More than 50 complaints including bullying at States

The figure spans over the last three years

More than 50 complaints about issues including bullying and harassment have been made by Guernsey States staff in the last three years.

A spokesperson for Prospect Union, which represents civil servants, said bully is "unacceptable and has no place in a modern work environment".

The States of Guernsey, which provided the figures, said staff were "encouraged to raise any issues relating to inappropriate behaviour" with their line manager.

Chris Gnapp, Manging Director of HR company Leapfrog Limited, said the figures are "not out of line with what we'd expect from an organisation of that size".

The States is the island's biggest employer with about 5,000 staff.

The Prospect Union spokesperson said: "We note the statistics released by the States, but these may understate the extent of the issue as bullying will often go unreported as individuals can be reluctant to make their concerns formal."

They added: We will be writing to our members encouraging them to notify us of any bullying concerns so that we can provide support where needed."

The States said: "HR policies provide guidance for managers and staff in terms of how to deal with concerns, and how best to resolve such matters, which might be informally (e.g. feedback and facilitated conversations) or more formally, via an investigation.

"A formal investigation may result in findings against the person accused of bullying, however, such findings could vary, and again, be resolved via various mechanisms, such as structured feedback; additional training; mediation between the two parties; or, in the most serious cases, disciplinary sanction."