THE Church of Scotland's annual gathering opens in Edinburgh today under a cloud of allegations of bullying and deep unrest at the Kirk's headquarters.

The Herald can reveal disturbing levels of bullying have been alleged in a secret survey of more than 200 staff mainly based at the Kirk's central administrative offices at George Street in the capital.

Senior management, said to be "scrambling to find a way to contain the situation", and the union Unite called the industrial conciliation service Acas to conduct an anonymous staff satisfaction survey amid claims of workers being too scared to speak out about their concerns for fear of losing their job.

The Kirk said last night that early indications of the results of the survey showed a mixed reaction but it admitted that a "surprisingly significant percentage [of staff] had experienced bullying".

The week-long General Assembly, during which about 1000 commissioners including ministers, elders and deacons meet to debate key issues, will begin with the formal opening of the ancient gathering today, followed by the Heart and Soul Festival in Princes Street Gardens tomorrow.

After a difficult two years during which the Kirk came under scrutiny as it struggled with the issue of gay ordination, the five main councils are expected to have a deficit of £3.2 million next year compared to more than £5m at the height of the economic downturn.

But the achievements of the year risk being overshadowed by concerns about the survey, in which 90% of staff took part.

One source said the overall result was "expected to be fairly brutal".

The source said: "Staff members are living in fear. Nobody has the courage to speak out for fear of being the next person to be kicked out the door, but everyone is sure that ordinary members of the Kirk would be disgusted at the way their officers are being treated."

A spokesman for Unite said the union would not decide its next step until the full results of the survey are known next week.

Alan Cameron, of Unite, said: "Once we get the results of the survey, if there are any problems we will look at them."

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: "For some time now, management in the Church Offices at 121 George Street has been considering ways of improving communication, especially two-way communication, in line with modern business practice.

"Acas were engaged to assist because of their experience in working with similar organisations, and they had already developed a general questionnaire designed to gather information about how employees feel about their jobs and the organisations they work for.

"The survey is being managed by a steering group made up of management, Unite and staff members from different levels.

"Headline survey results now available do not support the statement that staff motivation at 121 George Street is at an all-time low.

"On the contrary, the results indicate the majority of staff are satisfied with their jobs, feel their job is secure, share the values of the Church of Scotland and feel loyal to the organisation.

"However, the survey did indicate a surprisingly significant percentage of people experiencing bullying.

"The Church has a zero tolerance approach to bullying of any kind, and this will be immediately addressed.

"It should be pointed out that the headline figure obviously requires further investigation, as there have been no formal claims of harassment or bullying brought forward in the last 12 months.

"Staff will have the opportunity to explore this in more detail through planned follow-up focus groups."

A spokesman for Acas said: "Acas has been engaged by both management and the union to carry out a piece of work in the Church of Scotland, which is within the Acas Good Practice range of services."