Allegations of Bullying, Racism, and Mismanagement: A Look Inside the Crisis at Intercultural Youth Scotland
In a recent statement, a collective of former employees of Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS) has made serious allegations about the charity’s leadership, including claims of racism, bullying, and mismanagement. These claims, which cover a period of several years, have drawn attention to the dysfunction within the organisation and the detrimental effect on both its staff and the young people it serves.
The collective begins by addressing the leadership, including former CEO Khaleda Noon, current Executive Director Garvin Sealy, Director of Operations Gerald Richards, and Chair of the Board Satwat Rehman. They say, “We write with sadness over their dismantling of an organisation that we once all believed in and saw the anti-racist impact of.” They argue that IYS has been transformed from an organisation with a clear commitment to anti-racism into one that no longer adheres to those founding principles.
One of the most concerning allegations is the dramatic reduction in the size of the workforce. The whistleblowers claim that “the workforce at IYS has depleted from close to 30 staff to fewer than 8” over the past two years. The cause of this, according to the statement, is a longstanding culture of bullying, victimisation, and racism that has “been embedded into the practices and is still present today.” Employees who left were allegedly “victims of bullying and intimidation, or had their contracts terminated with insufficient warning.” Furthermore, staff members who attempted to address concerns through unionisation or who submitted grievances were reportedly targeted for these actions.
The whistleblowers also express concern about IYS's financial practices. They claim that the charity's leadership misrepresented the organisation’s financial situation, using the excuse of a financial crisis to justify reducing staff, while allegedly continuing to waste money on “inflated external consultant fees, nebulous office costs, and vanity projects.” This misuse of funds, they argue, was in direct contrast to the lack of funding for essential youth services, some of which were discontinued without informing the young people or the partners who supported them.
The statement is highly critical of IYS's leadership and the way staff were treated under their direction. They argue that the leadership fostered a culture of nepotism and unprofessionalism, particularly under the leadership of the former CEO Khaleda Noon. According to the whistleblowers, “Promotions were made based on personal relationships with leadership, rather than skills and expertise,” and “women of colour in particular were bullied, overlooked, and denied basic working rights.” This alleged favouritism created a culture where merit and hard work took a backseat to personal relationships.
The whistleblowers also claim that staff who raised concerns about unethical practices or safeguarding issues were ignored or punished. In particular, the whistleblowers state that a collective concern was raised about “unethical practice and inadequate safeguarding protocols” two years ago, but “was dismissed, and was then followed by recriminations and retaliations against staff seen as the ringleaders of this whistleblowing statement.” They claim that a subsequent investigation concluded that bullying allegations against the former CEO were true, but that the findings were kept from the staff. The whistleblowers also state that the CEO “continued to bully staff” and ultimately “left on her own terms without repercussion.”
The whistleblowers make clear that the toxic culture at IYS has had a serious impact on staff wellbeing. They claim that “communication became increasingly hostile, intimidating, belittling, and humiliating,” with employees “reduced to tears with no follow up from leadership.” Staff reportedly faced “constant threat of their jobs ending” and were excluded from meetings and marginalised based on their mental health or disability. The statement also notes that “younger female employees were those most at risk of being cornered for coercive conversations, and of having their behaviour policed.” This work culture is said to have led to “work-related stress, and long-term physical illness,” leaving many employees feeling emotionally and physically drained.
The whistleblowers also criticise the leadership that took over in 2024—Garvin Sealy and Gerald Richards. They claim that “both leaders have maximised their high-profile public appearances in this period to legitimise their wrongdoing.” They argue that, instead of addressing the organisation’s issues, Sealy and Richards “exploited and amplified the existing failures of the organisation.” The whistleblowers say that under their leadership, “basic rights like flexible working and reasonable adjustments for disabilities were withheld from all except for the most favoured employees.” Furthermore, they claim that the new leadership “dismissed essential compliance,” including disregarding “food allergies for high-risk young people in the organisation’s care, data protection regulations, and urgent referrals from vulnerable service users.”
The whistleblowers are particularly concerned by the disconnect between how IYS presents itself to the public and how it operates internally. They state, “It is disingenuous for IYS to call itself youth-led when its leadership consistently dismisses the perspectives of staff working directly with young people.” They also describe it as “hypocritical that IYS calls itself a safe space for young Black people and people of colour when its leadership has always treated its marginalised staff with contempt.” This, they argue, has resulted in staff leaving IYS “feeling more traumatised, mentally unhealthy, and financially precarious than they did when they entered.”
In their statement, the whistleblowers are clear about what they hope to achieve: “We hope that this letter serves to reframe your current or prospective relationship with IYS, as well as the four leaders mentioned in this letter, as irredeemable.” Their message is a call for accountability, not just for the individuals involved, but also for the organisations and partners that continue to support IYS despite these allegations.
The whistleblowers conclude by reaffirming that IYS no longer operates as an anti-racist organisation. They say, “We know from experience that these four leaders of IYS have a history of scapegoating other staff, to avoid accountability for the toxic work culture they have created.” Their collective statement serves as a warning to anyone who may still have ties to IYS, urging them to reconsider their associations with the charity and its leadership.
It’s clear that, if these allegations are true, the situation at IYS has deteriorated dramatically. For a charity that once held a reputation for anti-racist values and youth empowerment, the whistleblower statement paints a very different picture. Whether IYS can recover and return to its founding principles remains to be seen, but the damage caused by these claims will likely take a long time to repair.
The original allegations can be found here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/1gmvjha/discrimination_and_coverup_at_intercultural_youth/
