Toxic Work Environment Found at Nursing and Midwifery Council

An independent investigation has revealed a toxic work environment within the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Poor behaviours reported include bullying, discrimination, and racism at work.

In this article, we take a closer look at the outcomes of the investigation and the response of the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Further, we consider what constitutes a toxic work environment and discuss what employers and employees can do to manage this type of negative workplace culture.

If you have experienced any form of workplace harassment, our expert team of employment law specialists at Redmans Solicitors can help. We will handle your case with sensitivity and answer all your questions.

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Investigation Finds Toxic Work Environment Within the Nursing and Midwifery Council

Regulator of the UK nursing sector, The Nursing and Midwifery Council, has recently received numerous employee complaints. These have included allegations of sexism, racism, and restrictions on voicing concerns.

In response, the NMC launched an independent investigation into its workplace culture earlier this year, which included a survey of 1,040 employees. The investigation was conducted by Rise Associates and has revealed some quite alarming findings.

Toxic Work Environment Leads to Sleepless Nights and Anti-Depressants for Staff

According to the investigation report, 40% of NMC employees reported experiencing microaggressions in the workplace over the past year. Further, 12% of employees had experienced bullying or harassment in the past twelve months, with 17% having witnessed such behaviour. Regarding procedures for dealing with bullying and harassment, 31% stated that such procedures were unclear and 36% said they were not followed.

The report identified instances of employee stress and poor health resulting from a toxic work environment. These employees were described as “angry, frustrated and exhausted”, some recounting their experiences in tears. The report stated: “We heard staff talk about taking antidepressants, managing their hair falling out and not being able to sleep because of bullying and bad management.”

The backlog of fitness-to-practice cases was also extremely high, with around 6,000 cases currently outstanding. Some nurses reported having waited for five years for a decision and the negative impact which this had on their mental health. Records show that there have been six instances of nurses in this position completing suicide. Pressure to clear this backlog is also impacting the decisions being made, with some concerning cases being overlooked.

Additional areas for concern included a lack of consistent training, unstructured career development, and no meaningful performance management. Moreover, disabled employees often receive little support and reasonable adjustments are rarely made.

Addressing Workplace Issues is Front and Centre of Change, Says NMC

Chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Sir David Warren, has expressed disappointment and regret at the findings of the investigation. Apologising to the people who faced this, he assures that addressing workplace harassment is “front and centre of change at the NMC.”

He also extended condolences to the families of the suicide victims, promising that these cases would be re-examined. Furthermore, apologies were given to those currently awaiting decisions and assurances that recommendations of the report would be implemented to improve the situation.

Former NMC CEO, Angela Sutcliffe, has spoken about the importance of change at the NMC. “It’s extremely important for the organisation to truly listen and respond”, she says.

Recognising The Signs of a Toxic Workplace

According to the UK government, a toxic work environment comprises workplace bullying and harassment. Put simply, this is “behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended.”

Such behaviours can be exhibited by any member of staff, including colleagues, supervisors, and managers. Such toxicity can cause significant harm, preventing employees from working effectively, and creating an extremely negative workplace culture.

There are many types of behaviour which might contribute to a toxic work environment. Examples of these might include unfair treatment, regular undermining, malicious rumours, and denial of training or promotion. Such toxicity might occur in person, over the phone, or via email. Moreover, it needn’t take place in the workplace but also outside of work or at social events.

Physical Signs of Workplace Toxicity

Instances of workplace toxicity may manifest as unwanted physical conduct, jokes, gestures, imagery or even graffiti. They may be one-off occurrences or ongoing. The effects for different individuals can vary greatly and may include disrespect, fear, humiliation, and offence.

Harassment and discrimination are unlawful in the UK under the Equality Act 2010. As such, it is important to be able to identify when these are taking place in the workplace. Harassment occurs when a hostile environment is created for an employee or their dignity is violated.

On a similar note, discrimination is considered unfair or unfavourable due to the presence of a protected characteristic. For more on protected characteristics, take a look at our Protected Characteristics Guide.

How to Address a Toxic Work Environment

Employers Have a Duty of Care to Prevent Toxic Workplaces

Employers have a duty of care to all their employees, workers, contractors, and candidates. Given the harmful effects a toxic work environment can have, employers need to manage their workplace culture as much as possible. Taking a proactive approach to preventing a toxic work environment is advisable, such as:

  1. Creating and implementing policies on workplace harassment and ensuring staff receive appropriate training to identify such behaviours.
  2. Identifying and dealing with instances of workplace bullying and harassment to prevent a toxic work environment from forming.
  3. Having and promoting positive business values can help to avoid a toxic work environment.

Managers should demonstrate these and encourage other employees to do likewise. Unfriendly competition and gossip should be discouraged, as should negative judgement of colleagues.

I Work in a Toxic Work Environment – What Can I Do?

All employees play a role in achieving a specific workplace culture. It is important for employees to work together to ensure that their workplace culture remains positive. A key part of this is understanding workplace toxicity, how this manifests, and how to avoid it.

Employees should be sensitive to colleagues’ feelings and refrain from saying anything which may cause offence or upset. To this end, employees should make an effort to attend any training on workplace harassment and racism at work provided by their employer.

Being vigilant for any instances of bullying, workplace harassment or racism at work and following the correct processes to report these will also help ensure they are managed appropriately.

Working in a toxic work environment? Get in Touch Today!

If you have experienced a toxic workplace culture and suffered from workplace harassment, our employment law experts would be keen to help. Contact Redmans Solicitors’ compassionate team today to arrange a free, confidential consultation.

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