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There are currently 15 “live cases” of bullying and harassment across Government, it has emerged, as it faces increasing scrutiny over the treatment and wellbeing of staff.
The figures were contained in a letter from the Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré to 'Chief Scrutineer' Senator Kristina Moore, and published this morning.
In it, he noted that nine complaints were currently “under investigation”.
The figures have been revealed as fresh concerns are being raised about the welfare of public sector staff and an increasingly pressurised working environment.
Pictured: The Chief Minister revealed the figures in a letter to Senator Kristina Moore.
Just this week, it was reported that Treasury employees had been left in "distress" from a combination of "poor management" and a "lack of support".
According to Senator Moore, some had even been spotted "regularly crying at their desks."
It comes almost around two years after Express unearthed a damning report on a “high level” of secret bullying within Government, revealing that employees had regularly been “shouted at”, “belittled” and made the subject of “loose talk and gossip”.
In the wake of report being made public, a new policy on bullying complaints was drawn up.
Pictured: Adjectives used by Government staff to describe their seniors in the original 2018 report.
Under the new policy, inappropriate comments about someone’s appearance, personal preferences or choices, insults or offensive comments and jokes, as well as sexual advances, including over email or messages, were labelled sanctionable offences.
The Government also spent £3.5m on a contract with TDP Development in a bid to change its culture and instil a ‘Team Jersey’ attitude in its thousands of employees. That contract was recently extended due to the pandemic.
In addition, a whistleblower hotline was set up to allow Government workers to make anonymous complaints.
Pictured: The Expolink app for whistleblowing.
A recent request made under the Freedom of Information Law revealed that 50 reports had been made via the hotline over the past year, with 14 resulting in disciplinary action and six resulted in a staff member being suspended.
Of those, more than half came from the Home Affairs and Education Departments.
HR specialists behind the initial bullying report returned to island last month for a 25-day investigation, which involved holding focus groups with staff, to see if problem had been cleared up.
Asked when that report will be made public, a Government spokesperson told Express: “The [States Employment Board] expects to receive the report by the end of October. It will be for the Board to decide the next steps.”
The members of the States Employment Board, which has responsibility for public sector employees’ pay and working conditions, are:
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