Avon Fire and Rescue bullying claims passed off as banter

A review into Avon Fire and Rescue was commissioned in February in the hope of rooting out inappropriate behaviour

Fire service staff should be trained in the difference between bullying and banter, an independent review has said.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS) commissioned One Legal for the review in February, with the aim of rooting out inappropriate behaviour.

Re-examining 11 disciplinary cases since 2021, lawyers found that in some cases, staff had passed off bullying claims as banter.

AFRS said it was now providing additional training for staff.

The review found that decisions and sanctions in five of the 11 disciplinary hearings into alleged gross misconduct, which involved complaints such as homophobia and sexism, did not meet the required standards.

It said while in several cases "issues were investigated in accordance with good practice", some were not properly investigated.

AFRS has accepted 13 recommendations, including setting-up a confidential whistleblowing hotline run by Crimestoppers, to allow staff to raise concerns anonymously.

The report was discussed at a recent Avon Fire Authority policy & resources committee meeting, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

One Legal head of law, Sarah Farooqi, told members while they were unsure whether doing things differently would have led to findings of gross misconduct or dismissal, it was important for AFRS to make sure staff and managers knew "the difference between banter and bullying and where you overstep that line".

Chief Fire Officer Simon Shilton said staff must have confidence that the organisation would take complaints seriously

Chief Fire Officer Simon Shilton, who commissioned the review, told the meeting that the service had been on a "cultural journey" since 2018 when an independent inspection raised concerns about issues including misogyny and that steps to address these would be accelerated.

The meeting was told that work was already under way to implement the recommendations, including more training for staff on "the difference between 'banter' and bullying" and more support given to those who raise complaints.

AFRS also said the service's disciplinary, grievance and complaints procedures were currently under review and independent external investigators will be drafted in to work on cases.