HM Prison and Probation Service

3. Mx A complains that they were discriminated against by a member of Probation Office staff on grounds of race, disability, and gender.

4. They say this caused terrible anxiety and distress and impacted on their mental health and behaviour around other people.

5. Mx A says that whilst HMPPS has acknowledged service failing, it has not offered a financial payment for injury to feelings in line with the Vento bands.

6. As a result of making the complaint, they seek a financial payment of £58,700.

7. Mx A complained to HMPPS that one of its staff had used derogatory and discriminatory remarks towards them during an interview, causing ongoing hurt feelings and distress. They requested a payment in line with the ‘Vento Bands’, a set of guidelines used by UK Employment Tribunals to help determine the amount of compensation awarded for injury to feelings in discrimination cases.

8. HMPPS investigated the complaint and following this it said it had identified cause for concern about the interviewer’s use of language, said they were unprofessional at points, and that their actions fell short of the expected standards expected of Probation staff. They also said that Mx A was observed by staff behaving aggressively during the appointment, shouting, and banging their hands on a table, and that a manager intervened to ask the staff member if they wanted to continue, which they did.

9. HMPPS identified a number of learning points to be taken and apologised for any distress experienced by Mx A as a result.

10. HMPPS said that the Vento Bands related to litigation claims and this was beyond the scope of its investigation.

11. HMPPS also said Mx A had subsequently admitted that they had deliberately sought to provoke the staff member into using the type of language that they did. Mx A disputes this happened.

12. At the end of its process, the HMPPS provided signposting to the Prisons Ombudsman (PO) for Mx A to take their complaint forward. Mx A complained to the PO and the complaint was not upheld, with the PO finding that HMPPS had conducted an appropriate investigation in line with its policies and it had taken a reasonable course of action.

13. Mx A’s complaint to us is that they should have been compensated for injury to feelings in line with the Vento Bands and this did not happen.

HMPPS did not offer Mx A financial compensation in line with the Vento bands

16. Our role as a complaint investigation organisation has powers and limitations set in legislation through the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (the Act), and although this allows us to investigate public bodies, there are some matters we cannot investigate and recommendations we are unable to make.

17. The Vento Bands are a framework tool used in employment discrimination cases to determine the amount of compensation that a claimant can be awarded for injury to their feelings. This is a legal framework that can only be considered by the judiciary which is made up of judges, magistrates, tribunal members, and coroners, who uphold the rule of law and make judgements entirely independently, with special powers set in legislation.

18. Therefore, in our role as a non- legal independent complaint investigation organisation, this is not within our powers to recommend and is also not something HMPPS would be able to consider through its complaint’s procedure.

19. We should note that we would also be unable to make findings of discrimination as this is a judgement only a court can legally find.

20. Mx A will need to seek independent legal advice if they believe the Vento Bands applies to their situation and wish to take this forward in order to achieve the outcomes they seek.

21. We realise this is unlikely to be the outcome Mx A was looking for from their approach to us. We hope we have clearly explained the reason for our decision and thank them for bringing their concerns to our attention.

1. We have carefully considered Mx A’s complaint about HMPPS and have decided not to take any further action as they would need to take legal action to obtain the significant financial payment they seek.

2. We hope the information in this statement reassures Mx A we have considered all of their information and clearly explains the reasons we have decided not to take further action on their complaint.