‘Gagging orders’ used every 12 working days in 2020 by Jersey’s government

Jersey’s government used so-called 'gagging orders' on employees leaving the public sector on average once every 12 working days so far in 2020.

The new figures, seen by ITV News, show every government department except the Customer and Local Services Department used compromise agreements which contain confidentiality clauses, known by some legal experts as gagging orders, as standard.

They prevent both the government and the employee from revealing the full details of their reasons for leaving employment.

A government spokesperson told ITV News the use of such agreements is “tightly controlled” and are only used when both parties agree to them, with the departing employee encouraged to seek independent legal advice.

The details are contained in a letter written by the Chief Minister to the Chair of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel.

In it, Senator John Le Fondre also reveals the current Code of Conduct for public sector workers, published in 2012, is being reviewed with a new watered-down version due to be published before the end of this year.

It comes as questions remain unanswered over the circumstances which led to the departure of the prison governor Nick Cameron earlier this month, after ITV News first revealed concerns about his whereabouts back in June.

Last week, an exchange of emails released under Freedom of Information legislation confirmed he had raised concerns about the lack of protective equipment and the wellbeing of staff and prisoners at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

One email, which was written to both the Home Affairs minister Len Norman and the Director General for the department Julian Blazeby was entitled “Lack of support for SoJPS during C19 crisis”.

The letter from the Chief Minister confirms compromise agreements were used 27 times in 2018, 14 times in 2019, and 13 times up to 18 August 2020.