Employment Tribunal Day 6 of 10: Cross-examination of Surjit Tour (Part 1)

Surjit Tour (Monitoring Officer (Wirral Council)) at the Coordinating Committee held on 15th June 2016

This is a report of an Employment Tribunal hearing I attended, the matter had already been part heard and this was day 6 of 10. As far as I know there are no reporting restrictions. Brief details are below followed by the first part of a report based on my notes.

Venue: Tribunal Room 2, Third Floor, Liverpool Civil and Family Court Hearing Centre, 35 Vernon Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L2 2BX

Case reference: 2400718/16

Appellant: Mrs A. Mountney

Respondent: Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Employment Judge: Judge Robinson

Tribunal Members:
Mr AG Barker
Mrs JE Williams

Clerk: Lynne Quilty

Date: 6.2.2017

Time: 10.00 am

The following is a contemporaneous account of day 6.

EJ Robinson told people present in Tribunal Room 2 to sit down and apologised for the wait. He said that they would carry on with Mr. Mountney (the lay representative for Alison Mountney).

The order of witnesses would be Surjit Tour, Kate Robinson, Joe Blott and Mr. Williams.

EJ Robinson said good morning to Mr. Tour and said that he could say the oath on a bible of his choice. He then asked Mr Tour to read from the yellow card.

Mr Tour read the oath which starts, “I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I will give..”.

EJ Robinson asked him to sit down. He said that he intended to break at 10.45 am, but if Mr Tour needed a break he must tell him. Mr Moore (representing Wirral Council) would introduce the cross-examination.

Mr Moore asked Mr Tour to find the witness statement. He asked Mr Tour his name to which he answered, “Surjit Tour”. He then asked if it was his business address in the witness statement. It was.

The representative for Wirral Council Mr Moore asked Mr Tour if he had read Mr Tour’s witness statement. Mr Tour answered yes.

Mr Moore asked if Mr Tour wanted to make any amendments to his witness statement.

Mr Tour wanted to make some clarifications. The first was in paragraph 101 on page 20. Referring to a reference here it would be “rolled out in phases”, Electoral Services had been passed until the elections in May 2015.

In paragraph 17, the references to public interest reports, there was just one which was about the highways procurement exercise, the other reference was a reference to a call-in of a different decision regarding services.

EJ Robinson said OK and asked if there were other amendments?

Mr Tour answered that a handwritten letter had been provided to him in October, he remembered the date in reference to paragraph 55, to avoid confusion he didn’t remember receiving it.

EJ Robinson said (to Mr Mountney) that although the letter was not discussed he could ask Mr Tour about it to which Mr Mountney replied OK.

Mr Mountney thanked EJ Robinson and said good morning. Starting at the beginning of Mr Tour’s witness statement he referred to Mr Tour starting at Wirral Council in 2009. He asked Mr Tour if Wirral Council was in turmoil at that time?

Mr Tour said that the detail [of the turmoil] had not become apparent until later. Continuing, he said that Cllr Green had commissioned Anna Klonowski to look into whistleblowing concerns of Martin Morton and that the issues that arose needed to be reviewed.

Mr Mountney referred to page 227 and a Cabinet report in November 2013 that summarised the issues. There had been a need to established effective governance. Wirral Council had many whistleblowers and it was clear to those present at that time that there were issues in the way Wirral Council treated whistleblowers with disdain.

Mr Tour said that although there were issues, that Wirral Council was addressing them which was made clear arising from the Anna Klonowski Associates Ltd review relating to Mr Morton.

There had been a Cabinet report in September 2011, which was a supplementary report which set out the issues of governance in the organisation. Wirral Council had worked to address the governance issues and the failings.

Mr Mountney referred to page 281 and asked a question to which Mr Tour answered yes.

Mr Mountney referred to 2.8 and 2.9, the Anna Klonowski Associates report and the culture at Wirral Council about whistleblowing. The culture was one were there was fear of reprisals (against whistleblowers). He asked a question about this. Mr Tour replied that he accepted it.

Mr Mountney said that the concerns whistleblowers had that they felt they were not listened to, treated fairly and that whistleblowers were conscious of reprisal.

Mr Tour said that in the context of the whistleblowing raised by Martin Morton it was spread out, in 2009 he was not told the large issues but it was clear in the report that Anna Klonowski prepared.

Mr Mountney said he was correct. Referring to the Public Interest Disclosure Act reports, he referred to the major issues. Mr Tour said that the public interest report into highways was to do with the procurement arrangements.

