The father of a civil service worker who took her own life a day after a meeting with her managers has accused the Treasury of failing in its duty of care. Chloe Moffat, 26, was a personal assistant to a Treasury director when she died on May 20 last year.
The day before her death, she had attended what she believed would be a routine one-to-one meeting with her line manager. However, instead, a more senior manager was present as she was told about allegations that she had shared sensitive information about colleagues, which she denied.
Family's 'unbearable loss'
Her father, David Moffat, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the family's loss had 'torn such a big hole in our lives'. He also described the way that the meeting was handled by the Treasury as 'beggars belief'.
'Chloe's first comment was, "Oh, this must be serious, there's two of you here",' he said. 'And then they worked through and put several allegations to her that she'd shared confidential information.'
During the meeting, Chloe repeatedly asked whether she could lose her job, but her question was not answered. She also asked whether she could have a friend present, but this request was refused, her father claimed.
Inquest findings
An inquest earlier this month found that the Treasury had not followed its written disciplinary policy, which stated that if the allegations were proven, the likely punishment would have been a written warning rather than a dismissal. David added: 'Even though she asked, they said they could not determine the outcome.'
Chloe was also locked out of her work emails immediately after the meeting. The coroner found that the meeting with her managers had 'materially contributed' to her death.
'There was no safeguarding, there was no support during or after that meeting, from what we've seen and what we've read,' David continued. 'It beggars belief that an organisation that is front and central in our government cannot get it right.'
Call for lessons to be learned
Asked whether he believed the Treasury had taken responsibility for its role in Chloe's death, David replied: 'Not yet.' He said he and his wife Anne now said that they are focused on ensuring that 'lessons are learned' after they received a letter from Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler, who also met him last August.
'If something positive can come from this unbearable loss that we're suffering, that's all we look to achieve,' David said.
The Moffat family has not yet said whether they are deciding to take further action against the Treasury. A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC: 'The Treasury's deepest sympathies continue to be with Chloe's friends and family, and the department continues to mourn our colleague. We will learn the lessons from this tragedy. We are working urgently to respond to the coroner's findings and we have introduced immediate changes to our guidance, support and wellbeing arrangements.'
