FOI - Grievance and Wellbeing

Published •

Ref No.: 04 25
Request Type: FOI
Date Received: 14/02/25
Date Responded: 10/03/25
Category: Grievance and Wellbeing

Request

  1. Please can you give the number of formal grievance procedures raised by WICS staff in the period between January 2018 and February 2025 and the dates they were raised on?
  2. How many of those grievances were investigated by external consultants and how many were investigated by in-house teams?
  3. How many of those grievances were upheld and how many were rejected?
  4. Have any staff departed or been signed off on sickness leave and cited bullying as a reason between January 2018 and February 2025?  Please give dates for departures and periods of sickness leave.
  5. In staff surveys conducted between January 2018 and February 2025 can you provide results for each survey on what percentage and/or number of staff indicated they had experienced bullying at work?

Response

Many thanks for your request for information dated 14 February 2025 which asked for:

  1. The number of formal grievance procedures raised by WICS staff in the period between January 2018 and February 2025 and the dates they were raised on?
  2. How many of those grievances were investigated by external consultants and how many were investigated by in-house teams?
  3. How many of those grievances were upheld and how many were rejected?
  4. Have any staff departed or been signed off on sickness leave and cited bullying as a reason between January 2018 and February 2025?  Please give dates for departures and periods of sickness leave.
  5. In staff surveys conducted between January 2018 and February 2025 can you provide results for each survey on what percentage and/or number of staff indicated they had experienced bullying at work?

We have handled your request in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).  FOISA provides for a right of access to recorded information held by Scottish public authorities.

It has not been possible to provide responses to questions 1, 2, and 3 as we believe the information is exempt under 38(1)(b) which allows for when information constitutes personal data and to disclose would breach one or more of the data protection principles. We are however able to disclose responses to questions 4 and 5 and this is provided in the table below:

FOI 0425 Grievance and Wellbeing
Q1 - Q3
Withheld under section 38(1)(b)
Q4
Records show that between January 2018 and February 2025 no staff have departed or been signed off on sickness absence and cited bullying as a reason
Q5
Survey Date Indication of bullying at work
Number Percentage
HSE Workplace Stress 2024 6 31.6

In addition, you might find it helpful to review the information relating to the HSE survey of 2024 which is already in the public domain and available in Audit Scotland’s audit of WICS which was published in December 2024. The report is available here.

If you are unhappy with this response to your request, you may ask us to carry out a review by contacting us.  Your request for review should explain why you are dissatisfied and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this response.  The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original process and we will reply within 20 working days of receipt.  

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) and thereafter to the Court of Session on a point of law only.  The SIC can be contacted using the details below:

Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Web: www.foi.scot 
 

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