Progress made tackling workplace bullying - report

The public sector has made "good progress" in addressing bullying and harassment in the workplace, a report has found.

The Bullying and Harassment Report by the States Employment Board (SEB) found "significant improvements" had been made in policy, investigation quality and managerial awareness since its last report in 2021.

The report looked into "all aspects of the public service", including political leadership, senior leaders and individual departments.

The SEB said it was important for a "supportive culture" to be created in the workplace and that definitions of bullying and harassment needed to be clarified to ensure transparency in investigations.

It found support systems needed to be more "robust" for complainants, respondents and witnesses - noting a "duty of care to employees is better given if support is offered to all involved".

Many workplace cultural issues were found to have been "overcome" due to the "quality of the systems and processes" introduced.

However, the SEB found there were a lack of post-resolution checks noted on outcomes and complainant satisfaction.

It said: "We were surprised therefore to learn that there is no follow-up at say three, six or twelve-month points to check that conclusions that emanate from hearings.

"More important, there is no follow-up with complainants to check that the underlying misbehaviour that informed the complaint in the first place has stopped or altered."

The report recommended establishing a more robust triage system for handling complaints, integrating feedback systems to ensure outcomes led to lasting change and to develop a detailed behavioural framework to compliment organisational values.

It concluded the public sector to have "improved the position" it was in since the first review was made in 2018.

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