Harassment and bullying ‘very real concern’ within the BBC

Although sexual harassment was found to be “very rare” – with 37 complaints in the past six years throughout its staff – the corporation said yesterday it would be tightening up its procedures for dealing with staff concerns.

An 80-page report by barrister Dinah Rose heard there were “known bullies” within the organisation, and although inappropriate behaviour was “not pervasive or endemic” at the moment, the report concluded: “It is visible, frequent and consistent enough to be a very real concern.”

The review into harassment and bullying found some staff were scared of making complaints, they found the current procedures “uncomfortable” and many felt if they tried to raise concerns informally they would be “swept under the carpet”.

The report said some behaviour went unchallenged by senior managers and it found: “Some individuals are seen as being ‘untouchable’ due to their perceived value to the BBC.”

Responding to the findings the BBC said it will remove gagging clauses from its contracts to make it easier for staff to speak out about any harassment claims.

It will also speed up grievance procedures and draw staff’s attention to the sort of behaviour it expects from them, as well as revamping its bullying and harassment policy with a new emphasis on sorting out issues informally.

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, welcomed action to tackle bullying, and said: “It is quite clear that bullying has become an institutionalised problem at the BBC, one that has taken hold over many years.

“Many see that bullies have been allowed to get away with shocking behaviour right under the noses of senior management, so have no faith that complaining will bring any redress.”

BBC director-general Tony Hall said parts of the report made “uncomfortable reading”.

“We need to be honest about our shortcomings and single-minded in addressing them. I want zero tolerance of bullying and a culture where people feel able to raise concerns and have the confidence that they will be dealt with appropriately.

“I also want people to be able to speak freely about their experiences of working at the BBC so that we can learn from them.”

He said the BBC would remove derogatory statement restrictions – the gagging clauses which are common in many jobs – from future BBC contracts and compromise agreements.

The corporation has pledged to cut the time taken to hear grievances by two-thirds, and in future they will be heard by managers from other divisions.

The review was commissioned after the Jimmy Savile scandal erupted last year, alongside an inquiry into the culture and practices of the BBC and another into the decision-making process which led to a Newsnight item probing the late DJ’s activities being dropped.

Yesterday’s report said there was evidence that sexual harassment does occur at the BBC “but it is now very rare”. Many of the submissions it received dated back to “ten, 20 or more years ago”.

It said: “There have been 37 formal complaints of sexual harassment over the past six years, an average of only six per year, out of a population of approximately 22,000 staff and 60,000 freelancers who work with the BBC each year.”

Where there had been claims of sexual harassment at the BBC, the report noted there were two common features: “A tendency for the victim to be young and in the early stages of their career and almost exclusively female (with the exception of some gay men reporting incidents), and the perpetrators are in positions of influence who clearly feel confident that they can act freely.”

It said in the small number of recent instances victims felt they had nowhere safe and confidential to report their plight, and they had no confidence the BBC would know how to deal with the matter.

The report said the review had been offered no specific evidence of “talent” at today’s BBC being involved in any sort of sexual harassment.