Bullying Review: Witnesses Persuaded Not To Come Forward

A second review into the scale of bullying and harassment within Jersey's public sector has found several stories of witnesses being threatened and persuaded not to come forward.

The HR Lounge has examined the progress made on recommendations given in its first review back in 2017.

Revelations of secret bullying and employees being scared to speak up was revealed four years ago. The consultants say while the position has improved, some issues remain.

That includes stories of pressure being placed on complainants and witnesses in what's been described as 'The Jersey Factor'.

The HR Lounge says the absence of any support mechanism for witnesses is a serious gap in government policy.

It was found that some managers are failing to deal with inappropriate behaviour, with suggestions they might be tardy in accepting responsibility and dealing quickly enough with the situation.

There were other examples of managers being put off from challenging issues with performance because they're worried it may lead to a bullying complaint against them.

Other matters of concern raised by the HR Lounge included:

• Incomplete case files
• Illegible witness statements
• Too much time being taken in the early days after a complaint
• A reluctance from middle managers in the Health Department to deal with difficult situations because of fear that criticism would come their way

Only a few recommendations were made, as the consultants said doing too many were unhelpful following the 'recommendation-rich' report in 2017.

They include:

• Considering changes to the bullying policy
• Carrying out independent assessments for receiving and responding to complaints
• Promote the benefits of mediation
• A new Witness Support programme
• Introduce a new triage system within the Case Management Unit
• Investing more in middle management
• Be firm of breaches to government values
• Carry out a stress audit 
• Consider ways in which management might feel more supported to tackle below-par performance

20 of the 29 recommendations made in 2017 have been acted upon.

"I am pleased that the improvements we have made in our culture and processes since HR Lounge's initial report have been recognised. This follow-up report acknowledges that significant progress has been made. It found that our employees are more confident about reporting allegations of bullying and that our managers are taking the issue seriously.

"We know there's more work to do, and that is why we invited HR Lounge back to assess our progress and to suggest further improvements. We have implemented 20 of the recommendations made in 2017 and will now get on with the remaining proposals." - Constable Richard Buchanan, vice-chair of the States Employment Board.