Bullying: 14 allegations made against Sheffield councillors and managers in just five years, data shows

Sheffield City Council received at least 14 allegations of bullying against elected councillors and senior staff in a five year period, data obtained by The Star has revealed.

Elected city councillors have been the subject of five of the allegations since 2018. Two were attributed to Labour councillors; two attributed to Liberal Democrat councillors; and one to a Green Party councillor. There have been no complaints against Independent and Conservative councillors, according to the data released.

Nine allegations were lodged against staff managers over the same time period.

Sheffield City Council told The Star it does not "identify the level of manager" in its reporting process.

Regarding the allegations, a spokesperson for Sheffield City Council told The Star that the 14 allegations revealed in our Freedom of Information request were dealt with through a 'formal proceedure'.

The spokesperson said there were "almost certainly" more complaints that didn't reach a formal level, however, they were unable to offer a rough guess of how many more when asked.

Additional information provided by the council stated many allegations of bullying are raised and successfully dealt with before reaching a formal stage. This includes through mediation and informal discussion and apologies.

The identities of the elected councillors accused of bullying have not been disclosed. It is not known whether any are still in office.

Sheffield Council was unable to verify the outcomes of the 14 allegations.

Chief Operating Officer for Sheffield City Council , Claire Taylor, said: “We take bullying allegations very seriously - every reported incident is looked at thoroughly and action is taken where necessary.

"We work to foster an environment here at Sheffield City Council where our staff feel comfortable, are able to enjoy their work and also feel part of an encouraging team. Where this is not the case, we do all we can to support our employees, including working proactively with our Trade Union colleagues.”

According the Sheffield City Council protocol for member/officer relations, bullying can be "offensive, intimidating, malicious, insulting or humiliating behaviour". This behaviour can happen once or be a pattern of behaviour.

The protocol reads: "Members may from time to time become frustrated by what they regard as unacceptable or incompetent Officer behaviour. It is self-evident that sometimes these feelings may be entirely justified although sometimes there may be a legitimate reason why Member expectations cannot be met – for example, due to Council Policy or a legal requirement.

"In these circumstances, Members are to take up their concerns through the Directors or the Chief Executive as set out in the dispute procedure described in this document, rather than through public criticism. They must bear in mind that Officers are instructed not to ‘answer back’ in public."

Bullying in politics has been thrust into the national spotlight following multiple scandals within the Conservative government in Westminster.

Most recently, Sir Gavin Williamson was ordered to apologise over bullying texts to Wendy Morton - the former Tory chief whip.

Dominic Raab resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary earlier this year, after an official report upheld numerous bullying complaints made against the MP across three government departments.