FOI Request
- Disclosure ID
- FOI/01006
- Request Date
- June 2, 2016
- Subject
- Settlement Agreements 2016
- Description
- For each of the last five financial years (11/12 – 15/16) what was the total number of employees who signed settlement agreements when they left your Trust? Please note I would like an annual breakdown for each year as opposed to one figure covering the five-year period.
- For each of the last five financial years how much was paid to departing employees as part of the settlement agreements? Again, I am looking for annual breakdowns of the data.
3 (A). For each of the past five financial years, how many of the settlement agreements signed with departing employees contained confidentiality clauses? Again, I have referred to the guidance issued to NHS employers for my definition of a confidentiality clause which states:
- Clauses which cover the terms of that agreement ‟ for example, prohibiting any parties concerned from reporting the detail about the terms of the agreement.
- Clauses which protect confidential information gained by the employee as part of their employment, such as business-sensitive data or patient records. It is important to outline to all staff, their responsibilities to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and confidentiality within their terms and conditions of employment.
- Clauses against derogatory comments being made which prevents the employee from making vexatious, disparaging or derogatory comments about the organisation and its staff. In such cases, there is usually a mutual clause which also prevents the organisation from making disparaging or derogatory comments about the employee.
(B) Of the total number of confidentiality clauses issued during each financial year, how many came from Category 1 as defined above? Category 2? Category 3? Other?
- For each of the last five financial years, how many departing NHS staff who signed a settlement agreement received an agreed reference as part of the agreement?
- For each of the past five financial years, how many of the settlement agreements signed with departing employees were referred to the Treasury/Department for Health to be signed off?
- Response
2011 45 2012 5 2013 6 2014 2 2015 1 2011 861479.65 2012 74069.59 2013 62362.00 2014 61146.44 2015 8000.00 All of the above payments included any entitlement to statutory and contractual payments. It is not possible to break this down further however.
3 (A). It is standard practice in compromise agreements to include a confidentiality clause as this protects both the employee and employer. However any agreements are in line with the NHS Employers guidance which explicitly ensures that any clause does not prejudice any rights that an individual has to make a protected disclosure as defined by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and the Employment Rights Act 1996.
1. See response to 3a
2. See response to 3a
3. See response to 3a
4. None
5. None