Talk to Spot

Talk to Spot is simple to use:

• On the website you will be asked a series of questions about exactly when the incident happened, where it happened, who was involved, and to describe what happened.
• Once you have given the information, you will be given a date-stamped record of the incident as a PDF.
• At this stage nothing will be saved on the system and no one else will have access to it unless and until you decide to proceed to the next stage (see below - What you can do next).  

You can share as much or as little information as you want – you don’t even have to give your name if you would like to remain anonymous.

No one else will see it at this stage, and you get to decide what to do next.

You can send the record to the Equality and Diversity team at the Bar Council, or use it as the basis for a formal complaint.

If you decide to submit your record, click on the option to send the record to the Bar Council. The Equality and Diversity team will contact you via the platform to give you information about your options and provide support whatever you decide to do.

Following that conversation, you may decide to proceed with a complaint to your chambers, employer and/or regulator. In the case of criminal behaviour, the record can form part of a report to the police.

Records can be submitted to the team at the Bar Council completely anonymously, and it can open a route to more support. It also enables the Bar Council to build a picture of what's happening, and where it’s happening.

Reports on Talk to Spot have enabled the Bar Council to build a picture of what is happening around the Bar, and to intervene when we see patterns of inappropriate behaviour.

The isolation experienced by people who've been bullied, harassed, and discriminated against is one of the barriers to challenging perpetrators and dealing properly with toxic cultures.

When the Bar Council receives multiple anonymous reports about the same individual, Talk to Spot has made it possible for us to tell individuals who have used Talk to Spot that we know of others who have had the same experience. In some cases, this information has empowered individuals to take their complaint further. At the very least it has let them know they are not alone.

Bullying, harassment and discrimination are nothing new and are not unique to the Bar. But we know our profession can be better, and we want to do everything we can to make it easier for someone who has experienced inappropriate behaviour to report it and stop it.

This way, we can tackle the culture which has allowed these behaviours to go unchallenged.

Yes. When you make a report via Talk to Spot, neither your email address, location, nor any other usage information is submitted to the Commissioner for Conduct. The Commissioner for Conduct's team won't know who you are, but they can still contact you through the platform.  

Before submitting your report, you'll be able to edit your responses and remove details that may reveal who you are. 

When we receive your report, we consider the type and severity of the behaviour and the role or position of the perpetrator. If the behaviour has clearly breached the threshold for serious misconduct, we’ll then ask for your permission to escalate it to the relevant body such as the Bar Standards Board (BSB) if the perpetrator is a barrister. 

Only with your consent, we will transfer data as a report to the BSB or will advise you to refer to the BSB yourselves. The reporter may be advised that they haven’t met their reporting obligation if they decide not to report to the BSB where appropriate.  

If you’re not sure about your reporting obligations, call 020 7611 1426 or email [email protected].

Yes. The BSB handbook now also includes serious instances of bullying as an example of serious misconduct. Serious instances of bullying are persistent, unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is either intimidating, malicious or insulting, or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone. 

The BSB now allows reports of serious misconduct in relation to bullying and harassment to be made either to the Commissioner for Conduct or the BSB. Reports to the Commissioner can be made via Talk to Spot.  

No. The BSB will not take enforcement action against you for failing to report serious misconduct in relation to bullying and harassment if someone has confided in you. The new status of a ‘confidant’ has been created.  

If you’re not sure if you qualify as a confidant, you can speak in confidence to the Commissioner for Conduct team, either via Talk to Spot or email [email protected].

It’s important we’re able to protect people, so if you hear rumours or suspect something about someone, it’s better that you make a record with either the Commissioner for Conduct via Talk to Spot or alert the BSB. The BSB has lowered the threshold for third party reporting, so you don’t need evidence. No action or investigation can take place in the absence of evidence, but it’s important from a safeguarding perspective that reports are made where there’s reasonable suspicion it occurred.