Thank you for submitting a request for information. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible, within the 20 working day statutory deadline under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

For updates on this case, please quote your unique reference number 101000322726 .

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Customer Service Centre
East Devon District Council
Web: www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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Mr Thurlow

Thank you for your recent request for information. You have asked for a list of job titles and grades for officers working for the District Council.

Salary information for senior employees is available online http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/senior_salar...

In line with our Freedom of Information Policy, we will disclose information about staff when we consider that this is fair and within the reasonable expectation of employees. In this instance, we do not believe that the disclosure of job titles (below Senior Management Team level) linked to grades is fair to staff, especially for those who are the only post-holder for a particular job title, nor for more junior staff who would not reasonably expect this detail to be made public.

We are a large employer in a relatively small area and as you are aware many of our employees come from a small number of our major towns, including Sidmouth, where they are easily identifiable from their job titles.

We believe that the disclosure of this information would be distressing for individuals and we are therefore exempting it from disclosure on the basis that it constitutes personal data (s40 of the Freedom of Information Act).

We have previously provided you with detail about our salary structure and the numbers of employees on each grade. We have also explained to you that we do not operate under a ?time and motion? basis such that staff time on particular activities is not costed, nor can this accurately be done simply by looking at salary detail. We feel that this further request is made in an attempt to single out individual staff members and we do not feel that the public interest in doing so outweighs the potential distress and anxiety that this would cause to staff. We feel that your request for this very detailed and personal information falls within the scope of vexatious requests as defined under s14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.

In recent guidance, the Information Commissioner has recognised that, whilst most people exercise their right of access to public information responsibly, some may mis-use or abuse the Act by submitting requests which are intended to be annoying or disruptive or which have a disproportionate impact upon the public authority. We believe that we have already provided you with sufficient detail in terms of the salary costs to the Authority together with the fact that there is further salary information which is already publicly available. Whilst we accept that the salaries of individual officers may be of interest to you and your organisation, we do not feel that it is in the wider public interest, nor in the best interests of our staff, for this detailed personal information to be disclosed.

If you feel dissatisfied with the way we have responded to your request, please contact our Monitoring Officer at [email address] or on 01395 516551

You may also approach the Information Commissioner for advice at www.ico.gov.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Freedom of Information Officer
EDDC
01395 516551

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