Mr Mountney asked that if someone was working for Wirral Council at that time might they be fearful of blowing the whistle or raising a grievance?

Mr Tour said that he recognised that improvements needed to be made, there was a revised whistleblowing policy and a follow-up report.

Mr Mountney asked if most employees were fearful of whistleblowing or raising a grievance?

Mr Tour said that they “would or could be concerned” but referred again to the revised whistleblowing policy and the commissioning of the Anna Klonowski Associates report.

Mr Mountney asked how long it took to resolve Martin Morton’s whistleblowing?

Mr Tour answered that it took a few years to resolve.

Mr Mountney referred to paragraph 14 in reference to the major impact on Mr Tour’s time due to day-to-day issues.

Mr Tour replied that much time was spent on the Improvement Plan and sustaining improvement.

Mr Mountney asked if it was really the case that Mr Tour had dropped one?

Mr Tour admitted it was “challenging”, as there was a “lot to address” and then commented on the “level of work”.

Mr Mountney asked a further question if whistleblowers got the time they deserved?

Mr Tour said it was clear there were conversations with Mrs Mountney and that all staff were communicated to about the improvements. There had been work undertaken. Mr Tour felt that Wirral Council dealt with the issues needed to be dealt with effectively, but there had been demands on time.

Mr Mountney referred to Mr. Tour’s witness statement and that for two to three lives it had been a priority to address the issues which were compounded by two public interest reports. One of the issues had been called in and at the time it was described as a “dysfunctional Council” and a damaging place to those who brought grievances over whistleblowing complaints.

Mr Tour said he was aware of the issues of Martin Morton and other whistleblowers. That they were linked was not something he was sure of. However he said, “it was a challenging time”.

Mr Mountney referred to another public interest disclosure and asked if it was resolved to which Mr Tour said it was still ongoing.

Mr Mountney asked when the second note was made? Mr Tour answered that the public interest report by the Audit Commission was in June 2012 and that it had been prior to this.

Mr Mountney asked if that was before it was published in June 2012. Mr Tour answered 5 years but it was not resolved, but that wasn’t through lack of trying.

Mr Mountney asked how many employees Wirral Borough Council had to which Mr Tour responded four thousand.

Mr Mountney asked if the HR department had eighty staff? Referring to paragraph 23, he asked Mr Tour to clear up a date which had been referred to also in Kate Robinson’s witness statement. He asked if it referred not to February 2012, but December 2011?

Mr Tour answered that he didn’t recall. Mr Mountney again referred to that Mr Tour had told Kate Robinson he could not recall, but this didn’t mean he hadn’t been told?

Mr Tour said that he genuinely didn’t recall. Mr Mountney asked another question to which Mr Tour answered that he didn’t recall. Mr Mountney asked if he [Mr Tour] was told or made aware of Alison Mountney’s whistleblowing? Mr Tour said that he didn’t recall, but that if it had been raised with him that he would have been addressing it. Mr Mountney referred to page 28. Someone asked if he meant paragraph 28 to which Mr Mountney replied yes.

Mr Mountney asked a question about Mr Bradfield to which Mr Tour replied with a comment about Mr Bradfield and part responsibility.

Mr Mountney referred to page 10. EJ Robinson said, “What?” to which Mr Mountney replied 6.10. He referred to the bottom appearing above the reference to poll clerk and other posts and asked if it wasn’t up to Alison Mountney, it was up to Kate Robinson?

Mr Tour referred to promotions. He said that Alison Mountney couldn’t remove where an appointment had been made.

Mr Mountney asked another question about staff to which Mr Tour answered no.

Continues at Employment Tribunal Day 6 of 10: Cross-examination of Surjit Tour (Part 2).

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Does Wirral Council believe that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government?

Wirral Council Cabinet meeting at Birkenhead Town Hall Thursday 12th March 2015 Left to right Surjit Tour, Cllr Phil Davies and Joe Blott — Wirral Council Cabinet meeting at Birkenhead Town Hall Thursday 12th March 2015 Left to right Surjit Tour (Monitoring Officer), Cllr Phil Davies (Leader of the Council) and Joe Blott (Strategic Director (Transformation and Resources))

I was planning on writing today about the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review (however that’s something that would really benefit from a very in-depth piece), but Wirral Council have published an interesting document about Cabinet meeting report protocol.

That probably sounds rather boring, but it shows the informal arrangements that everyone knew existed behind the scenes before reports were published are being put on a more formal footing.

