The Charity Commission is engaging with domestic abuse charity Refuge’s trustees after it filed a “serious incident” report. This came as a result of some current and former staff complaining of bullying and describing the charity as a “toxic” place to work. There were also complaints about staff being “stretched beyond capacity”, and the way concerns raised about staff treatment and overwork have been handled, leaving them to feel like “the problem.”
Lornette Pemberton, Refuge’s director of people and culture, said the charity took the allegations “incredibly seriously” and was “appalled that anyone has had such a bad experience working at Refuge”. She added that the charity’s exit interview data “does not show that staff leave Refuge because they feel bullied” and that over the past two years it had “worked hard to create a transparent, safe and open culture where everyone feels valued and respected”.
