e. what protocol is used to combine tariffs)?

 
The total workload is the sum of time across allocated activities.
 

 4. What formal guidance is given to managers relating to the link between
contracts of employment and the calculated workloads of Chemistry
staff? In particular:

 1. What are the maximum and minimum permissible tariffed workloads for a
member of staff in a full-time role?

Under the Workload Modelling policy which Chemistry generally applies,
allocated workload for a full-time non-clinical academic staff member is
aimed to be as close as possible to the number of contracted hours (1,500
allocatable hours per annum). As such, there is no set minimum or maximum.
 

 2. What are the broad subcategories of activity (such as Teaching or
Research) recognised in academic roles?

The three broad categories, which cover the range of activities as
described under question 1, are Teaching and Scholarship, Research and
Administration.
 

 3. What is the division of total workload between these subcategories in
contracts of employment (e.g. 40% Teaching, 60% Research)? How does
this division relate to modelled workload?

Under the University’s workload modelling guidance there is no specific
division of allocated workload amongst subcategories, but these depend on
factors such as career pathway, job role/level of expertise and individual
circumstances.
 

 4. How are part-time contracts modelled differently to full-time
contracts?

The total allocatable time for staff on a part-time contract is
proportionate in line with the contracted FTE.
 

 5. What is the intended relationship between modelled workload and true
workload? (e.g. modelled workload is expected to be 20% less than true
workload, or to match true workload, or to exceed true workload by
20%)

The modelled workload allocation is aimed to be a reasonably
representative representation of allocated workload.
 
I trust this information satisfies your enquiry. The University has a
Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure should you feel dissatisfied
with this response or the way in which your request was handled.
Complaints must be made in writing and must set out why you believe the
University has not met its obligations under the Freedom of Information
Act. You may email your complaint to [1][email address] where it
will be forwarded to the Head of Compliance and Risk who will be
responsible for overseeing the review.
       
If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint, you
have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for
consideration. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the
following address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
       
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance, please feel free to
contact me.
 
Yours sincerely,

University Secretary’s Office   Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University   Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House   Friary House
Greyfriars Road   Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Cardiff Caerdydd
CF10 3AE   CF10 3AE
     
E-bost:
E-mail: [2][email address] [3][email address]
   
We welcome correspondence in Welsh   Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r
or English. Corresponding in Welsh Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd
will not lead to any delay. gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw
oedi.

References

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2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr O'Neill

I acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act Complaint received by this office on 07/12/20.

Your complaint has been referred to the Head of Compliance and Risk who will aim to respond to your request within 20 working days starting the day after receipt. Therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 06/01/21.

In some circumstances we may not be able to meet this deadline and if this is likely to be the case we will contact you as soon as possible and give you a revised date for response.

Yours sincerely

University Secretary’s Office
 
Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Cardiff University
 
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Friary House
 
Friary House
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
 
Heol y Brodyr Llwydion
Caerdydd
CF10 3AE
 
CF10 3AE
 
 
 
E-mail: [email address]
 
We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.
 
E-bost: [email address]
 
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth trwy’r Gymraeg neu’r Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhyw oedi.

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Dear Mr O’Neill

Please see attached our response to your request for an internal review.
We apologise for the delay in providing this and for any inconvenience
caused.

Kind regards

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : [1][email address] Email: [2][email address] 
 
 
 
The University welcomes
Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu correspondence in Welsh or English. 
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg.  Corresponding in Welsh will not lead
Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu to any delay.
unrhwy oedi.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]