Although much of it is probably the rather dry nuts and bolts and let’s face it there will still be people submitting reports late and chairs not following procedures with regards to late reports, it does seem an attempt at least to make what the press and public end up reading at least not full of obvious errors (and I’m not talking about spelling mistakes).

The report does state what I knew already, that the SLT (Senior Leadership Team or senior managers at Wirral Council) see reports before they’re published and have a chance to suggest edits.

Even before each public Cabinet meeting happens, Cllr Phil Davies has a meeting of his Cabinet (called a briefing) which the officers are expected to attend (usually in what’s called the Cabinet Briefing Room behind locked doors at Wallasey Town Hall) where he goes through the entire agenda and matters are discussed in private.

Interestingly, this report shows that the Cabinet briefing is used as a filter and the Cabinet briefing can be used to change the reports that are later published. I presume this practice of writing reports by committee leads to some bits being watered down.

There are also four compulsory steps a report has to go through before the press or public see it. It seems reports have to be run by legal (which makes me laugh considering some of the legal howlers I’ve pointed out on this blog over the years), human resources (which is understandable as many of the decisions are going to have HR implications), finance (again understandable) and the Head of Service (which has been standard practice for years anyway). As there are vacant heads of service posts, in that situation the relevant strategic director signs it off.

However there is one very important group of people this all leaves out, the public. Anyone involved with politics will of course comment and say that the last group of people involved in political decisions are the public.

This is what Wirral Council’s constitution states about decision-making:

13.2 Principles of decision-making
All decisions of the Council will be made in accordance with the following principles:

(i) proportionality (i.e. the action must be proportionate to the desired outcome);
(ii) due consultation and the consideration of professional advice from officers;
(iii) respect for human rights;
(iv) a presumption in favour of openness;
(v) clarity of aims and desired outcomes; and
(vi) Wednesbury* reasonableness (i.e. the decision must not be so unreasonable that no reasonable Council could have reached it, having taken into account all relevant considerations, and having ignored irrelevant considerations).

*This piece is too short to provide an in-depth description of the legal definition but it refers to the case law definition of "unreasonable" which is a reference to a Court of Appeal case from 1947, [1947] 2 All ER 680, [1947] EWCA Civ 1, [1948] 1 KB 223, [1948] KB 223.

Every policy disaster (whether the library closure fiasco which resulted in a public inquiry or half a dozen others I could mention here) has resulted because the public weren’t involved (or were involved/consulted but politely ignored by politicians and officers who had the arrogance to think they knew better) and/or the above principles weren’t followed.

Let’s take the Fort Perch Rock car park charging U-turn as an example. Principle (ii) above states the "consideration of professional advice from officers" yet officers didn’t tell them that if they started charging at Fort Perch Rock car park then the lease the Council had for the Marine Point development would lead to charges at hundreds of spaces at the other currently free car parks.

No, it fell to a local blogger to publish the pages of the lease, a large petition against it of thousands of people and a campaign against the charges from a former Conservative councillor in the marginal seat of New Brighton. This was despite Labour’s backbench councillors warning the Cabinet at at least one public meeting not to go ahead with plans for charging.

Next week, the Transformation and Resources Committee will discuss the high-profile issue of a fire station in Saughall Massie. At the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority meeting earlier this year where the decision was made, the petition organiser was given five minutes to speak and a delegation from the Saughall Massie Conservation Society was also given the opportunity to speak for up to five minutes.

Yes, you are probably going to say, this ties in with (iii) above, respect for human rights as article 21, which Wirral Council signed up to when Cllr Adrian Jones was Mayor quite clearly states

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Notice the importance of that word directly or through freely chosen representatives (that is politicians).

The other public bodies I report on either have mechanisms written into their constitution (for example Liverpool City Council has a regular public question time slot at many of its meetings and I’ve mentioned the mechanisms that Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority has), so people can exercise their rights at public meetings and have their say before the decision is made.

At Wirral Council the public at public meetings get frustrated and heckle instead (then get told to shut up by the Chair or clear off which does show some politicians’ attitude towards the public outside of elections).

The Chair at last night’s meeting (despite his wish to get home in time to watch Coronation Street) tried to let many taxi drivers have their say (some more than once) before the decision to consult on increasing hackney carriage fares was made (if a decision is made following the consultation it’ll mean fares go up in time for Christmas).

