Complaints of Racism against employees
Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,
1. Please could you tell me how many complaints of racism in relation to words used or behaviour exhibited were made against employees of the BBC in (i) 2018/19, (ii) 2019/20, (iii) 2020/21 and (iv) the current financial year up to 31.1.22.
2. For each complaint could you provide me with a summary of the allegation that was made ensuring no personal details are revealed. Please be sure to provide the specific racist language that was allegedly used and complained about if racist language was part of the complaint.
3. Please provide me with a table showing what sanctions, if any, were taken against staff in relation to these allegations.
Yours faithfully,
Matthew Davis
Dear Matthew Davis,
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 24 February 2022. We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your request is RFI20220373.
Kind regards,
Information Rights
BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP
www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [email address]
Dear Mr Davis,
Please find attached the response to your request for information,
reference RFI20220373.
Yours sincerely
BBC Information Rights
Room BC2 A4
Broadcast Centre
White City
London
W12 7TS
UK
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2]mailto:[email address]
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Pictures\BBC.png
References
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2. mailto:[email address]
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Dear FOI Enquiries,
Many thanks for your response to my question. After studying your comments I would now like to amend my request to the following:
According to your annual report there were 58 cases of bullying and harassment logged by the BBC in the 20/21 financial year. In relation to those 58 cases please could you identify all of those cases where there was a claim from the complainant of racist behaviour by another member of BBC staff.
1. How many of the 58 cases involved an element of alleged racist behaviour?
2. For each case where racist behaviour was alleged please provide me with the following details (i) was racist language used? If so please provide me with a transcript of the specific racist language that was considered by the disciplinary panel/HR staff, (ii) what was the disciplinary outcome of the case?
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Davis
Dear Matthew,
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 17 March 2022. We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your request is RFI20220442.
Kind regards,
Information Rights
BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP
www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [email address]
Dear Mr Davis,
Please find attached the response to your request for information,
reference RFI20220442.
Yours sincerely
BBC Information Rights
Room BC2 A4
Broadcast Centre
White City
London
W12 7TS
UK
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2]mailto:[email address]
[3]Description: Description: \\BBCFS2025\UserData$\myrien01\Documents\My
Pictures\BBC.png
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.bbc.co.uk/foi
2. mailto:[email address]
Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of British Broadcasting Corporation's handling of my FOI request 'Complaints of Racism against employees'.
I do not believe that there is a need to apply Section 40(2) to the requested information on the following grounds.
You have confirmed that, of the 58 cases, only 9 have a 'Race' element attached. Of those cases, 5 were not upheld and 4 partially upheld. Were you to release the requested information regards the nature of the language used I would still have no means by which to work out to whom that language was attributed to, especially given the number of staff employed by the BBC. Even if not all the cases apply to the use of racist language I still have no means of working out if the language used relates to a case that was partially upheld or not and again, no idea of who made the comment. Also I am not asking for the outcomes of those 4 cases that were partially upheld or what sanctions were awarded as a result, On this basis surely Section 40(2) cannot apply.
Please may I request that you re-examine your response to this part of my request with a view to releasing the requested information.
Please can you confirm this request for an internal review and please advise me of a date by which you hope to have it completed.
Yours faithfully,
Matthew Davis
Dear Matthew Davis,
In order to conduct an internal review, we would need the relevant FOI reference number so that we can deal with your request accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights
BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP
Dear FOI Enquiries,
The ref number is RFI20220442.
You can find a complete history of the request here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/r/a14cf18...
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Davis
Dear Mr Davis,
Thank you for your request for internal review, as detailed in your
correspondence below. We will deal with your request as promptly as
possible. We aim to respond within 20 working days of receipt but please
note that public authorities can take up to 40 working days for complex
reviews. If you have any queries about your request for internal review,
please contact us at the email address [1][BBC request email], quoting
your reference number IR2022045.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights, BBC Legal
BC2A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP
Dear Mr Davis
Please find attached the BBC’s FOI Internal Review Decision.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights, BBC Legal
First Floor, Wogan House
99 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 7NY
From: FOI Enquiries
Sent: 12 May 2022 16:52
To: Matthew Davis <[FOI #836576 email]>
Subject: RE: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Complaints of Racism against employees
Dear Mr Davis,
Thank you for your request for internal review, as detailed in your
correspondence below. We will deal with your request as promptly as
possible. We aim to respond within 20 working days of receipt but please
note that public authorities can take up to 40 working days for complex
reviews. If you have any queries about your request for internal review,
please contact us at the email address [1][BBC request email], quoting
your reference number IR2022045.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights, BBC Legal
BC2A4, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP
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