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The Government of Jersey's former top HR professional doctored an employee's dismissal letter during his time working for a London council immediately prior to his employment in the island then gave “untrue” evidence when challenged by an UK employment tribunal, it has emerged.
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham was recently ordered to pay a record £4.6 million in compensation and damages to a former employee who suffered PTSD after working with the bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The council was found guilty of disability discrimination and harassment towards Rachael Wright-Turner after she was sacked from her £125,000-a-year role in 2018.
The Government of Jersey's former Chief People and Transformation Officer Mark Grimley was embroiled in the six-year legal battle between the London Borough council and former employee as he was the authority's HR Director during the time of Ms Wright-Turner's employment.
Ms Wright-Turner's subsequent £4.6 million payout is believed to be the highest-ever such award against a public body.
The employment tribunal's ruling described Mr Grimley as "an unreliable witness" who "gave evidence under oath which [he] knew to be untrue".
Mr Grimley resigned from his role at the Government of Jersey at the end of last year for "personal reasons".
He had been in post for over four years, hired as Group Director of People and Corporate Services by former Government CEO Charlie Parker in June 2019.
He joined the Government of Jersey from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In common with Charlie Parker, Mr Grimley had also previously worked at Manchester City Council.
His title changed to Chief People and Transformation Officer 10 months ago during the creation of the Government's ‘Cabinet Office’, but his role remained essentially the same.
A key element of that was overseeing the transformation of the culture of the service in the wake of reports of widespread bullying and harassment throughout the civil service, as well as low morale.
During Mr Grimley's time as HR Director for the Hammersmith and Fulham council, Ms Wright-Turner was dismissed from her £125,000-a-year role after taking sickness leave for post-traumatic stress disorder.
She had developed PTSD while working at Kensington and Chelsea council as a Humanitarian Assistance Lead with those impacted by the Grenfell fire.
Ms Wright-Turner then moved to Hammersmith and Fulham council to work as Director of Public Services Reform.
She was signed off work after a meeting with colleagues – including Mr Grimley – at a pub triggered her PTSD.
She had a panic attack and was taken to hospital on 2 May 2018.
At around 21:00 that night, Mr Grimley texted then council CEO Kim Smith reporting that Ms Wright-Turner had “booked herself into A&E".
He added: "But don’t worry. She’s ok. It’s not an emergency she’s had a lot to drink”.
The tribunal found Mr Grimley's text to be "inaccurate in several respects".
"The claimant had not booked herself into A&E, she was not drunk but had had a panic attack and was feeling suicidal," the panel said.
Separately, Ms Wright-Turner had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the tribunal heard.
After learning of the diagnosis, the council's former CEO Ms Smith said Ms Wright-Turner's brain "doesn't work like other people's".
Ms Smith also asked whether Ms Wright-Turner had disclosed her ADHD when she was recruited.
Mr Grimley was appointed as a "buddy" for Ms Wright-Turner without any prior discussion, which Ms Wright-Turner perceived as being viewed as someone with "special needs" who was being singled out for additional support.
In a text message to Ms Smith, Ms Wright-Turner said "my “buddy” isn’t a safe buddy for me".
Ms Wright-Turner was later dismissed while on sick leave without a chance to discuss or challenge the decision.
The tribunal ruled that CEO Ms Smith and HR Director Mr Grimley misled the tribunal by claiming that Ms Wright-Turner was informed earlier on 2 May – the day she was admitted to hospital – that her probation was to be extended.
It was concluded Ms Smith in fact took the decision a day later on 3 May 2018, when it was understood that Ms Wright-Turner would take leave for her mental health.
The tribunal found that, before deciding to dismiss the claimant, Ms Smith instructed Mr Grimley to review the claimant’s health file for references to her disabilities and noted the risk that the claimant would complain about her dismissal because of their discussion on 2 May.
The tribunal also found that Ms Smith and Mr Grimley doctored Ms Wright-Turner's dismissal letter so it would appear to have been signed before she launched a grievance against the council, it was concluded.
No mention was made of her PTSD or ADHD in her termination letter "to avoid any inference that this decision was in any way connected with the claimant's mental health or related sickness absence", the tribunal panel said.
Following the resolution of the six-year legal battle, Ms Wright-Turner told the Daily Mail that her former employer had treated her like "some sort of drama queen".
"I don't think they understood how closely I'd been working with the families in the aftermath of Grenfell," she said. "They treated my PTSD as if I was acting like some sort of drama queen."
Ms Wright-Turner also spoke to the publication about the impact on her family.
"Before this started, I was married with two children in private school," she said.
"Now my marriage has collapsed, I'm fighting to stop my house from being repossessed and my children have been left devastated after being forced to leave their schools.
"My income has been taken away – we have been living literally on the breadline, taking donations from food banks and charities."
Ms Wright-Turner added: "From the public's point of view this award will seem a huge amount, but I would give every penny of this award back for it not to have happened – I thought I would just leave with a redundancy payment, but they wanted me to leave without a penny."
Hammersmith and Fulham told the Daily Mail it was "very sorry" for the ordeal Ms Wright-Turner suffered – but said it will appeal the decision as it has "always considered" her claim to be "vastly excessive, disputed and highly unprecedented".
Express has contacted the Government of Jersey to confirm if they were aware of this case involving Mr Grimley before he was hired, or only became aware later.
The full employment tribunal judgement can be found HERE.
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