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+

Sexual harassmentBullying and harassmentMilitaryLatest NewsDiscrimination

Armed forces: minorities more likely to make complaints

by Ashleigh Webber 7 Aug 2019
by Ashleigh Webber 7 Aug 2019 Shutterstock.
Shutterstock.

Ministers “must get a grip” on tackling the disproportionately high number of complaints raised by female and ethnic minority armed forces personnel and establish an effective system for handling grievances, a group of MPs have said.

Almost a quarter (23%) of complaints recorded by the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO) in 2018 were from female service personnel, a rise of three percentage points on the previous year, according to the defence select committee’s Fairness without Fear report. This is despite women making up just 11% of the armed forces.

Forty-three per cent of women’s complaints concerned bullying, harassment and discrimination, compared to 20% of males’ complaints.

Bullying and harassment

Emma Watson launches sexual harassment helpline

Whistleblowing v grievance: how should sexual harassment be raised?

Bullying in the workplace:setting unrealistic targets

The number of complaints raised by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) was also disproportionately high. This group was represented in 13% of complaints raised, but accounts for just 7% of armed forces’ personnel. Thirty-nine per cent of complaints from BAME people involved bullying, harassment and discrimination, compared to 24% for white personnel.

The report says there is no clear data to understand why these groups were overrepresented in the armed forces’ complaints system, despite the SCO – an independent body that oversees the armed forces’ complaints system – recommending in 2016 that the Ministry of Defence commission a study to determine why.

The report says: “We are not convinced that ministers understand – or are sufficiently committed to discovering – the root causes of BAME and female service personnel complaints. They must get a grip on this important problem urgently. We will be monitoring the next satisfaction survey closely to see if there has been any improvement.”

One in 10 armed forces personnel had been subject to bullying, harassment or discrimination over the past 12 months, according to the Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey. Ninety-three per cent chose not to make a formal written complaint.

The MoD last month committed to tackling sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying after a review highlighted “unacceptable levels” of such behaviour.

The report notes that those in the armed forces do not have faith in the complaints system and many have suggested that raising a complaint has negatively affected their career, mental health and wellbeing.

The target of resolving 90% of complaints within 24 weeks has never been met, the committee claims, while decisions on the admissibility of claims take up to 86 weeks to complete instead of meeting a two-week target. The MPs suggest this is because the SCO lacks the resources to do so.

Defence committee chairman Dr Julian Lewis said: “It is essential that service personnel have a fair, effective and efficient complaints system to deal with valid grievances, but the Service Complaints Ombudsman has consistently reported that this does not exist.

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.

“The whole system risks losing credibility in the absence of a plan to streamline procedures within the services and to bring the workload of the ombudsman back into balance with the resources made available to her office to deal with it.”

Military and Defence sector HR opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more HR opportunities in military and defence

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Why check-ins are key to creating a healthy culture
next post
Pensions: NHS doctors to set accrual level to tackle tax crisis

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+