Disabled staff at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust more likely to be abused by managers

Disability equality charity Scope said the figures are ‘deplorable’, and urged the Government to strengthen its Disability Confident scheme and better protect disabled workers' rights.

The NHS England figures come from the NHS staff survey conducted in 2022.

They show 12.7 per cent of disabled staff at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SFHT) experienced bullying, harassment or abuse in the previous 12 months.

This fell to 5.6 per cent of non-disabled staff, meaning disabled employees were 2.3 times as likely to experience harassment

Nationally, 16.4 per cent of disabled staff said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from a manager – 1.7 times more likely than non-disabled employees.

Thomas Hamilton-Shaw, policy manager at Scope, said: "It’s deplorable that disabled people are more likely to experience bullying from colleagues and abuse from the public.

"Our public sector should be leading the way when it comes to disability employment.

"For too long it’s been too hard for disabled people to get into work, stay in work and thrive in work – this needs to change."

The figures also show 24.6 per cent of disabled staff at SHFT said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other colleagues in the last 12 months – higher than the 14.7 per cent of their non-disabled colleagues.

Similarly, disabled employees were slightly more likely to be abused by the public, with 31 per cent reporting at least one instance in the last year, compared to 27.1 per cent of non-disabled staff.

Rob Simcox, director of people at SFHT, said: "We strongly oppose any form of bullying, harassment, or abuse towards our colleagues.

"We take all concerns seriously and investigate each report in line with trust policy so that any appropriate action can be taken.

"Acting on reported incidents in combination with our programme of support, awareness-raising and education, has resulted in a 6.2 per cent reduction in the number of disabled colleagues experiencing bullying, harassment or abuse from managers since 2019.

"While this is great progress, we know there's always more we can do to ensure that all our valued colleagues know that their NHS is a place they can belong."