Select a region
A review into the workplace culture of Government is to begin “immediately”, investigating issues like bullying, harassment and disciplinary procedure.
The review is being conducted by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel and will involve a series of public hearings with [the Chief Minister], the States Employment Board and other relevant stakeholders.
Key areas of investigation will include:
One of the other key areas it will look at is how procedural changes have been implemented, following a £22,000 report from independent company, HR Lounge, which concluded there was a “significant” bullying problem in the Government in 2018.
The report was only made public following a request under the Freedom of Information Law by Express.
Pictured: Senator Kristina Moore will be leading the review ‘People and Culture Review.’
Once it became public, the Government launched a dedicated whistleblowing line in response to its findings, as well as a new set of guidelines on bullying and harassment.
A £3.5m contract was also signed with UK consultants to provoke a culture change and instil a ‘Team Jersey’ attitude.
The new Scrutiny investigation will also take on board the findings of another report by HR Lounge into bullying in Government which took place in 2020, but which have yet to be released publicly.
Harassment and bullying has been a longstanding point of discussion in relation to the Government in recent years.
Pictured: In September 2020, there were 15 active cases of bullying being investigated or recorded by the Government.
Last year, Express learnt that, as of August 2020, 50 reports had been made via the whistleblower hotline over the year, with 14 resulting in disciplinary action and six resulting in a staff member being suspended.
More than half of those reports stemmed from the Education and Home Affairs departments.
Similarly, in September of that year, it was revealed that at the time there were 15 active cases of bullying being investigated or recorded within Government.
Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel Chair, Senator Kristina Moore, said of the new review: “Employees are the Government’s biggest asset. The Panel has held concerns around the organisation’s workplace culture for some time and is eager to review the efficacy of implemented changes.
"Reports of bullying and harassment are worrying and any situation in which this arises must be dealt with using stringent policies and procedures. The Panel hopes that by engaging with this review the Government will restore the highest morale among employees and reduce the level of staff turnover that has been seen in recent years."
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.