Coroner rules Treasury materially contributed to PA’s suicide over flawed disciplinary process
Inquest finds HM Treasury breached its own human resources policy and Acas guidelines by denying 26-year-old Chloe Moffat standard safeguards during informal proceedings.
A coroner has ruled that HM Treasury materially contributed to the suicide of Chloe Moffat, a 26-year-old personal assistant, following an inquest into her death. Coroner Anna Crawford found that the department’s handling of an anonymous complaint regarding the informal sharing of colleague information breached its own human resources policy and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) guidelines.
Moffat took her own life on 20 May last year, the morning after an informal meeting concerning the allegations. The coroner determined that the Treasury denied Moffat standard safeguards, including the right to be accompanied by a third party and prior notice of potential outcomes. Despite Moffat having an exemplary employment record and loving her job, the process left her devastated and convinced she was being dismissed.
The inquest heard that decisions to limit Moffat’s role and remove access to her manager’s diary had already been made, which necessitated a formal disciplinary process. However, the Treasury proceeded with an informal meeting, citing it as standard practice. The coroner noted that Treasury policy requires formal processes for serious misconduct to ensure employees are not deprived of rights, such as receiving five days’ notice and being informed of likely penalties.
During the hearing, the head of global issues at the Treasury testified that she withheld prior notice of the meeting to avoid causing Moffat worry. When Moffat asked if she would lose her job, the official stated she could not predict the outcome. The coroner found that by failing to inform Moffat that the likely outcome was a written warning rather than dismissal, the Treasury played a part in her decision to take her own life.
Crawford issued a prevention of future deaths report to the head of the civil service, HM Treasury, and Acas, citing a risk of similar incidents within the civil service due to the use of informal processes for serious misconduct allegations. While a Treasury spokesperson confirmed the department is reviewing its disciplinary processes and has introduced improvements to guidance and wellbeing arrangements, the coroner expressed that this did not fully alleviate concerns about future risks.
