Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
Categories
Civil servant claims unlawful access to travel history
Informal Resolution | 21 July 2023
Ministry of Border Control and Labour
An individual made a complaint to the Ombudsman on suspicion that her government employer used a database to access her travel history in relation to a query about annual leave, without having a proper legal basis to do so. The complainant also made a subject access request (SAR) for her own accumulated and outstanding leave information.
Although the Ministry incurred significant delays, which exceeded the statutory period for responding to a SAR, it disclosed the analysis of the complainant’s annual leave and a report from the government’s financial system (IRIS), thereby satisfying the needs of the SAR.
The Ministry also explained the basis of its queries about annual leave under the Personnel Regulations, and denied that it had accessed any travel database. The remaining dispute was an HR matter, which fell outside the jurisdiction of the DPA, and the case was closed.