EXCLUSIVE: Council made secret payment to unfairly sacked employee

A SECRET payment of thousands of pounds was made by New Milton Town Council to a former employee who launched a case for unfair dismissal, the A&T can reveal.

Dr Claire Lambert, the council’s former Neighbourhood Plan Officer, was sacked in November 2017. Although she received the £4,101 she would have got if she worked the remaining four months of her contract, she felt she had been wrongly treated and launched an employment tribunal claim.

Dr Lambert said she was stripped of her role after complaints were made against her by two members – Cllr Steve Clarke and Cllr Keith Craze – while she was on leave.

But, she added, she challenged town clerk Graham Flexman, who conceded she had not committed any misconduct and reinstated her.

Her contract was terminated early a short time later by the council’s executive committee, arguing the Neighbourhood Plan was almost complete and her contract nearly up.

Speaking to the A&T, Dr Lambert said she was “shocked” at the way she had been treated by the town council and called on its members to launch an inquiry.

“I had worked hard for these councillors for nearly four years, always prepared to work evenings and weekends,” she said. “The way they treated me in return shocks and saddens me.”

She added: “I have presented every councillor with the detailed witness statement and supporting documentary evidence that I would have presented to them in the employment tribunal had I been given the opportunity of a full court hearing.

“I urge all councillors to consider what kind of town council they want to be and, if they have any concerns about the way senior management treated one of their officers, to call for an independent inquiry to find out how it happened and why it happened.”

Dr Lambert added: “On the day I came back it was suggested that, since I had lost a key role, I might not want to stay on and that a payment could be offered.

“Only when I chose not to leave and asked to see the evidence for the criticism did the town clerk admit that in fact there was no misconduct and reinstated me in my role.

“Shortly afterwards, however, I was dismissed by the executive committee, which claimed this was because my contract was nearing its end and the Neighbourhood Plan was nearing completion – suggesting there was no work for me to do – a position they chose not to attempt to defend in court.”

Prior to joining the town council, Dr Lambert, who lives in Everton, worked for Natural England for 23 years before taking voluntary redundancy.

At NMTC she was appointed as neighbourhood plan project officer and environmental stewardship project officer.

Dr Lambert continued: “How can officers work confidently and effectively for the good of the whole council if they fear they might be treated unfairly by the senior management of the council?”

She added: “Through the 2011 Localism Act, government has only recently offered town councils greater influence and responsibility in the local community through neighbourhood planning.

“I hope the town council will want to respond by ensuring the highest standards of governance in all their functions, not least in the way they treat their own officers.”

Dr Lambert has shown the A&T documents related to the case. One is a letter to her from the current mayor, Cllr David Rice-Mundy, in which he agrees her contract was terminated early, she had not been subject to disciplinary proceedings and her resignation had not been sought.

The A&T has also been provided with a copy of an order signed by an employment tribunal judge which confirms the council paid her £4,407 in compensation to settle the case before it came to hearing at a tribunal.

It states: “The parties have agreed by consent: That the respondent [NMTC] unfairly dismissed the claimant [Dr Lambert] and her dismissal was procedurally and substantively unfair.

“That the respondent concedes, it is unable to and therefore no longer seeks to argue the substantive fairness of the claimant’s dismissal because their defence has no reasonable prospect of success.”

In response to a request for comment, town clerk Graham Flexman said: “New Milton Town Council conceded liability for unfair dismissal for the purpose of achieving a settlement of Ms Lambert’s claim at an early stage.

“The council chose to settle the claim as the amount of the settlement was less than the legal costs involved in defending the claim.

“As each party to a claim in the employment tribunal pays their own legal costs regardless of the outcome in all but the most exceptional cases, the council felt that settlement was the best option and in the interests of saving public money.”

Asked whether it would launch an internal investigation, Mr Flexman responded: “Ms Lambert was not subject to a disciplinary process, as the reason for her dismissal was redundancy.”

In reference to Cllrs Clarke and Craze and whether either faced disciplinary action, Mr Flexman answered: “We do not propose to comment regarding any internal processes involving individual councillors.”

But Mr Flexman later sent another statement, which said: “Councillors are not subject to internal disciplinary procedures; these are designed for employees.

“If an employee wishes to raise an allegation concerning a councillor of New Milton Town Council, they must register a complaint with New Forest District Council.

“Ms Lambert raised such a complaint against Cllr Clarke but, following review by the Monitoring Team at NFDC, the decision was taken that no action was required,” he added.

In its recent history, NMTC has courted controversy because of the behaviour of its members towards colleagues and for pursuing a case against two Barton residents over access to a small strip of land, only to be landed with paying a hefty court bill into the tens of thousands.