A coroner has found that the Treasury “materially contributed” to the death of Chloe Moffat, a 26-year-old personal assistant who took her own life after facing disciplinary proceedings. Anna Crawford also identified a risk of future deaths within the civil service due to flawed handling of such proceedings, and will send a prevention of future deaths report to the head of the civil service, the Treasury, and Acas.
Background and disciplinary process
Moffat had worked at the Treasury for almost three years, with an “exemplary employment record” and a love for her job. However, an informal meeting about an anonymous complaint alleging she had informally shared information about colleagues caused her distress. She denied the allegation. During the process, she was not reassured her job was safe, was not allowed a third party of her choice, had her responsibilities changed, and lost access to her manager's diary—despite the meeting being described as “informal”.
The process left her “devastated” and convinced she had lost her job. The morning after the meeting, she killed herself. The coroner noted that Moffat appeared well and happy before the meeting and had no previous mental health concerns.
Coroner's findings
The coroner found that the Treasury's policy, in line with Acas guidelines, requires formal handling of serious misconduct allegations to protect rights such as third-party presence, five days' notice, and information on likely outcomes. Because decisions had already been made to limit Moffat's role, a formal process was needed. Crawford said the meeting was not in accordance with policy, which makes no provision for such informal meetings.
The head of global issues at the Treasury, who ran the investigation, said she did not give prior notice because she “did not want Chloe to worry about it”, and when Moffat asked if she would lose her job, she replied she could not predict the outcome. Moffat's line manager said she would not have done anything differently, but the coroner found that Moffat was denied safeguards and that the concern about losing her job materially contributed to her decision to take her own life.
Prevention of future deaths
The coroner issued a prevention of future deaths notice because the Treasury claimed such informal meetings were “standard practice”. She expressed concern about the risk of serious misconduct allegations being handled without safeguards. The Treasury previously said it was reviewing its disciplinary process, but Crawford said this did not set her mind at rest, as she considers there remains a risk of future death.
Chloe's mother, Anne Moffat, said: “Chloe was a bright, caring and talented young woman who loved her family, her friends and her work. The evidence heard during the inquest has reinforced our belief that the allegations made against Chloe were nothing more than workplace gossip. She was treated with a complete lack of empathy with regard to allegations made by colleagues who chose to remain anonymous. We continue to believe that HM Treasury failed in its duty of care towards Chloe. At a time when she needed support, reassurance and fair treatment, she was left frightened, isolated and convinced that her career and reputation had been destroyed.”
Anne Moffat suggested the family may take further action, saying: “We will continue to honour her memory and seek the changes needed to ensure that no other family suffers a similar loss.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We continue to mourn Chloe’s passing as a colleague and friend. Our thoughts remain with her family and friends. We take the coroner’s concerns extremely seriously and recognise it is important to act quickly. We are now considering the findings carefully. We have introduced improvements to guidance, support and wellbeing arrangements but recognise we must continue to take action to prevent this happening again.”
