The chief executive of Dundee City Council has said he does not believe leader Ken Guild intended to be “disrespectful” when he revealed an employee had been signed off sick in a public meeting.
The Standards Commission for Scotland is holding a hearing into allegations administration leader Ken Guild breached the councillors’ Code of Conduct during the rancorous 2015 Budget meeting.
In a discussion about the proposed relocation and restructuring of the Young Mum’s Unit, then based at Menzieshill High School, Mr Guild said its principal teacher Norma Seith had been signed off sick for a month.
The council was proposing axing her position.
Under examination by senior investigating officer David Sillars, city council chief executive David Martin said he believed Mr Guild was intending to show this service would not be diminished if the principal teacher post was scrapped.
He said: “What Councillor Guild, I believe, was trying to say was the service would not be diminished and that the post-holder and the post had been conflated.”
He added: ” It was not meant in a disparaging or disrespectful way.”
Mr Martin said the February 2015 meeting – his first at chief executive – had been dominated by the future of the YMU.
Mennie: 'I don't take the view that the information disclosed by Mr Guild was private information in terms of the Councillors' Code".
— Stefan Morkis (@C_SMorkis) June 13, 2016
Mr Martin said he thought Mr Guild’s comment was “not unusual but atypical”.
He added he did not believe revealing someone was off work sick amounted to a breach of Data Protection Laws.
Mr Martin said: “A number of people were aware of it and I am struggling with the idea that if somebody is not at work it is a breach of Data Protection.”
Roger Mennie, head of democratic and legal services with the council, said it was common for teachers’ absences from school to be discussed within the education department and amongst pupils and parents.
He said: “Teachers don’t take holidays during term time.
“Unless they are ill they only other reason they would not be in school is big they had to be taken out of class.”
Ken Guild claims being 'signed off' does not refer to a medical condition.
— Stefan Morkis (@C_SMorkis) June 13, 2016
Head of services Paul Clancy told the hearing that information about an individual’s absences would not be put in the public domain.
Panel member Kevin Dunion said: “If a journalist phoned up and and said ‘I understand from my child this teacher is off absent and I’m writing a story’, you would not give the information about how long they are off.”
Mr Clancy admitted he would not make this information public but said he did not believe it was confidential.
He said he would expect councillors to be aware of the release of information provided to them on a need to know basis.
“It’s a general statement – you would expect them to have a feeling about the information that has been provided,” he said.
Labour councillor Richard McCready said he raised a point of order during the meeting when Mrs Seith’s absence was raised but this was dismissed.
“In my opinion the chair made a decision without really considering it,” he said.
He and Labour group leader Kevin Keenan then raised the issue with chief executive David Martin following the meeting.
Mr McCready said Mr Martin promised to send an email to members reminding them of the code of conduct.
The hearing panel, chaired by Lyndsey Gallanders, will decide if Mr Guild did breach the councillors’ code and what any subsequent sanctions should be.
The hearing continues.
