HR Grapevine: - Fraud and misconduct - why Royal Palace staff have been fired

An extract from another interesting article from the team at "HR Grapevine". Click on the link to find our more or register for their regular updates: https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/

Whilst working for the royals is undoubtedly a high-stress, high-reward life choice, you may imagine that successful candidates would remain on their best behaviour when serving the heirs to the throne. Yet reports from the Daily Mail claim that since 2015, 27 employees from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's home of Kensington Palace have been fired for various counts of misconduct.

Of the 27 sacked employees, two were reportedly dismissed for harassment, whilst one lost their job due to a case of fraud. Five more were let go over their attendance, whilst eight were fired for ‘failing to follow procedure’.

In 2017, a member of HRP (Historic Royal Palaces – the agency that manages staff for royal properties including the Tower of London and Kensington Palace) resigned over a fraud case, whilst another left for similar reasons in 2015.

HRP was set up by the Government in 1989 to look after five royal palaces. It later became a separate charity and took over management of Hillsborough Castle in 2014.

A Spokeswoman for the charity told the Daily Mail: “In common with all responsible employers, we have a performance framework and code of conduct in place to guide our staff to deliver the highest possible standards of service to our visitors.

“As an organisation with over 1,000 employees, we occasionally need to instigate disciplinary proceedings when these standards are not met. This is always a regrettable, but thankfully rare occurrence. We are proud to hold Gold Investors in People status.”

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are hoping that their next hire will be more HR compliant. The pair are also rumoured to be looking to hire a ‘manny’ – a male nanny, AOL reports.

A royal insider is alleged to have said: "Hiring a manny is far more common in the US - a nation that Meghan is more in tune with than in the UK. She's keen to introduce the royal family to what she considers a more enlightened, modern American approach."

The source suggested that Prince Harry may be interested in allowing his child an upbringing similar to his own.

"Of course, Harry had a very tomboyish nanny himself in Tiggy who taught him and William about abseiling, fishing and other outdoor pursuits in Monmouthshire,” they said – referring to Tiggy Legge-Bourke, a personal assistant to Prince Charles and nanny to William and Harry.

Some have speculated that this interest in a male nanny indicates Markle knew she was having a boy.

The Sun added that the couple will also be looking for a candidate who is bilingual – which means the young royal will be able to grow up practicing a vital skill. "A bilingual nanny is an avenue they both wish to explore,” the source added. “Meghan speaks good Spanish and has been honing her French and will be keen that her offspring retain an ear for languages.”