Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

MilitaryEquality, diversity and inclusionLatest NewsDiscriminationPublic sector

Defence chief demands action to counter armed forces racism

by Adam McCulloch 11 Jun 2020
by Adam McCulloch 11 Jun 2020

All armed forces personnel should see the potential in every recruit and refuse to allow intolerance, said the UK’s most senior military officer today.

Speaking after a meeting of the heads of the services on Wednesday, General Sir Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff, said more needed to be done to tackle racial discrimination in the UK’s armed forces, the most senior military officer has said.

According to the BBC defence sources said there had been “soul searching” about events highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement.

In his letter to soldiers, sailors and air force personnel, General Carter said the service chiefs agreed that these events “have brought the issues of racism and discrimination sharply into focus”.

He said: “We owe it to our black, Asian and minority ethnic servicemen and women, who will be feeling concerned at the moment, to try to look at this from their perspective, to listen and to continue to make change happen.”

Armed services and discrimination

Concern over frequency of racist bullying in armed forces

MoD vows tackle harassment and bullying in armed services

Global business embraces Black Lives Matter movement

General Carter described the armed forces as a rich mix of faiths, colour, gender and creeds and said people were valued for their abilities, “not for what they look like or where they come from”.

But he said the armed forces needed to force the pace of change.

Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) personnel make up just over 8% of the total armed forces – with a target to increase that proportion to 10% this year.

For the past four years the Armed Forces Ombudsman annual report has repeatedly highlighted that BAME personnel are significantly more likely to complain about bullying, harassment and discrimination than their white counterparts.

At the end of last year the services complaints ombudsman said racism was on the rise in the UK’s armed forces and concerted action was needed to curb it. Incidents of racism in the armed forces were “occurring with increasing and depressing frequency,” said Nicola Williams.

In one recent successful case for the claimants Nkululeko Zulu and Hani Gue, both former paratroopers, told an employment tribunal in September 2019 that they had been subject to racial discrimination and harassment which the Army had not taken reasonable steps to prevent.

The racist incidents included the drawing of a swastika and the words “F**** off” and “n*****” on photographs of the men at their barracks.

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Browse more human resources jobs

 

army
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
Uber drivers in court over ministers’ failure to help gig workers
next post
Time for action on ethnic diversity in the workplace

You may also like

DSTL scientist constructively dismissed for gender-critical views

24 Mar 2025

Bomb disposal veterans at heightened risk of bladder...

24 Mar 2025

‘Independent’ team to handle Armed Forces complaints

18 Mar 2025

Schneider Electric doubles ex-military green skills scheme

13 Mar 2025

Army inquest hears of widespread sexual harassment claims

19 Feb 2025

LGBT army veterans set to receive up to...

11 Dec 2024

Retention payments to tackle decline in armed forces

22 Nov 2024

Labour scraps ′outdated’ armed forces recruitment rules

23 Sep 2024

British Army settles racism and sexism claim with...

2 Aug 2024

Reeves confirms public sector pay rises of 5-6%

30 Jul 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+