National Headquarters
Level 12
80 The Terrace
PO Box 2133
Wel ington
New Zealand
Phone +64 4 496 3600
26 November 2021
Rex Tillington
By email
: [FYI request #16846 email]
Tēnā koe Rex
Information Request – bul ying and harassment data
I refer to your official information request received on 22 September 2021 asking for the following
information:
•
Would you please provide the number of official complaints made by staff or volunteers
pertaining to bullying and harassment allegedly undertaken by managers at FENZ,
specifically by manager tier (tiers 1 through 4) and year for each FY from 2017/18 to
present (including 2021/22 ytd).
•
Could you also please provide the number of staff (not volunteers) who have resigned from
FENZ citing bullying and or harassment by managers (also tiers 1 through 4 only) by year
(as above).
On 20 October 2021, we wrote to you to extend the time limit for deciding on your request.
Misconduct of any type, including bullying and harassment, has no place in our organisation. We
expect every complaint of such behaviour to be taken seriously and addressed in a fair and timely
way. Everyone at Fire and Emergency New Zealand should feel safe, welcome and included. The
recent establishment of the permanent Behaviour and Conduct Office (BCO) is a key step in
addressing bullying and harassment and building a respectful and positive workplace culture at
Fire and Emergency. Anyone wanting to come forward and raise issues about people’s behaviour
in Fire and Emergency can raise them directly with the BCO. The BCO is a self-contained team,
with a wide range of experience and skil s in the complaints, investigation and resolution space.
They are charged with ensuring all issues are dealt with in a fair, timely and transparent way. The
BCO also coordinates external investigations into unwanted interpersonal behaviour using suitably
qualified external investigators based on agreed and consistent criteria. Our people are also able
to complain to independent bodies; these are detailed in our policies.
In addition, our Positive Workplace Culture programme is implementing a range of initiatives to
continue addressing the 33 review recommendations from retired Judge Coral Shaw’s 2019 report
Independent Review of Fire & Emergency New Zealand’s workplace policies, procedures and
practices to address bullying and harassment. Our six-month Progress Report on our Positive
Workplace Culture Plan outlines the progress we have made, and continue to make, towards this.
You can read more on this website:
https://positiveworkplace.fireandemergency.nz/
Your request has been assessed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act
1982 (“OIA”). The number of bullying or harassment complaints made against tier 1-4 managers
between 1 July 2017 and 30 September 2021 is 28. We consider it is necessary to aggregate the
data in order to protect the privacy of individuals who might otherwise be able to be identified if
we displayed the data by manager tier and year. Fire and Emergency does not consider that, in
the circumstances of this particular case, the privacy interest is outweighed by other
considerations that make it desirable, in the public interest, to provide the information in non-
aggregated form.
You have also asked for the number of staff who have resigned citing bul ying or harassment by
tier 1-4 managers. People may resign from employment for a number of personal reasons, and we
do not know or record those reasons. Consequently, it is necessary to decline this part of your
request under section 18(g) of the OIA as the information is not held by Fire and Emergency.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Note also that this response (with your personal details removed) may be published on the Fire
and Emergency website.
Yours sincerely
Raewyn Bleakley
Deputy Chief Executive, Office of the Chief Executive