A quarter of fire and rescue services in England have received reports of racist, homophobic and misogynistic behaviour from employees in the past five years, according to the service’s inspectorate.
The report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) – Values and culture in fire and rescue services – included allegations of bullying in all services.
Some of the cases in the report included a male firefighter telling a female colleague he would rape her and a senior officer using a racist slur. The review covered 44 services in England, drawing on evidence from inspection reports.
The latest report suggests little has changed in fire service culture since an earlier review in 2020 by HMICFRS, which highlighted a “toxic, bullying culture” and a lack of racial and gender diversity in fire services in England.
In 2022, the inspectorate placed fire services in London and Gloucestershire into special measures after similar complaints.
An independent culture review into the London Fire Brigade in 2022 found it to be “institutionally misogynist and racist”.
Roy Wilsher, who runs the inspectorate, said “it is time for this behaviour to stop” and that fire and rescue services were “so clearly in urgent need of change”.
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There were allegations of racist, homophobic and misogynistic behaviour in 11 of the 44 services, but these have not been named because allegations have been made in confidence.
Employees who came forward to inspectors remarked on the organisational culture feeling like a “boys’ club” or said their “card would be marked” if they complained. Staff talked about making mistakes during training sessions and being “shouted down” by staff.
The report included an allegation that a senior officer threatened to make a colleague’s “life hell” when they reported a racist incident.
Background check arrangements across services were found to be too varied, and the report said there was “little assurance” that all staff are safe and suitable to carry out their roles.
It was also damning on levels of diversity in fire services in England. The inspectorate branded five services as “cause for concern” on diversity; 26 as “requires improvement” or “inadequate” and detailed 72 areas for improvement across 32 services.
In more than half of bullying and harassment cases reported, these were associated with a protected characteristic, it said. Investigation only resulted in individuals leaving the service in a quarter of cases, and almost half of these left through retirement or resignation. The police were only involved in one in 10 cases.
The report said that the fire service was the “least ethnically diverse workforce” in the public sector, and that this lack of diversity was inhibiting its ability to tackle cultural issues.
The review comes just days after Baroness Louise Casey released her damning final findings on workplace culture in the Metropolitan Police, saying a “boys’ club culture” was rife.
Wilsher made a list of 35 recommendations in the report, and urged fire and rescue service leaders to accept the findings and prioritise making improvements.
The recommendations included:
- Chief fire officers should make sure there is a confidential way for staff to raise concerns, and ensure staff are aware of whistleblowing processes.
- Should review guidance and standards on background checking, clarifying the minimum requirements and ensuring appropriate safeguarding is in place.
- Review guidance on handling investigations into misconduct and clarify outcomes such as whether an incident requires dismissal.
- Ensure there is a “full, 360-degree feedback process” in place for all senior leaders in the service, gathering feedback from a wide range of sources.
- Seek feedback from staff on workplace culture, values, fairness and diversity.
- Review how they gather and use equality and diversity data to improve their understanding of staff demographics.
- By 1 June 2023, chief fire officers should specify in succession plans how they intend to improve diversity across all levels of the service.
The executive council of the Fire Brigades Union said in response to the report: “While some of the revelations contained in recent reports are shocking, some do not come as a surprise.
“Bullying, harassment and discrimination go unreported or overlooked. There is evidence that some principal managers have abused their positions and escaped accountability. Complainants have found themselves under investigation or subject to disciplinary proceedings.
“The FBU has long represented complainants, and our reps and officials have witnessed first-hand the failure of Fire and Rescue Service employers to properly address these issues.”
Dr Jonathan Lord, senior lecturer in HRM and employment law at the University of Salford Business School, said the findings were worrying. “Institutional discrimination is usually engrained within the culture of an organisation which then adversely affects the behaviours of staff. Having a strategy to tackle this will not be the solution, only a determined change in culture and diversifying the workforce will ensure that these issues will be eradicated,” he said.
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“Historically, institutions like the fire and police services have refuted repeated chances to reform by cherry picking the improvements from official enquiries. All 35 recommendations made in the HMICFRS report must be systematically addressed, with the fire service’s senior leadership being held accountable. The FBU should also be utilised to help drive the required changes, as it still has the influence within its membership to provide practical solutions and monitor the progress of the reforms.”
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