Yet if there’s one point I am trying to make from this maybe boring piece about Wirral’s politics, it’s that the public should be more involved and you don’t encourage the public to turn up by expecting them to sit through meetings in silence and not have any influence over decisions that are going to affect their lives.

At the moment taxi drivers have more influence over decisions as there is a Joint Consultative Committee that meets regularly behind closed doors than I do over say Wirral Council’s filming of public meetings policy.

Yes, this probably sounds like as to why it’s a good idea to have politicians, or for the kind of public interest journalism I spend a lot of time doing but the point I’m trying to get at is one that Wirral’s political system doesn’t seem to have quite grasped which is "the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government".

At Wirral Council this seems to have morphed in the past to "the will of the officers shall be the basis of the authority of government" (and we expect politicians to rubber stamp decisions we refer to them).

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Wirral councillors agree 2 new policies on attendance management and discipline

Councillors at Monday night’s Council meeting approved two Human Resources policies (apart from the Mayor who abstained and Cllr Pat Cleary who voted against). These were the Human Resources Policy Update (including revised Disciplinary Policy and Procedure) and the Attendance Management Policy.

Approval of the Attendance Management Policy led to this exchange between Conservative Leader Cllr Jeff Green and the Labour Chair of the Transformation and Resources Policy and Performance Committee Cllr Janette Williamson.

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Councillor Jeff Green asks a question about a letter from UNISON at the Wirral Council meeting on the 12th October 2015

Cllr Jeff Green: Mr Mayor, am I allowed to ask a question on that particular item? I was just wondering as UNISON have written to me about this, I just wanted to know what the current position is.

Mayor Cllr Les Rowlands: Cllr Green, would you like to ask your question now?

Cllr Jeff Green: Yes Mr Mayor, the question is relatively straightforward. I’ve been written to, probably other colleagues have been written to by UNISON around the Attendance Management Policy and so on and I just wondered whether the Chair can update us on where we are with that letter and our discussions with the trade unions?

**Councillor Janette Williamson responds to a question from Cllr Jeff Green at the Wirral Council meeting of the 12th October 2015 about UNISON**

Cllr Janette Williamson (Chair of the Transformation and Resources Policy and Performance Committee): Well, firstly Jeff you did have a chance to ask your question before but chose not to do so. You had a chance to ask a Chair’s question before but chose not to do so.

This went before the Committee and received all party approval when it went there. We did have a request from a member of UNISON beforehand to attend and for him to ask a question and he decided not to errm on the night of that. It’s been agreed by the Committee and passed by every Member.

Here are links to the new policies on Wirral Council’s website.

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EXCLUSIVE: 155 invoices paid by Wirral Council in 2013/14 for legal services, external audit, physiotherapy and psychological assessments

Below are 155 of the invoices I requested during the 2013/14 audit. They range from invoices to the Council’s external auditor Grant Thornton UK LLP, criminal work, a couple of judicial reviews, appealing an ICO decision notice to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) as well as a lot of times Wirral Council have taken parents to court about their children. Some of these invoices I’ve previously written about on this blog, such as about the invoice about appealing the ICO decision notice. Turns out now I look at it more carefully there was a further invoice for £1,008 from February 2014 in that matter too.

Some of the others I’ve already on the blog as I received them in August 2014. However I didn’t publish them in August because I’ve had to go through a process of blacking out all the names (and partial names) of children and parents.

Added in green to many invoices are the representative (where known) from the list of payments in 2013/14 greater than £500. I’ve also added back in (on some) text which has been obscured by information blacked out on double-sided pages and bled through.

There is an index to all 155 invoices that can be downloaded here. I’ve tried to use the following file format when naming each file “Wirral Council invoice” followed by representative/organisation, amount, date, page number where there are multiple pages for the same invoice followed by invoice number.

Invoices 73 & 74 aren’t published here as they were cancelled and replaced by invoices 75 & 76. There is another batch of invoices I have yet to scan in, which is a mix of invoices for legal services and other general invoices. Below you should find all 155 invoices.

