IN-CONFIDENCE

8 December 2023

Jean Roberts
[FYI request #24481 email]

Tēnā koe Jean Roberts

On  19 October 2023,  you emailed the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982  (the Act), the
following information:
1.  The number of Personal Grievances raised in your Ministry, in the last
3 years broken down by year , and categories (for example: Bullying,
Unjustifiably disadvantaged, constructive dismissal etc)
2.   (in the last 3 years) The number of Mediation that took place  broken
down by year
3.  (in the last 3 years)  The number of successful mediation broken down
by year
4.  (in the last 3 years) Of the PGs raised, how many went to Employment
Relations Authority broken down by year?
5.  (in the last 3 years) How many cases were found against the Ministry
broken down by year?
6.  (in the last 3 years)  How much money – in total- were paid to settle
these cases / or pay the fee required by ERA broken down by year?
7.  How much money was covered by the Ministry’s liability insurance?
8.  (in the last 3 years)  How much money – in total – were paid to external
Legal consultants to defend the cases  filed in ERA or to prepare the
responses to the case broken down by year?
9.  (in the last 3 years) How many ERA cases resulted in reinstatement of
employee broken down by year?
10. If a case is found against the Ministry (the Ministry lost), what are the
consequences to the Manager involved in the incident?
On 20 November, we contacted you to advise that more time was required to
make a decision on your request.
For clarity, I will answer each of your questions in turn.

IN-CONFIDENCE

1.  The number of Personal Grievances raised in your Ministry, in the last 3
years broken down by year , and categories (for example: Bullying,
Unjustifiably disadvantaged, constructive dismissal etc
Personal grievances are most often raised for either an unjustifiable dismissal
or an unjustifiable disadvantage. Bullying may make up part of a grievance
claim but it may not be recorded as such. Similarly, cases can start as one
category and end as another after further investigation. This may not always
be updated in the system.
Please find below Table One  which contains the number of Personal
Grievances from financial year 20/21 to financial year 22/23, broken down by
category.

Count of Case
Financial Years
Number
PG Category
FY 2020/21
FY 2021/22
FY 2022/23
Grand Total
Disadvantage
1
2
4
7
Discrimination
0
7
1
8
Unjustified Dismissal
0
0
3
3
(blank)
1
0
1
2
Grand Total
2
9
9
20

2.  (in the last 3 years) The number of Mediation that took place  broken
down by year
3.  (in the last 3 years) The number of successful mediation broken down
by year
The Ministry does  not centrally record  the number of mediations that are
attended each year. It is common that personal grievances require a mediation
and is also possible that more than one mediation could take place for one
personal grievance.
A ‘successful’ mediation is dependent on the parties involved. Mediations are
about finding common ground and resolving the employment relationship
problem. Success can be subjective in the case of mediations.
Your request for all information is very broad, and substantial manual collation
would be required to locate and prepare all documents within scope of your
request. As such, I refuse your request under section 18(f) of the Act. The
greater public interest is in the effective and efficient administration of the
public service.
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IN-CONFIDENCE

I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your
request given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested.
I  have  concluded  that,  in  either  case,  the  Ministry’s  ability  to  undertake  its
work would still be prejudiced.

4.  (in the last 3 years) How many cases were found against the Ministry
broken down by year?
5.  (in the last 3 years)  How much money – in total- were paid to settle
these cases / or pay the fee required by ERA broken down by year?
6.  How much money was covered by the Ministry’s liability insurance?
Please find below Table Two  which contains the number of Personal
Grievances that went to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), from 1
July 2020 to 30 June 2023, broken down by financial year.

Financial Year
Number of Personal Grievances
that went to the ERA

FY2020/2021
0

FY2021/2022
0

FY2022/2023
4
The four (4) cases noted above are currently before the Employment Relations
Authority and are yet to be heard. Due to this, there are no cases in the last
three financial years that were found against the Ministry.
As no cases have been found against the Ministry, there has been no money
paid to settle nor fees to be paid. No money was covered by the Ministry’s
liability insurance as none was required to be paid. Regardless, it is unlikely
that the Ministry would draw on its liability insurance to settle these claims.
7.  (in the last 3 years)  How much money – in total – were paid to external
Legal consultants to defend the cases filed in ERA or to prepare the
responses to the case broken down by year?
This information is not readily available for the Ministry, and substantial
manual collation would be requested to find this information. As such, your
request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act. The greater public interest is
in the effective and efficient administration of the public service.
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your
request given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested.
I  have  concluded  that,  in  either  case,  the  Ministry’s  ability  to  undertake  its
work would still be prejudiced.
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IN-CONFIDENCE

8.  (in the last 3 years) How many ERA cases resulted in reinstatement of
employee broken down by year?
There were no ERA cases that resulted in a reinstatement of an employee over
the last three years.
11.  If a case is found against the Ministry (the Ministry lost), what are the
consequences to the Manager involved in the incident?
The Ministry take its obligations as an employer to provide a safe and healthy
work  environment  very  seriously.  As  such,  the  Ministry  does  not  tolerate
bullying, sexual harassment or assault. All Ministry staff, including managers,
are required to read and sign the Code of Conduct.
If any performance conversations or employment action was needed, the
Ministry would deal with this using its policies and guidelines. Please find
attached  Appendix One  which contains a copy of the disciplinary action
guidance.
If you wish to discuss this  response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email].
I will be publishing this decision letter, with your personal details deleted, on
the Ministry’s website in due course.
If  you  are  not  satisfied  with  this  response,  you  have  the  right  to  seek  an
investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make
a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp


Magnus O’Neill
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
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Document Outline