Workplace culture survey results

We are pleased to be able to publish the findings of the LPMA/IBC workplace culture survey that took place over the summer, with the support of the Bar Council.

As many of you will know the Bar Council conducts regular Working Lives surveys for barristers, but these surveys do not cover employees and contractors working in chambers. The LPMA and IBC therefore felt it was appropriate to commission a survey for the professionals who support barristers in Chambers. The survey was designed with the aim of broadly aligning with the Working Lives Survey to allow for a level of consistency with the questions that are asked of barristers.
We are grateful to all colleagues who took the time to complete the survey and appreciate that the survey addressed difficult subject areas that may have been challenging for some of the respondents to answer. We offer our thanks to you for taking the time and having the courage to speak up about your experiences.

The report compares our data with other industries and sectors and although many of the statistics align with national averages there is clearly work to be done to improve workplace cultures within chambers.
There is a need to take the issues identified in this report very seriously and to that end, a summary of high-level recommendations of work across a range of areas are identified in the report. In broad terms, the recommendations include awareness raising, inclusion, safety, structure, accountability, and collaboration. These recommendations are designed to be the starting point of moving towards new and sustainable working practices, to be implemented at an individual chambers level. However, the data and the recently published report on bullying, harassment and discrimination by the Bar Council suggest that these issues are not only experienced at an organisational level but also at a systemic level. On that basis, both the LPMA and IBC intend to work closely with all other stakeholders across the sector in addressing these serious issues.

We have been encouraged by the support and collaboration on this project from the Bar Council and have felt that both the LPMA and IBC are being listened to as key stakeholders in the sector. We look forward to working closely with the Bar Council in developing recommendations for sector-wide improvements and then repeating this exercise once those recommendations have been implemented.

If at any time you experience any concerns or distress, please do access support services available via Wellbeing at the Bar: Help for Clerks and Staff.

Confidential support is available to members of the IBC by contacting admin@ibc.org.uk. Concerns can be raised confidentially with the LPMA by contacting admin@lpma.org.uk‘