Call for action on workplace bullies

If Arts Council England (ACE) is prepared to take a stand against unpaid internships, then it should also be prepared to speak out on workplace bullying, according to Anne Marie Quigg, author of  ‘Bullying in the Arts: vocation, exploitation and abuse of power’.

She has written to ACE asking for an official statement of support for this issue, but has been told that ACE advises arts and cultural organisations to “adhere to legislation in this area… we do not intervene in disputes or monitor their internal employment practices.”

Quigg, who is regularly contacted by individuals in the UK arts sector for help to deal with workplace bullying, feels that the time has come for the Arts Council to take the issue more seriously. In a letter to ACE Chief Executive Alan Davey she said: “Two in five arts workers have reported being the target of a bully in their workplace and many more have witnessed bullying behaviour by colleagues… it will appear to many arts workers that the indifference to complaints they have experienced from arts management is mirrored by an uncaring attitude on the part of ACE.”

She told AP: “Equity has an anti-bullying hot-line for people to report bullying and is proposing a symposium on workplace bullying in the performing arts… This is an opportunity to place ACE on record as an advocate of dignity at work – surely as important a policy as those promoting equal opportunities and diversity.”