Wirral Council invoice Capita Health and Wellbeing Limited £520 Page 1 of 3 18th March 2013 1

Wirral Council invoice Capita Health and Wellbeing Limited £520 Page 2 of 3 18th March 2013 1

Wirral Council invoice Capita Health and Wellbeing Limited £520 Page 3 of 3 18th March 2013 1

Wirral Council invoice The Lucy Faithfull Foundation £699.31 28th March 2013 2

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings £10,344 page 1 of 2 15th March 2013 3

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings £1,320 18th March 2013 6

Wirral Council invoice Forepsych Limited psychological assessment report £688.35 3rd February 2013 11

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings £576 2nd April 2013 12

Wirral Council invoice Remy Zentar St Johns Buildings £1,800 27th March 2013 13

Wirral Council invoice Sharpe Pritchard £25,698 31st March 2013 Page 1 of 2 14

Wirral Council invoice Sharpe Pritchard £25,698 31st March 2013 Page 2 of 2 14

Wirral Council invoice Gail A Owen St Johns Buildings £2,928 9th April 2013 15

Wirral Council invoice Nicola Miles 7 Harrington St Chambers £2,130 9th April 2013 16

Wirral Council invoice Kate Burnell St Johns Buildings 9th April 2013 £792 17

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 11th April 2013 £864 18

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 16th April 2013 £720 19

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 16th April 2013 £1,032 20

Wirral Council invoice Dr Jennifer Ashcroft JJ Ashcroft Clinical Psychology Services Ltd 7th April 2013 £900.75 21

Wirral Council invoice Gail A Owen St Johns Buildings 26th April 2013 £591.36 22

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 20th April 2013 £600 23

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Bellamy St Johns Buildings 25th April 2013 £511.68 24

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 26th April 2013 £528 25

Wirral Council invoice Tim D N Kenward 7 Harrington St Chambers 19th April 2013 Page 1 of 2 £900 26

Wirral Council invoice Tim D N Kenward 7 Harrington St Chambers 19th April 2013 Page 2 of 2 £900 26

Wirral Council invoice Remy Zentar St Johns Buildings 23rd April 2013 £936 27

Wirral Council invoice Susan Edwards St Johns Buildings 2nd May 2013 £672 28

Wirral Council invoice DMM Psychology Ltd 8th March 2013 £1660.80 29

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 8th May 2013 £823.68 30

Wirral Council invoice Rebecca Smith St Johns Buildings 8th May 2013 £720 31

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 9th May 2013 £1200 32

Wirral Council invoice Rebecca Smith St Johns Buildings 9th May 2013 £720 33

Wirral Council invoice Benjamin Lawrence St Johns Buildings 13th May 2013 £787.50 34

Wirral Council invoice Advanced Childcare Assessments Limited 30th April 2013 £2,641.20 35

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 15th May 2013 Page 1 of 2 £528 36

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 15th May 2013 Page 2 of 2 £528 36

Wirral Council invoice Louis Browne Exchange Chambers 15th May 2013 £3445.74 37

Wirral Council invoice Claire Grundy St Johns Buildings 14th May 2013 £1800 38

Wirral Council invoice Sharpe Pritchard 17th May 2013 £640 39

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Building 17th May 2013 £1200 40

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Building 17th May 2013 £528 41

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Building 21st May 2013 £576 42

Wirral Council invoice Cerys Williams St Johns Building 22nd May 2013 £2454.72 43

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Building 24th May 2013 £768 44

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Building 28th May 2013 £811.29 Page 1 of 2 45

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Building 28th May 2013 £811.29 Page 2 of 2 45

Wirral Council invoice Simon Maddison St Johns Building 23rd May 2013 £1260 46

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 31st May 2013 £607.48 47

Wirral Council invoice Document Technology Limited 10th May 2013 £569.58 48

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 4th June 2013 £849.60 49

Wirral Council invoice Susan Edwards St Johns Buildings 10th June 2013 £993.60 50

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 11th June 2013 £799.68 51

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 13th June 2013 £2,208.96 52

Wirral Council invoice Grant Thornton UK LLP 14th June 2013 £63,504 53

Wirral Council invoice Catherine Rimmer St Johns Buildings 17th June 2013 £504 54

Wirral Council invoice Stephen J Bedford St Johns Buildings 17th June 2013 £1,584 55

Wirral Council invoice Stephen J Bedford St Johns Buildings 19th June 2013 £1,584 56

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 25th June 2013 £552 57

Wirral Council invoice The Association of Electoral Administration 14th May 2013 £3,556.25 58

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 1st July 2013 £960 59

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 1st July 2013 £4,910.40 Page 1 of 2 60

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 1st July 2013 £4,910.40 Page 2 of 2 60

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 1st July 2013 £523.20 61

Wirral Council invoice Tim D N Kenward 7 Harrington St Chambers 19th June 2013 Page 1 of 2 £3,660 62

