The Police Digital Service (PDS) is set to be the subject of at least two employment tribunals this year, with former staffers making claims of harassment, sexual discrimination and unfair constructive dismissal against the organisation, Computer Weekly has learned.
Three PDS senior executives, including a director, are also understood to have been dismissed in recent weeks, according to sources with a close working knowledge of the Home Office-funded organisation, which is responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of the National Police Digital Strategy.
PDS has previously been described to Computer Weekly as being a “really unhappy place to work”, with sources within the organisation reporting low staff morale, amid a promise from the organisation’s senior leaders that the workplace would undergo a “cultural reset”.
This vow is understood to have been made to staff following the completion of a “through review” of PDS, following the arrests of two employees in July 2024 for suspected bribery, fraud and misconduct in public office.
This event led to the resignation of then PDS chief executive Ian Bell, and a subsequent restructure and streamlining of the rest of the company’s senior leadership team over the past year, which is now almost exclusively staffed by interim hires.
It has now been brought to Computer Weekly’s attention that at least two employment tribunals against PDS are getting underway this month, with PDS facing claims of harassment and victimisation by one former staff member.
Second case hearing
The preliminary hearing for the second case, brought by another ex-PDS staffer, took place during the week commencing 5 January 2026, as confirmed to Computer Weekly by the local tribunal office overseeing it.
That case is understood to feature accusations of sexual discrimination and whistleblowing detriment, with the individual involved putting in a claim for unfair constructive dismissal against PDS.
Sources told Computer Weekly that there are several other employment tribunals concerning the company’s treatment of former staff members either underway or in the pipeline.
Computer Weekly contacted PDS for a comment and clarification on the forthcoming employment tribunals, as well as the more recent wave of senior departures from the organisation, and received the following statement in response:
“We do not provide comment on any internal personnel matter which is confidential to both the organisation and any individual involved. In relation to employment tribunal claims, like any organisation, we occasionally face claims brought against us and are unable to comment on individual cases.”
Culture and engagement
PDS has repeatedly acknowledged that “improving the culture and engagement with employees at all levels” is a priority for the organisation, with this phrase appearing in every PDS financial report filed with Companies House since 2020.
The organisation’s most recent set of accounts covers the 12 months to 31 March 2025, and were filed with Companies House on 12 December 2025, confirming the organisation received a Home Office grant valued at £22.3m to progress its work during this period.
The accounts also confirm that PDS made a profit before tax of £2.22m during the year, which is an improvement on 2024, when it made a loss of £1.2m.
“The profit for the year includes the release of £3.63m of deferred income related to prior years following a review of remaining liabilities … without this there would have been a loss of £1.4m,” the accounts clarified.
Commitment to company culture changes continues
The report reiterates the company’s commitment to improving workplace culture, and said this “continued to be an important workstream throughout 2024/2025” and will remain one through to 2026 “and beyond”.
To this point, the company said it wants to “develop and embed a culture where our people feel they matter and understand how their role contributes to the success of the business”, and that this “programme of work” has been “updated to reflect emerging priorities and is progressing well”.
The report added: “Career development objectives, which include investing in our people through both specialist and behavioural training, continue to be important foundations for the way we shall operate in 2025/26 and beyond.”
On the topic of staff retention, the PDS annual report acknowledged that there has been a “steady increase” in staff turnover over the “rolling 12-month period” covered by its December 2025 accounts, although “month-by-month” turnover is described in it as having “stabilised” over the course of the 2024/25 financial year.
“At the end of 2024/25, our turnover was 15.5%,” the report stated. “Within the DDaT [digital, data and technology] industry, a turnover at or under 15%, with a retention figure of over 85%, is considered good.
“During 2024/25, 34% of our workforce were women,” it added. “This was a stable position during the financial year … In 2024, 54.5% of the civil service were women.”
As reported by Computer Weekly, sources at PDS have previously pointed to the uncertainty surrounding the organisation’s future as a source of low staff morale, in light of the Home Office’s much-talked-about plans to reform the policing sector.
In November 2024, the Home Office said the reforms will include the creation of a National Centre of Policing (NCoP) that will have the provision of national IT capabilities in its purview. As reported by Computer Weekly at the time, this has led to questions about whether PDS will still exist once NCoP is created because it appears the two entities will be duplicating responsibilities.
In June 2025, Diana Johnson, the former minister of state for policing and crime prevention, published a letter that strongly suggested PDS’s work and responsibilities will be taken over by NCoP. It stated that establishing NCoP will require primary legislation to be passed, and preparatory work undertaken to “facilitate a smooth transition of relevant capabilities” into this new organisation, while “maintaining effective service delivery” and ensuring minimal disruption to staff.
“Examples of such functions [that require transition] include the commercial work currently being delivered by BlueLight Commercial Limited, and the IT functions currently delivered by the Police Digital Service,” Johnson’s letter confirmed.
Further detail on NCoP is expected to emerge in the coming months, with the publication of the Police reform whitepaper, which was due to drop before the end of 2025, but has now been delayed until early 2026, Computer Weekly understands.
