The Charity Commission is assessing a complaint against World Vision UK, the international children's charity that once counted Meghan, Duchess of Sussex as a global ambassador. The complaint alleges a toxic and hostile workplace where racism, sexism and homophobia have been ignored or inadequately addressed by senior leadership.
World Vision UK has denied all allegations made by the Third Sector website, which reported it interviewed 11 current and former staff. The charity confirmed it filed a serious incident report with the regulator but said there is no investigation against it.
Third Sector alleged that at least eight staff left in recent months, either forced out or feeling uncomfortable. Specific claims include that human resources confused two black female employees, and that colleagues mispronounced non-white employees' names or imitated their accents. Female employees reported feeling patronised in meetings. The charity was also accused of routinely using non-disclosure agreements to silence departing staff.
World Vision UK is undergoing its second restructure in less than a year, with around 60 of its 200 staff expected to be made redundant. The charity stated it operates by the highest standards set by the Charity Commission and that all allegations are false, sourced from a small number of former employees.
Meghan Markle served as global ambassador for World Vision Canada between 2016 and 2017, the year she first met Prince Harry. She is not associated with the UK arm of the charity.
