S4C Authority ‘terminates employment’ of Chief Executive Sian Doyle following bullying investigation

S4C have parted ways with their Chief Executive after a rocky period that has seen bullying allegations along with claims of a ‘culture of fear’ existing at the organisation.

Nation.Cymru have been covering the ongoing issues:

S4C senior executive sacked for abusive behaviour after Rugby World Cup match
S4C executive dismissed after drunken rant claims she was unfairly dismissed
S4C chief executive signed off with stress following sacking of her ally
S4C chief executive sacked after bullying inquiry
etc

Gwyn Williams, former Director of Corporate Communications at S4C said: 'I welcome today’s announcement and especially the apology by the Authority. I’m stunned that 96 people gave evidence to the inquiry, considering that S4C only has around 110 fulltime staff'…

— Nation.Cymru (@NationCymru) November 24, 2023

Yesterday S4C said they will “work towards appointing a new leader who can help restore an ambitious S4C with a renewed focus on collaboration and the well-being of our colleagues.

“These are never easy decisions to make. However, we, as Members of the S4C Authority, are confident that this is the right decision for the organisation.

“This is a sensitive matter, and we must follow an appropriate process. As an S4C Authority we need to carefully balance our obligations in relation to transparency with the well-being of everyone involved in this matter, and it would be inappropriate to add any what about this statement at this time about the decision announced today.”

“In due course, we will publish a report which further explains the nature of the evidence received during the fact-finding process, the decisions made and the steps we will take to ensure that S4C provides a positive and prosperous working environment”.

The S4C Authority is an independent public body appointed by the UK Governments’ DCMS to oversee the management of S4C.

Since April 2013, 90% of S4C’s income comes from the licence fee in agreement between the S4C Authority and BBC Trust. This has been agreed until 2022. Around 8% comes from the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) until 2018. S4C also has some powers to generate its own commercial income, for example, through advertising sales, providing around 2% of the channel’s funding.