BULLYING, misogyny and discrimination need stamping out at Avon Fire and Rescue Service’s control room, a damning report has found.
The department is at risk of a mass exodus through resignations, along with employment tribunal claims, because morale is at “rock bottom”, arguments break out easily, workloads are unmanageably high causing stress, and trust in senior leaders is so low, the report revealed.
Changes in the management structure of the team, which handles 999 calls and dispatches fire crews, are already underway following the investigation by independent consultants, which will be discussed by councillors on Avon Fire Authority audit, governance and oversight committee on Friday, March 14.
The advisory review, requested by AFRS’s professional standards board, followed leadership concerns about poor working culture, communication issues, inappropriate behaviour, and “strained workplace relationships” in the control and communications department.
The deep dive also came on the back of the 2023 findings of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) that rated Avon as inadequate or requiring improvement in key areas, including promoting the right values and culture, recruiting and developing skilled personnel, and performance management and leadership development.
While that and other previous reviews have assessed the service as a whole, the latest probe focused on the unique experiences and challenges faced by control employees for the first time.
A report to the committee said: “There were concerning allegations raised in a handful of survey responses of bullying; discrimination; and misogynistic language, all which AFRS has a legal duty to protect their employees from.
“Action needs to be taken by senior leaders to rebuild trust, there need to be mechanisms for transparent decision-making and communication and there is a need to align leadership behaviour with organisational values.
“There is a need for initiatives to address low morale and staff engagement, actions are required to eliminate discriminatory behaviours and ensure a respectful workplace with effective mechanisms to report and address misconduct.
“A review of the promotion policy is required to ensure it is suited to Control, the promotion process should be fair and transparent at all times.
“Organisational changes should be considered to allow for career mobility within the service to assist with the development of staff in Control.
“A review of staffing levels and workload distribution should be completed in Control and steps taken to prevent burnout and staff disengagement.
“This should include consideration of administrative support for managers to reduce workload strain in the Control room.”
The consultants’ report said morale was “low at all levels”.
It said: “Misogynistic language is cited by employees and must be stamped out.
“One employee noted that they regularly hear misogynistic language from male employees that they found to be unamusing, and which makes for an uncomfortable working environment.
“This included examples of comments about attractive female staff and jokes about transgender athletes competing at the Olympics.”