Historic Royal Palaces, a charity governed by trustees partly appointed by the Queen, has paid confidential settlements to staff to settle complaints of bullying and racial discrimination. The Guardian has spoken to current and former staff members at Historic Royal Palaces, which maintains sites including the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, who described witnessing or experiencing bullying or racial discrimination. In one instance an employee was paid a confidential settlement after a senior manager described visitors to the Tower of London as being from “bongo-bongo land”. A spokesperson for Historic Royal Palaces accepted that settlements with confidentiality clauses were signed, but said they were not uncommon for charities seeking to resolve disputes cost-effectively and did not represent admissions of wrongdoing or liability. However, the charity said it acknowledged staff grievances, and that a member of its board of trustees would be tasked with conducting an internal review of the charity’s working environment. The organisation has made 25 payments with confidentiality agreements to members of staff over the past eight years, according to information disclosed to the Guardian in response to a freedom of information request. The payments were collectively worth £488,090. Not all of the payments related to instances where staff complained of bullying or racial discrimination. At least two staff who did raise such complaints subsequently received settlements with confidentiality clauses. In addition to the Tower of London the charity manages other historic unoccupied royal palaces, including Hampton Court Palace. The majority of its funding is generated by ticket sales. As a result its finances have been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and last year the charity announced plans for 145 compulsory redundancies as well as changes to staff working conditions in the face of a £100m fall in income. The Guardian requested the information about payments with gagging clauses after speaking to current and former front-of-house staff who engage with visiting members of the public, known as state apartment warders. Multiple staff members referred to an incident in 2017 in which one of the Tower of London’s most senior managers described visiting tourists as being from “bongo-bongo land” during a meeting with staff. After an external investigation was conducted following a complaint from a black employee, the manager, who has since retired, apologised to the employee for using the phrase, but was not subjected to any disciplinary action by HRP. An HRP spokesperson said the apology had been accepted by the employee, and so it felt the incident had been resolved. However the employee, who declined to comment, was subsequently paid a confidential settlement and relocated to a different palace. Some of the current and former staff who spoke to the Guardian complained they felt there was a culture of favouritism, with the careers of those out of favour with management often struggling to progress. One staffer, who has since retired, is understood to have received a confidential payment after alleging that he had repeatedly been discriminated against and passed over for promotion, despite years of service to the charity. The former staffer, who is from a BAME background, is said to have repeatedly been asked to perform more senior roles on a temporary basis and told he was qualified for advancement, only to be rejected when he applied for promotion. Another described feeling like “a shadow of my former self” following what she said was three years of bullying by her manager. She left the organisation after fearing that she would be “hounded out” of the charity if she did not accept a voluntary redundancy offer. “I went down all the correct avenues, followed all the procedures in the handbook,” she said. “If you look at their handbook it says that bullying and things like that will not be tolerated. But it’s just lip service. It is tolerated and it’s still going on today.” She believed that she had fallen foul of team leaders after supporting colleagues she felt were being victimised. Several current and former staff said they felt they had been discriminated against because of their background, and questioned the management’s determination to tackle racial discrimination. One described hearing a comment from a colleague that they interpreted as racist and threatening. However, they said a manager warned them against pursuing a formal complaint. “What I was basically told is: ‘What you’re accusing somebody of is racism, and that is a big thing to be accusing somebody of. Are you sure?’ they said. ‘If you go down this route, you may be tarred for life in this organisation.’” In a statement, Historic Royal Palaces’ head of media and PR, Laura Hutchinson, said: “Historic Royal Palaces does not tolerate bullying and racial discrimination of any kind, and is committed to treating all staff with dignity and respect in the workplace. We have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support this commitment and ensure that any concerns are properly investigated and dealt with. “We have never sought to conceal allegations of this nature. On the contrary, on the rare occasions where settlement agreements are required, they include provision for employees to make disclosures, such as the reporting of misconduct. “Creating a culture where everyone feels included, valued and respected requires constant attention. Where there are lapses in our standards we must acknowledge our responsibilities, respond in a robust fashion to address and grievances and learn from the experience. “For this reason, the recently appointed chair of our people committee and trustee, Sarah Jenkins, will now oversee a review, looking at how the culture of the organisation can fully reflect our commitment to equality and diversity.”