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Claims of 'toxic culture' at Queen's horse charity
The UK's largest horse charity is being scrutinised by the Charity Commission amid claims staff were forced out by a "toxic culture".
Founded in 1947, the British Horse Society counts the Queen as a patron and is a familiar name at major horse events.
Led by Lynn Petersen for the past six years, whose background lies in sales and marketing and who is a trustee with four other UK charities, the charity is known for training the riders of tomorrow through its approved riding centres and campaigning for safer road rules for horses and their riders.
But the Telegraph has spoken to more than 20 former staff and volunteers who have raised concerns about the working environment within the organisation, with a number claiming there is a "toxic culture". A number of former employees claimed that no action was taken when they notified the board of trustees of their concerns.
An investigation by the Telegraph has also found that the British Horse Society has “overspent” hundreds of thousands of pounds on an IT project and made payments to staff who signed controversial non-disclosure agreements when they left the organisation.
The Telegraph understands that the charity, which had an £11m income last financial year, has signed NDAs with at least six members of staff when they left the organisation.
NDAs typically prevent former employees from discussing the circumstances surrounding their departure, but the Telegraph has spoken to more than 20 former employees and volunteers at the British Horse Society who were not bound by NDAs, and who raised questions about the working environment within the organisation. In some cases they claimed they had witnessed staff reduced to tears and forced to take time off work for stress.
Natasha Eastwood, who was marketing and communications director at the charity until she left last April, claimed there was a “toxic culture” at the charity.
“I was fortunate to work with many talented and dedicated individuals, yet it was soul destroying witnessing people lose all self-confidence, unable to sleep at night due to anxiety and stress. It felt like I was watching people break,” she added.
She claimed that in less than two years, 13 people left the marketing department out of a team of 15.
A former director, who did not wish to be named, said: "I now know that loads of people have given them information and they’ve simply done nothing – one regime of trustees after another. They just will not listen to the reason and experience of many, many people. These views are dismissed entirely."
It is unclear how much the employees who signed NDAs were paid when they left the charity, but the most recent accounts reveal that more than £70,000 was spent on redundancy or termination payments, up from £17,000 the previous year, raising questions about whether funds were being used appropriately.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, who sat on the Lords select committee for charities when it was in existence and is chairman of Age Scotland, said: “I don’t like the idea of non-disclosure agreements generally. I think they are the opposite of the kind of thing that should be happening in terms of finding out what’s going on.”
Chairman of the British Horse Society, David Sheerin, said there was “no significance” in the number of non-disclosure agreements agreed with former staff and that both sides had received legal advice.
He added that it has “never been the case that the BHS has paid an individual a sum of money in order to ‘buy their silence’” and that these agreements are “often in the interests of both parties”.
The Telegraph has seen leaked minutes from a board meeting in 2015 that purport to show that a forensic accountant employed by the charity spotted an £800,000 overspend on a project to overhaul the organisation’s IT system.
In these minutes the former chair, Claire Aldridge, is recorded as saying that she and the board had not been fully informed about the extent of the problem and that the chief executive had “wanted to keep the results of this investigation under wraps”.
When contacted by the Telegraph, Mr Sheerin said there was no attempt by the chief executive to keep the findings from the board. He said there had been a £300,000-£400,000 overspend between 2011 and 2014.
The Charity Commission said concerns had been raised about the British Horse Society and it is “currently assessing information in order to establish what, if any, further regulatory action may be required”.
Mr Sheerin said the charity does not have “an unusually high staff turnover”, highlighting that the organisation’s figure was well below the 22% across the charity sector.
He said the charity did receive complaints about treatment of staff and misuse of funds, including a whistleblowing letter from a manager which was investigated by PWC who concluded the concerns were “unfounded”.
He added that an allegation of bullying by the chief executive was investigated by an independent lawyer last year and while he identified “certain issues” the allegations of bullying “were not warranted”. Mr Sheerin said 23 staff members who had “relevant evidence” were interviewed, including those who had raised concerns over bullying.
The chief executive has also been criticised by former staff members and volunteers for using the organisation’s funds through its BHS International arm to travel business class to China in 2017.
Mr Sheerin, who also travelled business class on the same trip, said the tickets had been bought at a discounted rate of “under £3,000” each, including accommodation, and they were “well under half the usual price”. He said the trip had been funded through BHS International, which is “self-financing”.
He added: “It was an entirely appropriate use of charitable resources, and has provided a huge opportunity for the charity, marketing and establishing our education presence in the world’s most populous nation and fast-expanding economy.”