Saturday, July 10, 2021
Paying the price for bullying
The Independent reports that departmental accounts show the Home Office spent more than £370,000 to settle a top civil servant’s tribunal claim after he quit amid allegations of Priti Patel’s bullying.
They say that former permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam accepted the six-figure sum earlier this year after launching legal action against the Home Secretary, following his dramatic resignation in February last year, accusing Ms Patel of a “vicious and orchestrated” briefing campaign against him. An employment tribunal was due to hear his case in September with him claiming constructive dismissal and accusing her of bullying subordinates.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the paper it is reported that a former Conservative party treasurer and an ex-adviser to George Osborne are among three peers facing punishment for refusing to take part in anti-bullying training.
All MPs and peers, as well as their staff, are required to join the ‘Valuing Everyone’ courses – introduced after Parliament was rocked by bullying and harassment allegations. But Lord James of Blackheath, Lord Kalms and Lord Willoughby de Broke have now been named-and-shamed for ignoring repeated urgings to attend.
The paper says they will have their access to House of Lords services restricted, if a recommendation is rubberstamped by fellow peers, as expected, in the next fortnight.
Time to double down on this training and to imcrease the consequences for those caught bullying staff and civil servants.
They say that former permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam accepted the six-figure sum earlier this year after launching legal action against the Home Secretary, following his dramatic resignation in February last year, accusing Ms Patel of a “vicious and orchestrated” briefing campaign against him. An employment tribunal was due to hear his case in September with him claiming constructive dismissal and accusing her of bullying subordinates.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the paper it is reported that a former Conservative party treasurer and an ex-adviser to George Osborne are among three peers facing punishment for refusing to take part in anti-bullying training.
All MPs and peers, as well as their staff, are required to join the ‘Valuing Everyone’ courses – introduced after Parliament was rocked by bullying and harassment allegations. But Lord James of Blackheath, Lord Kalms and Lord Willoughby de Broke have now been named-and-shamed for ignoring repeated urgings to attend.
The paper says they will have their access to House of Lords services restricted, if a recommendation is rubberstamped by fellow peers, as expected, in the next fortnight.
Time to double down on this training and to imcrease the consequences for those caught bullying staff and civil servants.