Wirral Council invoice Tim D N Kenward 7 Harrington St Chambers 19th June 2013 Page 2 of 2 £3,660 62

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 3rd July 2013 £849.60 63

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 28th May 2013 £3,264 Page 1 of 2 64

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 28th May 2013 £3,264 Page 2 of 2 64

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 12th July 2013 65 £1,440 65

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 12th July 2013 £552 66

Wirral Council invoice Gaynor Lloyd St Johns Buildings 12th July 2013 £1822.08 67

Wirral Council invoice Sharpe Pritchard 18th July 2013 £10,080 68

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 25th July 2013 £696 69

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 25th July 2013 page 1 of 2 £7344 70

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 25th July 2013 page 2 of 2 £7344 70

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Manning Arden Chambers 26th July 2013 £1,800 71

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Manning Arden Chambers 26th July 2013 £1,800 72

Wirral Council invoice Helen Roberts Forensic Clinical Psychologist 1st August 2013 £821.10 75

Wirral Council invoice Helen Roberts Forensic Clinical Psychologist 1st August 2013 £590.50 76

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 7th August 2013 £1392 77

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 5th August 2013 £639.36 78

Wirral Council invoice Gaynor Lloyd St Johns Buildings 12th August 2013 £1822.08 79

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 12th August 2013 £2016 80

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 19th August 2013 £528 81

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 15th August 2013 £511.68 82

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 22nd August 2013 £864 83

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 21st August 2013 £703.68 84

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 4th September 2013 £576 85

Wirral Council invoice Grant Thornton UK LLP 12th September 2013 £63504 86

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 11th September 2013 £687.36 87

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 11th September 2013 £1992 88

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 16th September 2013 Page 1 of 2 £1296 89

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 16th September 2013 Page 2 of 2 £1296 89

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 16th September 2013 £1230.72 90

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 17th September 2013 £655.68 91

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 25th September 2013 £561.60 92

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 23rd September 2013 £930 93

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 30th September 2013 £720 94

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 2nd October 2013 £912 95

Wirral Council invoice Benjamin William Jones St Johns Buildings 1st October 2013 £900 96

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 7th October 2013 £511.68 97

Wirral Council invoice Kate Burnell St Johns Buildings 10th October 2013 £1248 98

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 14th October 2013 £720 99

Wirral Council invoice Cater Walsh Media Services Ltd 25th October 2013 £528 100

Wirral Council invoice Sara A Mann St Johns Buildings 21st October 2013 £831.36 101

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 21st October 2013 £576 102

Wirral Council invoice Ginette Fitzharris St Johns Buildings 21st October 2013 £753.60 103

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 30th October 2013 £3235.20 104

Wirral Council invoice Kate Burnell St Johns Buildings 30th October 2013 £1113.60 105

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 31st October 2013 £1128 106

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 30th October 2013 £528 107

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 1st November 2013 £864 108

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 11th November 2013 £993.60 109

Wirral Council invoice Susan Edwards St Johns Buildings 8th November 2013 £591.36 110

Wirral Council invoice David V Glasgow 30th October 2013 £740.37 111

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 13th November 2013 £576 112

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 18th November 2013 £753.60 113

Wirral Council invoice Christine Johnson Atlantic Chambers 22nd November 2013 £2940 114

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 22nd November 2013 Page 1 of 2 £4210 115

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 22nd November 2013 Page 2 of 2 £4210 115

Wirral Council invoice Susan Edwards St Johns Buildings 25th November 2013 £696 116

Wirral Council invoice Robin Hopkins kbw 12th November 2013 £1872 117

Wirral Council invoice Wilkin Chapman LLP 16th October 2013 £1598.40 118

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 21st November 2013 £576 119

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 26th November 2013 £1272 120

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 11th December 2013 Page 1 of 2 £3473.28 121

Wirral Council invoice Jonathan Taylor St Johns Buildings 11th December 2013 Page 2 of 2 £3473.28 121

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 3rd December 2013 £2399.04 122

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 4th December 2013 £672 123

Wirral Council invoice Susan Edwards St Johns Buildings 27th November 2013 £504 124

Wirral Council invoice Grant Thornton UK LLP 12th December 2013 £51120 125

Wirral Council invoice Ruth Stockley Kings Chambers 19th November 2013 £607.50 126

Wirral Council invoice Cerys Williams St Johns Buildings 7th January 2014 £528 127

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 8th January 2014 Page 1 of 3 £5096.64 128

