MSPs’ staff have no protection if they are “bullied” by their bosses at Holyrood, multiple workers at the Scottish Parliament have claimed.
After the controversy over the culture of “power tripping” at Westminster that has been highlighted in the wake of former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans being cleared of sexual assaults on office staff, employees in Edinburgh have said their rights are virtually non-existent.
Three members of staff from three different parties have all told The Courier that MSPs hold the final decision over whether or not any issues within the office are examined by officials.
All the workers stressed that there is no question of the type of sexual harassment culture that has been suggested goes on at Westminster following a survey for Channel 4 News.
They also insisted the majority of MSPs treated their staff well.
However, each of the staff members claimed they had either experienced or were aware of cases where workers felt they had been treated unfairly or bullied by either their boss or another employee.
One said: “Staff can’t go to HR. It has to be the MSP. So if you have a dispute with your boss it means your boss has to raise the concern. It’s madness.”
Another said: “A number of staff have effectively been bullied out of the place and HR don’t want to know if anyone goes to them.
“Even if you’re a member of a union, there is very little they can do for you because HR always backs the MSP.”
A third worker, who has recently been involved in a dispute, also said they felt they had been treated unfairly and did not get the support they believed they were entitled to.
Politicians are the employers of their office staff, rather than Holyrood itself, with each of the 129 MSPs given an allowance to hire the equivalent of 2.5 full-time members of staff.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said industry best practice was used in what is provided to MSPs when it comes to conduct recommendations.
She added: “MSPs are the employer of their staff, not the Parliament. We support MSPs employing their staff through the Members’ Expenses Scheme by providing a recommended contract of employment.
“This includes an Acas complaint grievance procedure reflecting good practice as recommended by the industry experts in dispute resolution.
“Within this, employees raise questions or concerns regarding employment with their employer in the first instance and MSPs can include an independent third party in the appeal process.”