A parliamentary watchdog has ruled that Labour MP Liam Byrne should be suspended from the House of Commons for bullying a staff member.
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) launched an investigation after a former member of Byrne’s constituency staff made a complaint under parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
The commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, found that Byrne, a former Cabinet minister, had “ostracised the complainant” between March and July 2020 following a dispute that resulted in him sending the staff member home.
The IEP found that the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill had stopped all personal contact with the staff member for several months and denied him access to his Parliamentary IT account.
Stone concluded that Byrne’s behaviour “was malicious behaviour that involved a significant misuse of power” especially given the staff member’s ill health and the contest of the first coronavirus lockdown.
Byrne, who did not appeal the decision, said that he was “profoundly sorry” about the incident and that he had “apologised in full to the individual concerned”.
Giving its verdict, the IEP said: “This case involves a serious breach of the bullying and harassment policy which arose from the respondent abusing his position of power and ostracising the complainant, who was his employee, by ceasing personal contact with him for several months and denying him access to his parliamentary IT account.
“The impact of this behaviour was compounded by the fact that it occurred during the first period of lockdown when the complainant was physically separated from work colleagues, uncertain of his future work status and had undergone a period of ill health.
“The respondent’s decision not to engage with the complainant following what he perceived to be acts of misconduct was not, as he argued, a reasonable HR strategy. It was bullying.
“He should, as he now accepts, have tackled any alleged misconduct through a proper disciplinary process not by ostracising the complainant.”
As well as recommending a two-day Commons suspension, the panel also said Byrne must make a written apology to the staff member and take part in management training.
GMB, the union which represented Byrne’s former staff member, said the sanction was “far beneath what is needed to address the abuse”.
Chair of the GMB branch for members’ staff Jenny Symmons said: “GMB welcomes the decision to uphold our member’s complaint of serious bullying and harassment.
“However, the sanction of an apology, a recommendation for training and a suspension of just two days is far beneath what is needed to address this kind of abuse.
“MPs have a duty of care for their staff which we see violated time and time again.
“It’s time we removed the responsibility of employment from MPs for good and give staff the safety and security at work they deserve.”
In a statement following the ruling, Byrne said he was “extremely grateful to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and to the Independent Expert Panel for their thorough investigation and careful judgement”.
He admitted that “did not resolve the dispute correctly with a proper disciplinary process” and “failed to fulfill my obligations as an employer and parliament’s behaviour code”.
“This constituted an ostracism which was a breach of parliament’s behaviour code which I strongly support, and caused distress for which I am profoundly sorry.
“I have apologised in full to the individual concerned.”
He added: “I’m incredibly grateful to the panel for recognising the genuine remorse I felt about the impact on the individual concerned, the steps I have already taken to ensure this never happens again along with the work still to do, and for concluding that I did not deliberately act to delay the investigation.
“This has been a valuable lesson for me and one I am determined to learn as me and my team seek to offer the best possible service and voice for the residents of Hodge Hill.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party fully supports the recommendations of this independent report, including the proposed sanction.”