Treasury worker took own life after being told about complaint
Coroner concludes Treasury did not follow the disciplinary policy
A Treasury employee took her own life the day after meeting with management about a complaint against her, according to Surrey Coroner's Court.
The inquest revealed the Treasury contributed to Chloe Moffat's by failing to apply the written disciplinary policy, which would have informed her that the penalty of the allegations was a written warning, not dismissal.
The 26 year old was a personal assistant to a director within the Treasury. Her mother, Anne Moffat, recalled her daughter being ‘happy as Larry’ in her role and explained she was preparing for a promotion before the allegations arose.
Although anonymous witnesses made the allegations, Anne Moffat noted that these were office gossip and ‘vexatious,’ and stated the Treasury did not handle the situation according to policy.
Additionally, Ms Moffat had been awarded a year-end bonus, which she was unaware of, and had no history of mental health issues.
On 19th May 2025, Moffat attended what she thought was a routine one-on-one meeting with her line manager, only to find a senior manager also present.
During this meeting, she was made aware of allegations that she had shared confidential information within the office.
Despite denying the allegations, Moffat was informed that a decision had yet to be made regarding the handling of the accusations, which could result in a formal investigation or a disciplinary meeting.
When asked if she would lose her job, the senior manager stated that they could not predict the outcome at that stage.
Furthermore, Moffat was told her access to the director's email inbox was temporarily removed. Shocked and upset, she cried after the senior manager left, and it was agreed she would not work for the rest of the day.
Assistant coroner Anna Crawford determined that HM Treasury materially contributed to Moffat’s death due to their failure to adhere to their disciplinary policy.
The inquest heard it was agreed by everyone Moffat enjoyed her job, maintained a good work record, and had not previously faced workplace disciplinary proceedings.
A Treasury spokesperson said earlier this week: “We take the coroner’s concerns extremely seriously and recognise it is important to act quickly. We are now considering the findings carefully.
“We have introduced improvements to guidance, support and wellbeing arrangements but recognise we must continue to take action to prevent this happening again.”
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