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WQ.202/2018
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE STATES EMPLOYMENT BOARD BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2018
Question
Further to the response of the Chief Minister to Oral Question 70/2018 regarding the report of The HR Lounge on bullying and harassment in the States, in which he stated that the matters raised would be "looked into as a matter of urgency", will the Chairman –
- update members on how any of the report's recommendations have been adopted and what changes have been made in the treatment of public sector workers since the report's publication; and
- explain how the situation will be monitored to ensure the development of a culture in which staff feel safe to voice their concerns and the embedding of such a culture in the changing structure of the States?
Answer
Two new policies have been drafted: Whistleblowing and Bullying and Harassment, the content of which have been approved by the States Employment Board. The policies respond to the key recommendations made in the HR Lounge report and will be published in January 2019.
It is important that public sector workers feel supported and safe when raising concerns. Hence an independent, third party off-Island Speak-Up Line' has been secured for employees to contact directly as necessary, in addition to the normal line management structure. The supplier provides reporting on key insights and statistics which will allow the Board to monitor concerns in order that areas for improvement may be identified throughout the public sector. This will be launched in January 2019
Training has been sourced to support the roll-out of both policies to ensure the consistent application of the policy and its procedures. This will complement the work to be undertaken on values and behaviours by the Team Jersey programme during 2019 and 2020.