Sky Sport inquiry: More than 60 workers spoke to investigator

More than 60 people have come forward to an independent investigator looking into workplace issues at Sky Sport.

A leaked email shows in total 64 people, including 11 contractors, were interviewed for the report which came after the Herald revealed significant cultural issues at the broadcaster.

Sky will not be publicly releasing the report, a spokesperson said, and the email told staff the company would be taking them through its findings and how they’ll be addressed after the Olympics.

The Herald can also reveal a group of staff wrote a letter to the executive team, with their managers copied in, outlining issues they were having.

The Herald understands this included alleged management problems, a lack of planning for career progression and claims of another incident relating to inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature.

They said members of the executive team met with the staff who wrote the letter to discuss the matters and to agree on a plan about how to respond.

“That discussion included some feedback about the most constructive way to raise issues when they can’t be dealt with directly with managers [including, in this case, the impact of copying the line managers into the comm, and better ways that this sort of escalation could have been handled].”

The spokesperson said a number of issued raised in the letter had been addressed, including a remuneration review and the implementation of professional development planning.

A worker told the Herald the reason why the staff sent the letter was because they didn’t feel like anything would come from the investigation.

“Reporting issues go nowhere. Everyone is too scared to change anything.”

In response to Herald questions, the Sky spokesperson said: “We’re sorry if any of our team felt ‘reprimanded’ for escalating issues, which was absolutely not the intention – and in fact ‘speaking up’ is something we have actively encouraged.”

Earlier this year multiple current and former workers came forward with allegations of bullying, sexual harassment and a toxic work culture at the broadcaster.

In regard to the culture report, an email from chief commercial officer Jonny Errington outlined eight key themes that came out of the process, which included structure, leadership and unconstructive behaviours.

He reminded workers that, in relation to “unconstructive behaviour”, they can reach out on Amplify – a confidential speak-up service – or to an independent complaints service at any time.

“We’ll be organising some training around behaviour, conduct and what we can all do to make sure we have a safe work environment. We’re aiming for late August or early September for this.

“Ahead of these sessions, your leaders with the support of the People team will work to prioritise recommendations from the report to identify what focus groups we can establish to drive the changes we need.”

A spokesperson said this month a series of workshops were being held on the company’s values and behaviours.

“There’s a strong commitment to making Sky the best possible place to work, and empowering our people to do and be their best.”

However, one worker said the staff who sent the letter would “definitely not be comfortable” coming forward now after how their situation was handled.

“Workshops with the same managers is not going to change a thing.”

When asked what measures were in place to ensure staff feel safe in meetings with managers they’ve complained about, Sky said there were a range of pathways now available for people to raise issues.

“[Sky CEO Sophie Moloney] and the leadership team will continue to communicate their availability and willingness to listen and engage directly too.”

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