A number of employees have resigned from the British High Commission in the last few months due to what they say is utter ill treatment at the workplace. The former employees sent us a letter describing the cruelty and emotional abuse they endured working for British High Commissioner Peter Hughes. The letter states, quote, "Between the last quarter of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 the staff have endured discrimination, harassment, bullying, verbal and emotional abuse…by the head of the mission".
We spoke to 4 of the employees today and one of them told us the commissioner would shout at them and demean them at the workplace. According to the employees, 6 have resigned in the past year since Hughes' arrival and 4 more resigned in the last 2 months. One of the employees we spoke with was working at the British High for 24 years and told us that he has never had any issues with previous high commissioners and simply could not endure the hostility at the workplace, He resigned last year June. He was the first to resign and then the others followed. They say others are in the process of resigning.
According to these former employees, they have made verbal complaints to the Deputy High Commissioner Grace Chun but nothing was done. When we spoke to Chun today she told us that some of the employees did approach her about these instances of mistreatment but that no one gave her an official written report so there is nothing much she could do than to advice. Based on the employees' account, Chun would simply try to dismiss the complaints. So that is where it stands - now that the employees have resigned they say they are speaking up now for the others who they say are suffering now under Commissioner Hughes.
This is not the first time allegations of bullying have been heard from the British High Commission. The former UK commissioner to Belize John Yapp was dismissed in 2008, initially, over claims of inappropriately touching a woman, but those allegation were later dropped and he was accused of bullying at the workplace.
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