Claims of bullying and harassment by former staff at Sellafield

Revealed in a BBC report on March 10, former staff members criticised the organisation for its “toxic culture”.

Various claims have been made against the nuclear site, which employs 10,000 people, including derogatory terms being used by senior staff members, bullying, sexual harassment, and racist and homophobic remarks being made.

Former Sellafield senior manager, Karl Connor, resigned in January after 13 years at the organisation, following a breakdown he feels was partly caused by bullying, and he is now in the process of bringing a disability discrimination case against the company.

Describing his time at Sellafield, Mr Connor said: “My experiences were predominantly positive – there were so many fantastic people doing amazing, clever things.

“But in my last two or three years there, working on diversity and equality, I heard some things that, once I’d heard about them, I couldn’t not see them, and I just couldn’t continue working there.

“There was one day where I sat at my desk and just cried, and my amazing supportive wife and family said, ‘you have to leave’, and I knew they were right.”

He continued: “I still have friends and people I know who work there, and I wish them all well – I really hope Sellafield does improve its working environment, because it’s going to be employing local people for years and years to come.

“I think it is possible for change to happen, but the problems needs to be acknowledged before that can happen.

“Let’s hope things change, because by God, they need to.”

Also currently in dispute with the organisation is senior consultant Alison McDermott, who was hired in 2017 to work on Sellafield’s equality strategy.

Ms McDermott’s contract was terminated in October 2018 – days after she submitted an internal report highlighting human resource issues across the site.

This led Ms McDermott to take her case to an employment tribunal, believing she was dismissed for whistleblowing.

Since leaving the company, she has been unable to return to work due to being “traumatised” by the experience.

Ms McDermott said that at the preliminary hearing to the tribunal in July, she was accused of being “self absorbed, self serving and chasing a windfall”.

“I was traumatised by [what was said],” she said. “People who heard what was said have told me they were just as shocked as I was – it was extremely hurtful, and I really am traumatised by it.”

Ms McDermott also claims the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which oversees Sellafield, took action to remove her crowdfunding page, which she is relying on to pay her legal fees.

A spokesperson for the NDA has denied these allegations, and said: “The NDA did not take steps to take down Ms McDermott’s crowdfunding page.”

He continued: “There is zero tolerance for bullying and harassment at any of our sites, or within any part of the NDA group.

“We actively encourage people to come forward with their concerns and we take the investigations extremely seriously. Any employee grievances, including any claims of bullying and harassment, are a concern for us and we are committed to addressing them.

“Building a respectful, supportive, diverse and inclusive culture is the key to tackling bullying and harassment and making the NDA a great place to work.

“We’ve taken some important steps forward, but acknowledge that there is still work to do.”

Sellafield has responded to the allegations, acknowledging there is “more work to do” to resolve the issue of toxicity in the workplace.

A spokesperson for Sellafield Ltd said: “We’re committed to ensuring all of our employees are respected, included, and able to perform at their best.

“There is no place for bullying and harassment at Sellafield. We do not tolerate it and where we find it, we take action.

“We are working hard to improve our processes so employees can have confidence that when issues are raised, they are dealt with.

“We closely monitor our progress, including seeking the views of our workforce through working groups and surveys.

“It was one of these surveys, in 2018, that first brought focus to concerns about bullying and harassment.

“We did not ignore this, or seek to cover it up. We confronted the issue, proactively shared information with employees, and developed a company-wide improvement programme. This work is continuing.

“We accept we have more work to do in this area, but we remain as committed as ever to eradicating unacceptable behaviour from our workplace.”