FOI 26-343 Staff Suspended
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-343 Staff Suspended
- Request Date
- 04 Aug 2026
- Response Date
- 25 Aug 2026
- Information Requested
- As of August 2026, how many employees are currently suspended or excluded from the workplace whileremainingon full pay?
2. Of those currently suspended or excluded on full pay, how many have been in this position for:
* Less than 6 months?
* Between 6 and 12 months?
* Between 12 and 24 months?
* Longer than 24 months?
3. What is the total gross financial cost (including salary, National Insurance, and pension contributions) incurred by the organization for all staff currently suspended or excluded on full pay for longer than 12 months?
4. For cases where an investigation has concluded with "no action taken" but the employee has not yet returned to the workplace, what is the average length of time taken to finalize a return-to-work plan?
To clarify my request for Q3 and Q4, please consider a timeframe looking back over the last 4 years (specifically from August 2022 to the present date).
I hope this parameter allows you to accurately pull the financial costs and investigation conclusion timelines from your central systems.- As of August 2026, how many employees are currently suspended or excluded from the workplace whileremainingon full pay?
- Response
- As of August 2026, how many employees are currently suspended or excluded from the workplace while remaining on full pay?
11
- Of those currently suspended or excluded on full pay, how many have been in this position for:* Less than 6 months? -7 * Between 6 and 12 months? - <5 * Between 12 and 24 months? - <5 * Longer than 24 months? 0
In accordance with statistical disclosure control principles, where the number of incidents is fewer than five but greater that zero, figures have been suppressed and shown as "<5". This is because disclosure of very small numbers may increase the risk of individuals being identified when combined with other information that may be available.
Where suppression has been applied, the exact figure is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information), as disclosure could lead to the identification of individuals and would therefore contravene the data protection principles.
- What is the total gross financial cost (including salary, National Insurance, and pension contributions) incurred by the organization for all staff currently suspended or excluded on full pay for longer than 12 months?
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information in a recorded format.
The Service does not maintain a dataset identifying all staff currently suspended or excluded on full pay for longer than 12 months together with the associated gross employment costs. To provide the information requested would require the identification and review of individual employee records and the creation of a new dataset calculating salary, National Insurance and pension costs.
FOISA provides a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority and does not require authorities to create new information in order to respond to a request. Accordingly, under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold the information requested
- For cases where an investigation has concluded with "no action taken" but the employee has not yet returned to the workplace, what is the average length of time taken tofinalizea return-to-work plan?
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information.
The Service does not maintain a recorded measure of the time taken to finalise return-to-work plans in cases where an investigation has concluded with no action taken. In addition, an employee's status following the conclusion of an investigation may be recorded through a variety of arrangements, including annual leave, other forms of leave or local management arrangements. Determining the information requested would require the review and interpretation of individual employee case records and the creation of new information to calculate an average timeframe.
FOISA provides a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority and does not require authorities to create new information in order to respond to a request. Accordingly, under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold the information requested.
