Disabled staff at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust are almost twice as likely to experience bullying from manager

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 16.2 per cent of disabled staff at NUH experienced bullying, harassment or abuse in the previous 12 months.

This fell to 8.5 per cent of non-disabled staff, meaning disabled employees were 1.9 times as likely to experience harassment.

Across England, 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 27.9 per cent of disabled staff at NUH said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other colleagues in the last 12 months – higher than the 18.3 per cent of their non-disabled colleagues.

Similarly, disabled employees were more likely to be abused by the public, with 32 per cent reporting at least one instance in the last year, compared to 26.9 per cent of non-disabled staff.

Mr Hamilton-Shaw said the Government must address this by strengthening the Disability Confident scheme so employers ‘actually improve conditions on the ground’ and increase funding for the Equalities and Human Rights Commissions to better protect disabled workers.

Bel Asher, acting chief people officer at NUH, said: “We would like to reassure the public, patients, staff and visitors that we have made a number of significant improvements at the trust since this survey was carried out.

“The latest Care Quality Commission report, carried out in June 2023, found a reduction in staff reporting bullying at the trust, with ‘significant progress in improving the culture’ and an executive team that ‘consistently led with integrity and were open and honest in their approach.'

“The trust is very clear that bullying, harassment, racism and discrimination is not acceptable and is focused on improving the experience of all staff, including those with disabilities.

“Improving culture across NUH remains a top priority for the trust and as part of this commitment, we have run a range of listening events with staff, including for staff from our StaffAbility network and have provided forums for staff to have their say.

"Following this feedback an action plan has been put together and there is now a dedicated role in place to help improve culture across the organisation.

"We have also improved our mechanisms to report incidents and improved support offerings for staff as well as launching our Stop Bullying, Harassment, Racism and Discrimination charter earlier this year.

“We strongly encourage any colleague who is experiencing issues to raise them so that we can help support those staff who need it.”