Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many settlement payments his Department issued following claims of (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination in the (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22 and (iv) 2022-23 financial years.
The FCDO has a zero tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and discrimination and is committed to a workplace in which all employees feel respected and fairly treated. In the financial year 2019/2020, there were no settlements following claims of bullying, harassment or discrimination. In each of the subsequent three financial years, there were fewer than five such settlement payments. One settlement payment made in 2022/2023 was in response to a finding by the Employment Tribunal against the FCDO; all other cases were settled with no admission or finding of liability.