Oxfam has been investigated over major failures in its staff vetting processes, eight years after the charity was engulfed by the Haiti sexual abuse scandal that forced it to promise sweeping reforms. According to reporting by The Times UK, the aid organization submitted three serious incident reports to the Charity Commission in 2024 and 2025 after discovering widespread gaps in background checks and references for new staff and volunteers.
The failures were initially identified in Oxfam’s operations in Ukraine and Poland in 2023, but subsequent internal reviews found similar problems across recruitment processes in many of the 79 countries in which the charity operates. The revelations have reignited scrutiny of Oxfam’s safeguarding culture and its ability to protect vulnerable people, despite years of regulatory oversight and repeated assurances that past mistakes had been addressed.
An internal source told The Times UK that around 45 per cent of approximately 600 new employees and volunteers recruited in Britain between 2022 and 2024 did not have references or Disclosure and Barring Service checks properly completed. Oxfam said it did not recognize those figures. The insider described the situation as “a shambles” and claimed the Charity Commission had expressed deep frustration that such failures were still occurring years after the Haiti scandal prompted a fundamental review of safeguarding practices.
The vetting failures represent a serious blow to Oxfam, which has an annual income of £339 million and has already faced internal turmoil following the dismissal of its chief executive, Halima Begum, shortly before Christmas. Begum, who took up the role in 2024 after the latest vetting issues were uncovered, oversaw efforts known internally as Project Indigo, aimed at repairing recruitment and safeguarding systems.
Oxfam’s reputation was badly damaged in 2018 when The Times revealed that the charity had covered up the sexual exploitation of vulnerable people by some of its aid workers in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Allegations included serious claims against the then country director, Roland van Hauwermeiren, who was allowed to resign along with two others, while four staff members were dismissed. The charity failed to disclose the nature of the misconduct to donors, regulators, or the UK government.
A statutory inquiry concluded in 2019 that weaknesses in Oxfam’s human resources practices, particularly around vetting, referencing, and management oversight, had fostered a culture that tolerated poor behavior. The Charity Commission imposed a strict action plan with 14 recommendations, highlighting particular risks in the charity’s UK shops, where registered sex offenders were found working alongside young volunteers. Oxfam was placed in special measures and barred from receiving UK government aid until 2022.
The latest problems were reported to the regulator in March 2024. Internal documents seen by The Times UK show that Oxfam’s trustees acknowledged they were under close scrutiny over gaps in referencing processes and had spent more than a year assessing the scale of the failures and implementing remedial measures. Although the Charity Commission closed the case in December, it warned that it would continue monitoring the charity’s governance and criticized the fact that the issues had not been identified in Oxfam’s own annual safeguarding self-assessment.
The regulator reminded Oxfam’s trustees that they bear ultimate responsibility for protecting everyone the charity comes into contact with and must continue to apply safeguarding guidance rigorously. The episode has intensified criticism of the board, with internal voices questioning how such lapses could persist after repeated warnings and regulatory intervention.
Oxfam said that its own internal controls identified inconsistencies in 2024 and that it acted swiftly, keeping the Charity Commission informed throughout the process. The charity said it was confident no one had been recruited who should not have been and that the steps taken to fix the problems were reasonable and complete. It added that it was committed to ongoing learning to ensure Oxfam is a safer organization.
In the most recent year, Oxfam’s safeguarding team conducted 23 investigations, resulting in six dismissals and one resignation. While the charity insists the matter is now resolved, the renewed investigation underscores how deeply the legacy of the Haiti scandal still shadows Oxfam, and how fragile trust remains in one of the world’s best-known aid organizations.
