Jersey government bullying allegations to be independently reviewed
Jersey’s government is to face a fresh external review of the way it treats allegations of bullying after a rise in complaints against senior managers.
ITV News last week reported there had been an increase in cases, with 11 allegations made in the first five months of this year.
The chairman of the States Employment Board, Constable Richard Buchanan, today confirmed he would be inviting HR Lounge back to the island to review progress that has been made, following ongoing concerns about the culture of bullying within the public sector.
HR Lounge called the levels of bullying and harassment in the public sector ‘significant’ when it carried out an investigation in 2018. It led to the creation of a whistle-blower hotline for workers to make complaints.
Constable Buchanan today announced a full report on each of the complaints, and their outcomes, was due to be presented to his board in June. The independent assessors will then be brought back to independently review the situation.
Constable Buchanan said: “There is no complacency in the SEB and we are still concerned. We are getting complaints through the anonymous hotline. Any complaint about bullying is a concern for us and we are taking it seriously.”