The Church of Scotland has appointed a number of “harassment officers” in the wake of concerns over bullying of staff at its Edinburgh offices.
Eight people have been given the new role following the results of a survey which revealed “negative views were expressed about the senior management team, especially among longer serving employees.”
The survey was carried out following allegations of bullying within the church which emerged last year.
In the immediate aftermath of the allegations staff were reminded of the church’s “zero tolerance” approach to bullying and a number of procedures were put in place to tackle the issue.
The Central Services Committee of the church also decided to undertake a staff survey to identify concerns, to which 92% of workers responded.
In a report from the committee to be delivered to the General Assembly at this year’s meeting, the survey showed that staff generally felt positive about their job in terms of the amount and variety of work they have, but also highlighted that employees felt they had been subject to bullying from inside and outside the workforce.
The General Assembly will be invited to note the report and support the actions taken in response to the findings of the survey.
A Church of Scotland spokesman said good progress had been made in implementing updated policies, actions and ideas following the staff survey in 2012, which covered a wide range of issues and topics.