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 8th January 2014 Page 2 of 3 £5096.64 128

Wirral Council invoice Jennifer Lesley Scully St Johns Buildings 8th January 2014 Page 3 of 3 £5096.64 128

Wirral Council invoice Nigel Lawrence 7 Harrington Street Chambers 11th December 2013 £27185.90 129

Wirral Council invoice Tim D N Kenward 7 Harrington Street Chambers 7th January 2014 £2220 130

Wirral Council invoice Grant Thornton UK LLP 11th December 2013 £63504 131

Wirral Council invoice Damien Sanders St Johns Buildings 15th January 2014 £600 132

Wirral Council invoice Leona Harrison St Johns Buildings 15th January 2014 £1536 133

Wirral Council invoice Michael J Kennedy St Johns Buildings 15th January 2014 £672 134

Wirral Council invoice Catherine Rimmer St Johns Buildings 20th January 2014 £720 135

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 21st January 2014 £912 136

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 17th January 2014 £951.36 137

Wirral Council invoice James Gatenby St Johns Buildings 20th January 2014 £607.68 138

Wirral Council invoice Helen Wilson St Johns Buildings 23rd January 2014 £816 139

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 23rd January 2014 £696 140

Wirral Council invoice Anthony Gill Kings Chambers 28th January 2014 £1860 141

Wirral Council invoice Sweet & Maxwell Ltd 2nd January 2014 £1041.60 142

Wirral Council invoice Andrew Haggis St Johns Buildings 14th February 2014 £720 143

Wirral Council invoice Kate Burnell St Johns Buildings 18th February 2014 £511.68 144

Wirral Council invoice Peta M L Harrison St Johns Buildings 18th February 2014 £888 145

Wirral Council invoice Weightmans LLP 25th February 2014 £1360.80 146

Wirral Council invoice Damien Sanders St Johns Buildings 26th February 2014 £528 147

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 19th February 2014 Page 1 of 3 £1120 148

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 19th February 2014 Page 2 of 3 £1120 148

Wirral Council invoice Paul Burns Exchange Chambers 19th February 2014 Page 3 of 3 £1120 148

Wirral Council invoice Robin Hopkins KBW 10th February 2014 £1008 149

Wirral Council invoice Joanne Jade Abraham St Johns Buildings 5th March 2014 £543.36 150

Wirral Council invoice Weightmans LLP 30th January 2014 £4982.40 151

Wirral Council invoice Lexis Nexis Butterworths 3rd March 2014 £1659 152

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 10th March 2014 £528 153

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 10th March 2014 £600 154

Wirral Council invoice Sharpe Pritchard 31st January 2014 £6468 155

Wirral Council invoice Cerys Williams St Johns Buildings 13th March 2014 £816 156

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 18th March 2014 Page 1 of 2 £1296 157

Wirral Council invoice Mark Senior St Johns Buildings 18th March 2014 Page 2 of 2 £1296 157

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Underhill, Kay and Tomlinson LJJ dismiss appeal of former Wirral Council solicitor Gregory Eyitene of earlier Employment Appeals Tribunal decision involving allegations of race and disability discrimination

Underhill, Kay and Tomlinson LJJ dismiss appeal of former Wirral Council solicitor Gregory Eyitene of earlier Employment Appeals Tribunal decision involving allegations of race and disability discrimination

Underhill, Kay and Tomlinson LJJ dismiss appeal of former Wirral Council solicitor Gregory Eyitene of earlier Employment Appeals Tribunal decision involving allegations of race and disability discrimination

Tim D N Kenward Invoice 2 Page 1 of 2 7 Harrington Street Chambers 19th April 2013 Gregory Eyitene v Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council £900 written advice draft letter

I’m going to write about a rather complicated story now involving a former Wirral Council employee who worked as a solicitor there called Gregory Eyitene.

Mr Eyitene made claims of race and disability discrimination against Wirral Council which was heard by an Employment Tribunal in Liverpool (Employment Judge Ryan, Mr Roberts and Mr Gates) many years ago (the decision was sent out to parties in February 2012). The Employment Tribunal decided in favour of Wirral Council, but Gregory Eyitene then appealed this Employment Tribunal decision to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

When it was heard by the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 2013, HHJ Richardson, Mrs A Gallico and Ms G Mills dismissed his appeal of the earlier Employment Tribunal decision. Mr Kenward of 7 Harrington Street Chambers appeared at this stage on behalf of Wirral Council.

