Prison officer claims colleagues ‘broke down’ over ‘nasty bullying’ culture

Agata Stankiewicz, who previously worked at HMP Edinburgh, is suing former employers the Scottish Prison Service.

A former prison officer has claimed colleagues felt “completely hopeless” and “broke down” due to a “nasty” bullying culture in the workplace, a tribunal has heard.

Agata Stankiewicz, who previously worked at HMP Edinburgh, is suing her former employers – the Scottish Prison Service – alleging she suffered for reporting the behaviour to managers.

She appeared at the Edinburgh Employment Tribunal today where she likened the drama to “high school” which compromised safety in a high risk work setting, reports Edinburgh Live.

Mrs Stankiewicz began working as an operational officer at the Saughton prison in March 2018. She transitioned to residential work on some of the toughest male cell blocks in the prison a year later. The court heard she became “very close” with her colleagues and learned how teamwork is “very important” to working in a prison.

But issues arose when she was relocated to a smaller section in 2024 – Ratho Hall – where she noticed “the culture was completely different”. Mrs Stankiewicz described the environment as a “mean girl club” with “lots of nastiness and snipey comments.”

She said: “People were competing with each other rather than working together. I thought of moving out of Ratho, but decided to keep my head down and not get involved with any drama.”

As time progressed the officer witnessed certain officers being singled out by others, saying: “More officers were crying on the shift, they were in more and more fights between officers.

“[Once], two female officers broke down at work. One was saying ‘I can’t take this anymore’. It sounded completely hopeless. I thought, ‘Somebody has to speak for them because enough is enough.”

In another instance, she claimed an officer wrote “F*** Da*** *” [another officer’s name] on a professional white board in full view of prisoners.

Mrs Stankiewicz decided to report the behaviour, claiming that bullying and lack of teamwork posed a significant safety risk to officers.

She told the court: “If prisoners see this white board and see she wrote that about another officer, they think ‘there is a divide and we can target those officers and no one will defend them.’”

Mrs Stankiewicz described how officers have been stabbed, had ribs and noses broken, and lost fingers in violent incidents involving prisoners, adding: “You need to know your colleagues will have your back if there is any trouble.

“If I was working at Tesco, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But we work in prison with people there for dangerous crimes – murderers and rapists.”

She also argued bullying can impact mental health at work, adding anxiety and stress to an already hazardous job.

The officer shared: “During the seven-and-a-half years I worked there, two officers took their own lives.

“If we don’t protect officers and their mental health, it can end tragically.”

A probe got underway in September 2024. By November, both the offending officers were deemed to have no case to answer. However, both were moved to new prison sections, the court heard.

Mrs Stankiewicz submitted a grievance against the decision, which was not upheld. She felt the Scottish Prison Service was “discouraging victims from speaking out” and asked “when will SPS prioritise staff safety?” according to the grievance document.

Superiors later tried to transfer Mrs Stankiewicz to a new ward, a move she felt was “targeted”. She claimed another unit manager told her “they wanted everyone out of the hall that was involved in this investigation”.

She claims the investigation left her emotionally drained and opted for a lower-paying operational role with less stress, but claimed certain officers were still “intimidating” her in the new role.

She alleges they stared her down when passing in the corridor, and ignored her when she made requests via radio. Mrs Stankiewicz eventually quit the role in 2025. She is now seeking reinstatement.

She said: “I wasn’t being emotional [in coming forward]. I was standing up for my colleagues. I think it is important and people are scared of speaking out. They don’t want to make any noise. But when I make noise to protect my friends, I ended up without a job.”

Employment Judge Jane Porter presides over the hearing. The tribunal continues.