Macmillan Cancer Support has issued an apology after an internally commissioned report found the charity had “fallen short both in culture and processes” in its treatment of disabled and minority ethnic staff.
The report by the Social Justice Collective had been commissioned by the charity together with its Black, Asian and minority ethnic, as well as disabled, staff.
Media coverage of the report, which the charity is declining to publish, claim Macmillan is “systemically racist and ableist” and attempted to quash whistleblowing of incidents.
These incidents include discriminatory comments, bullying and microaggressions, according to media coverage of the internal report.
The charity said that its leadership team “fully accept the findings of the report and its recommendations”.
“There is no doubt that the findings of this review make for painful reading, and we are profoundly sorry that anyone has ever suffered a distressing or harmful experience at Macmillan,” said the charity.
“We are now taking time to listen and reflect, collaborating with those who contributed to ensure that we take the right steps in response.
“We want to sincerely thank those colleagues who recounted their experiences, and we share their determination that Macmillan should be a workplace where everyone feels they belong. We are committed to making sure their strength in speaking up will help us make the changes needed to move us forwards.”
It added: “The findings of this report serve as a powerful and humbling demonstration of how much more we have to do in order to support our colleagues who identify as disabled and/or ethnically diverse, and we are determined to do so.
“We know we have fallen short both in culture and processes, and we will urgently address this to ensure that everyone at Macmillan feels valued and safe as we continue to deliver on our mission to ensure that everyone can live well with cancer.”
The experiences within the report make for painful reading, and we're profoundly sorry that these distressing and harmful experiences occurred at Macmillan.
— Macmillan Cancer Support (@macmillancancer) June 17, 2022
They are a powerful, humbling demonstration of how much more we must do to support our colleagues.https://t.co/uetVY52jv1
The charity is not sharing the report publicly “due to the highly personal accounts from colleagues included, who shared these fully and in confidence in a bid to help ensure these critical changes occur”.
It has pledged to ensure that anyone affected by experiences detailed in the report “are fully supported”.
Unite the union’s West Yorkshire and Humber branch said the report’s findings “is not news to our members” and urged the charity to “properly engage” with union members on the issues raised.
You need to properly engage with @unitetheunion members in your organisation. This is not news to our members, and with proper union recognition, these problems can be identified and dealt with before this kind of thing happens. We're happy to discuss.
— Unite West Yorks & Humber NE/403/15 (@UniteNE40315) June 17, 2022
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