Gregory Eyitene then appealed the decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division).

Underhill, Kay and Tomlinson LJJ dismissed his appeal in 2014. The latest decision in the case can be read online [2014] EWCA Civ 1243 and makes for interesting reading.

Mr Tim Kenward of 7 Harrington Street Chambers (who had also appeared for Wirral Council at the EAT stage) also appeared for Wirral Council in the Court of Appeal. Gregory Eyitene (the appellant) who was representing himself, had written in before the hearing to state he was unwell and couldn’t attend but was happy for it to go ahead without him there.

Although you can read the judgement for yourself [2014] EWCA Civ 1243, permission to appeal was granted (mainly) on one point, that is allegations of bias made by the appellant about the original Employment Judge Ryan who referred to a particular aspect of the Appellant’s conduct in the written reasons as “brinkmanship” (paragraph 2.37 of the reasons) as well as other reasons. The lay members (Mr Roberts and Mr Gates) to the original Employment Tribunal decision had stated they hadn’t seen the written reasons before Employment Judge Ryan had sent them out.

The view of the Employment Appeal Tribunal on their original ET decision as quoted in the judgement were as follows on this:

“In our judgment, there is no force in this point at all. The practice is for the Employment Judge to consult the members and agree findings, conclusions and reasons before the judgment and reasons are given. Based on the results of that consultation, the Employment Judge will then give reasons either orally or in writing. There is no reason to doubt that this process occurred here. The fact, if such it be, that the members did not receive a copy of the written reasons does not provide any support for the proposition that they did not associate themselves with the judgment and reasons. The members said they did not have a copy of the written reasons, but nothing in their comments suggests for a moment that they would or did disagree on the question concerned.”

The two lay members at the Employment Tribunal stage stated the following after Elias LJ had required the original Employment Judge and members to provide their comments.

Mr Roberts (one of the two lay members on the ET decision stated):

“This was a lengthy and complex case which generated a considerable amount of discussion between Tribunal members in chambers following completion of the case. I had access to my copies of the bundles and my handwritten notes totalling in excess of 80 pages. Colleagues consulted their own bundles and notes as necessary. In my many years of Tribunal experience, I have rarely been asked to comment on a draft version of the final written reasons for a judgment, nor have I been regularly copied into the written reasons sent to the parties. But I have always contributed fully to discussion and deliberations and been fully consulted in agreeing findings of fact conclusions and a final judgment. I have never had any reason to doubt that the written reasons sent to the parties would do anything other than accurately reflect the views of the Tribunal, unanimous or otherwise. I am content that Judge Ryan issued written reasons in this case that fully reflected the Tribunal’s findings and conclusions.”

and M Gates (one of the two lay members on the Employment Tribunal stated)

“Judge Ryan, Mr Roberts and myself sat down and discussed the issues and matters of fact in relation to all aspects of the case in great detail. We debated the numerous issues that had been raised throughout the hearing. Judge Ryan made full notes on all points and drafted the decision; again, standard practice in my experience. The decision we reached was a unanimous one with a full consideration and input from all the members. Judge Ryan had it typed and sent to the parties. I say this is normal/standard practice on the basis that I have sat as an ET member for over ten years sitting in six Tribunal hearing centres with judges from at least five Tribunal regions, the process followed in the various Tribunals and regions being broadly similar. Throughout my time sitting, I have only twice received from a judge a copy of the typed decision. On both these occasions, the decision of the Tribunal was not unanimous, but majority decisions; the judges on both occasions asking the members to consider the points relating to the differing views in particular.”

So Wirral Council successfully defended themselves at the Employment Tribunal stage, Employment Appeals Tribunal stage and the Court of Appeal stage of the decisions in this matter.

Some of the invoices for earlier stages in this case (for the FY 2013/14) were published in this earlier blog post. Colin Hughes was the solicitor at Wirral Council dealing with this matter at the EAT stage.

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Employment Tribunal Day 6 of 10: Cross-examination of Surjit Tour (Part 1)

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Does Wirral Council believe that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government?

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Wirral councillors agree 2 new policies on attendance management and discipline

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EXCLUSIVE: 155 invoices paid by Wirral Council in 2013/14 for legal services, external audit, physiotherapy and psychological assessments

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Underhill, Kay and Tomlinson LJJ dismiss appeal of former Wirral Council solicitor Gregory Eyitene of earlier Employment Appeals Tribunal decision involving allegations of race and disability discrimination

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