Scottish Government staff disciplinary and grievance statistics: FOI release

Information requested

Please provide the following data for calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025 across the whole Scottish Government, broken down by directorate/agency/department. Please also provide data for the past 12 months (20 May 2024 - 20 May 2025).

1. Number of complaints against staff members for harassment.

2. Number of complaints against staff members for sexual harassment (please confirm whether these figures are part of, or in addition to, the harassment figures).

3. Number of complaints against staff members for sexism, or misogyny.

4. Number of complaints against staff members for homophobia.

5. Number of complaints against staff members for racism.

6. Number of complaints against staff members for antisemitism.

7. Number of complaints against staff members for islamophobia.

8. Number of complaints against staff members for bullying.

9. Number of complaints against staff members for assault.

10. Number of complaints against staff members for sexual assault.

11. Number of harassment complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

12. Number of sexual harassment complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

13. Number of complaints regarding misogyny or sexism subject to disciplinary investigation.

14. Number of homophobia subject to disciplinary investigation.

15. Number of racism complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

16. Number of antisemitism complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

17. Number of islamophobia complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

18. Number of bullying complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

19. Number of assault complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

20. Number of sexual assault complaints subject to disciplinary investigation.

If there is overlap between figures, please let me know to what degree (for example if antisemitism figures also fall under the racism figures, please confirm).

Response

In your request, you have asked for information about Scottish Government staff. Our response covers permanent staff employed in Scottish Government Core Directorates, as outlined in Annex A. Requests for information about other agencies/bodies should be sent directly to them.

You have also requested the following information to be broken down by department. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to that information. This exemption applies because the information is the personal data of third parties (the members of staff in question) and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles set out in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. We have concluded that the information is personal data because there is a realistic prospect that the data subjects would be identified given the very small numbers in question. This exemption is not subject to the public interest test, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that our workplaces are free from all forms of discrimination or harassment and has clear standards of behaviour which apply to its staff. These standards set out that staff should expect to be always treated fairly and with respect. Where behaviour falls below the standards expected, the Scottish Government has clear procedures to allow staff to report concerns. Formal complaints about inappropriate behaviours are dealt with through our Disciplinary or Grievance policies. Please refer to FOI/202400446732 for information and documents relating to both policies.

Under the Scottish Government's Grievance & Disciplinary policies, line managers are expected to deal with concerns at an early stage and on an informal basis, where appropriate. Please note that the data presented in table 1 is based solely on formal cases recorded under the Scottish Government’s Disciplinary or Grievance policies. There is no requirement to report informal complaints and action to HR and therefore under section 17(1) of FOISA we must advise that the Scottish Government does not hold information about informal complaints or actions.

In response to your request, we have prepared table 1 summarising the number of formal complaints received. You have also asked about the number of disciplinary investigations initiated. Concerns may be raised with HR under the Scottish Government’s Disciplinary or Grievance policies depending on the nature of the case, therefore, for the purposes of this FOI, the table includes disciplinary and grievance investigations.

The table includes complaints under each of the categories you outline in your request. An individual complaint may include more than one category.

Please note that the figures for 2025 cover the period from 1 January to 20 May (the date of your request).

Category (*one complaint may have multiple categories)	2023 Complaints	2024 Complaints	2025 Complaints	2023 Investigations	2024  Investigations	2025 Investigations *some investigations may not yet be underway for live complaints
Harassment	3	3	2	3	3	0
Sexual Harassment	3	3	1	3	3	0
Sexism/Misogyny	1	0	0	1	0	0
Homophobia	0	0	0	0	0	0
Racism	2	0	1	2	0	1
Antisemitism	0	0	0	0	0	0
Islamophobia	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bullying	11	4	6	11	5	5
Assault	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sexual Assault	0	1	0	0	1	0

Table 1: Data of formal grievances and disciplinaries – by category from 2023 - 2025

ANNEX A

Core Directorates of the Scottish Government:

• Director-General Communities Director-General Corporate Director-General Economy
• Director-General Education and Justice Director-General Health and Social Care Director-General Net Zero
• Director-General Scottish Exchequer
• Director-General Strategy and External Affairs

About FOI

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