Kick It Out, the anti-racism group that battles discrimination in English football, "has seen almost two-thirds of its staff leave" since '16 amid "astonishing claims" of "bullying" at the organization, according to Matt Lawton of the London DAILY MAIL. Former staff members "described a culture of intimidation" at the company's London offices, with one senior ex-employee revealing that 10 of the 17-strong workforce "have quit." One ex-staff member said, "In some cases, staff felt it was starting to affect their mental health." Concerns about management style were expressed in exit interviews and at "senior management team level," although it is understood the term "bullying" was not specifically used by staffers in the interviews. A former staff member said, "But those concerns were ignored. The reason for losing so many staff needed to be investigated but nothing was done." Kick It Out said in a statement, "In the three years from the beginning of 2016, 10 people have left Kick It Out -- three in 2016, four in 2017 and three in 2018. None of those who opted for an exit interview raised any issues about bullying -- though of course we take all such matters extremely seriously -- and the information provided by these former members of staff is being reviewed by the trustees of the charity, along with the organisation's HR (human resources) policies" (DAILY MAIL, 12/17).
