More than 10% of respondents to a City of London Corporation staff survey said they had experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination in the last year.
The most common source identified was from other colleagues (53%), followed by senior leaders (45%) and the staff member’s own line manager (31%). A representative at one of the unions representing Corporation staff described the survey results as ‘not at all surprising’.
A spokesperson for the City of London said the Corporation has “a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and discrimination and robust policies and procedures in place”.
The survey, which was carried out by the agency People Insight between 15 April and 17 May this year, was conducted to assess employee satisfaction, engagement and areas of improvement within the Corporation. The response rate constituted 74% of the City’s workforce, up on 52% in 2022, which officers wrote in an accompanying report provided a ‘comprehensive overview of staff sentiments’.
The report highlighted a series of areas where scores have improved on two years’ ago, including responses to statements such as ‘people help and support each other where I work’, and ‘if asked, I would say to friends and family this is a good place to work’.
The findings were not universally positive. One set of results which elicited particular consternation during last week’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting, at which the report was presented, related to the statement ‘Members demonstrate our values and behaviours including leading for Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’. Just 27% of respondents agreed with this sentiment, with 26% disagreeing and 46% neutral.
Commenting on the data at the committee meeting, Deputy Ann Holmes said: “I found it very worrying indeed, because it is saying both that we don’t think members are up to leadership or good governance, and therefore unsurprisingly are not up to much on equality, diversity and inclusion, and I think that…[is] the most worrying by far of the report.”
The report also recorded how, of the 2,850 staff members who filled out the survey, 350 selected ‘yes’ when recording if they had experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination in the last 12 months, with a further 352 opting for ‘prefer not to say’. 2,148 selected ‘no’.
Corporation officers wrote that during the relevant period, just 12 formal bullying and harassment cases were recorded along with five disciplinary cases linked to discrimination.
“This significant disparity between the survey results and the number of formal cases suggests that many instances of bullying, harassment, or discrimination may go unreported or unresolved through formal channels,” they added.
The report continued to note efforts to improve these figures, such as a programme launched to foster a more ‘supportive and inclusive work environment’, as well as re-establishing the Leadership Exchange, which brings together 140 senior leaders at the Corporation to help embed behaviours and values throughout the workforce.
Anna Lee, Regional Organiser at GMB Union which represents staff across the Corporation, said: “The results of the survey are not at all surprising. The GMB is contacted every day by staff who are experiencing bullying, discrimination and harassment.
“The City of London is well aware of the problems but is unable to provide solutions. Management training courses are not working as 31 per cent of people who experience bullying are bullied by their managers. Years of cuts, staff shortages and restructures has created a very stressful environment where unfortunately we see more cases of bullying. We are seeing more and more cases where staff are on long term sickness absence or leave the organisation.
“We have been raising issues around bullying and discrimination for years and the City of London recognise these issues, but they appear unable to do anything about it. We call on the City of London to work with the GMB to stamp out workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination.”
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “All allegations of inappropriate behaviour or language in the workplace are taken seriously, with a thorough investigation, appropriate action taken, and support given.
“The staff survey results have been shared with the organisation and all colleagues have been given the opportunity to discuss them and are feeding into the development of some key actions which are most important to our staff.
“Our People Strategy and Equality Objectives outline our priorities and commitment to being a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming organisation where everyone feels safe, respected and can thrive.”
In 2022, Westminster City Council ran a Bi-Borough survey in partnership with Kensington and Chelsea which found 13% of staff reported experiencing inappropriate behaviour at work over the prior 12 months. And last year, in 2023, New Statesman reported on a ‘toxic’ culture within Parliament, following a staff survey which found eight per cent of respondents said they had been bullied or harassed in the previous 12 months.
