Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

PEOPLE ISSUES
“There are no disproportionality problems with the New Fairness at Work procedure, and it
is being well used, although cases are taking a long time to reach completion.”
(HR Directorate Strategic Assessment, Jan 2004.)
4.61 Our survey of all MPS officers and staff revealed that 65% of those who
responded agreed that they were aware of the FAW policy, although respondents
from the Borough Operational Command Units were less likely to be aware of the
policy (59%) than those in the Deputy Commissioner’s Command (76%) or in
Human Resources (84%). PCSOs had the least awareness of the policy – 48%.
4.62 Of those who were aware of the policy:
● 65% agreed that they had a good understanding of what it contained;
● 77% said that they knew what procedure to follow if they had a grievance;
● 44% believe that FAW will help in mediating and resolving workplace issues; and
● 51% are confident that their manager has a good understanding of FAW.
4.63 Although awareness of the policy is relatively high, we are concerned at the
low level of confidence in its effectiveness and in managers’ understanding of it.
4.64 We have also received evidence from a number of individuals and staff
association witnesses who question whether FAW is really working in the way
that was intended. Some of the comments that have been made appear to
question the degree of impartiality of the FAWAs:
“Fairness at Work doesn’t work.There’s a lot of bias. Everyone just seems to close ranks.
That meant I didn’t go ahead with my grievance as I didn’t think there was any point.”
(Speaker during a London Police Station visit.)
“We were forced to withdraw our support when the MPS insisted that local Personnel
Managers identify and select FAWAs for their own units.”
(Submission from the Trade Unions in the MPS (MET-TUS).)
“The new fairness at work procedure is only as good as the advisers and their training. It is
our experience that many managers do not sit easily in the role of an arbiter and tend to be
on the side of management.” (Submission from the Christian Police Association (CPA).)
“It is not as effective as the previous grievance procedures, and there seems to be a very
woolly process. I do not think a lot of people understand it, and also the number of Fairness
at Work [advisors] is very limited, and the choice is limited. If you have a perception that that
person, the Fairness at Work [advisor], is actually allied with the management or a particular
part of the station, that is a bit hard for you to go to another Fairness at Work [advisor].”
(Evidence of Kashmira Singh Mann, Metropolitan Police Sikh Association (MPSA).)
“The FAW Advisor appointed was [redacted]. I was dismayed and furious for the following
reason … [redacted] is a colleague of mine … I had previously stated in an email to
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