The Ministry of Defence has kicked off a programme of work to set “clear standards and expectations of behaviour” among its staff after a series of reports shone light on the rates of bullying and sexual harassment in the department.
The “Reaffirming our Standards” programme was initiated after 60 female senior civil servants wrote to permanent secretary David Williams complaining of a “hostile” and “toxic” culture last November, and came the same year the department paid out more than £1.7m to settle bullying claims.
The department paid out a total of £1.75m in settlements due to bullying, harassment and discrimination last year, its annual report reveals. This figure, and indeed the £2.54m in paid out 2022-23 – the first year such payouts were recorded in the annual report – is believed to reflect growing awareness and reporting of poor behaviour.
The MoD's organisational culture has come under close scrutiny over the last year, after reports of alleged bullying and sexual harassment were made public. The November letter included anonymised testimonies in which female MoD staff described being “propositioned”, “groped” and “touched repeatedly” by male colleagues.
In January, the department revealed that there had been 93 formal complaints of bullying made by staff in 2023 – more than four times the number in 2019, when there were 20. In March, it emerged that there were 99 live allegations of bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation across the department.
The Reaffirming our Standards programme was initiated in response to the November letter, an MoD spokesperson told CSW.
It aims to “to ensure all staff know and show the standards of behaviour that we expect”, according to the department’s annual report.
The programme covers three areas: improving the awareness, capability, and accountability of MoD leaders to set the right example, exercise their duty of care and address issues immediately; creating an open and transparent culture, with clear standards of behaviour and inclusion; and overhauling systems and processes, including casework and HR, to ensure they work effectively and support staff to report concerns.
“Reaffirming our Standards aims to improve the lived experience of personnel across Defence, be they military or civilian, through setting clear standards and expectations of behaviour; through ensuring we uphold these standards; and through increasing people’s confidence in our systems and processes that we will act swiftly and decisively if things go wrong,” the report says.
Writing in the foreword to the report, MoD permanent secretary David Williams said the programme sets “clear expectations of behaviour, together with swift and decisive actions if things go wrong”.
A new director general for people and organisational development has been appointed “to help drive the cultural, behavioural, and procedural changes required”.
Esther Wallington, who was HR director at the MoD before becoming chief people officer at HM Revenue and Customs in 2016, took up the DG post in May.
The MoD is in the process of setting up an external challenge panel comprised of independent experts who will test and monitor the programme.
The department also plans to appoint an external ethics adviser, modelled on existing ethics counsellor positions in the National Security Office and agencies.
The Reaffirming our Standards programme is building on “extensive work” that has already been done in response to a series of reviews in recent years, the report said. They include the 2019 Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviours in the armed forces; the 2020 unacceptable behaviours progress review; and the 2021 Women in the Armed Forces Report.
In establishing the programme, Defence leadership has drawn on input from other civil service leaders, external inclusion review leads, trade unions and “teams making positive change across government”, the department said.
An MoD spokesperson told CSW: “The Reaffirming our Standards programme was initiated following a letter from a number of female civil servants about unacceptable behaviour and cultural issues.
“It builds on work taking place across the department and the military to ensure that all staff know and show the standards of behaviour that we expect, as well as instilling a positive culture, and eliminating unacceptable behaviour.
“As part of this, we are improving the reporting and handling of complaints, taking action to prevent harassment and discrimination, and have introduced zero-tolerance policies.
“The Reaffirming our Standards programme is overseen by an external challenge panel of experienced subject matter experts.
“We know there is more work to be done and are committed to improving the experience for both military and civilian personnel in Defence.”