I missed last night's Brent Council meeting but checking the Twitter feed it is clear that Labour made no attempt to address the issue of a pay-off to Cara Davani, controversial head of Brent HR, who resigned recently:
Ahead of the meeting Philip Grant had writtent the following email to his ward councillors:
Ahead of the meeting Philip Grant had writtent the following email to his ward councillors:
Dear Fryent Ward councillors,
You have probably heard that on Wednesday a Council
spokesperson confirmed that Cara Davani, Brent’s Director of HR and
Administration, is leaving the Council at the end of June, to take a career
break. If you had not heard, you can read the announcement, and reaction to it,
at:
While the Council’s statement praises ‘the significant contribution that Cara has made
over the last 3 years’, it does not mention Ms Davani’s misdeeds, such as her
vicious actions against a Brent employee as shown by findings of fact in the
Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case. That case has already cost Brent
Council probably a six-figure sum in legal fees, and will land the Council with
a further bill, quite possibly a seven-figure sum (i.e. more than £1 million)
in compensation, damages and costs when the remedy hearing makes its decision
(likely to be in about three months time).
Given this background, and
the serious damage done to Brent’s reputation by the finding that the Council “racially
discriminated” against Ms Clarke, I am seriously concerned (as are many others)
about the financial terms on which Ms Davani may be leaving the Council’s
employment. She is leaving at the end of June, and I would not seek to
interfere with her salary entitlement up to that date (even though any decent
person would have resigned when the judgment was published last September, and
any other Chief Executive would have either insisted on that resignation or
taken immediate action to dismiss her for gross misconduct). However, that last
salary payment should be the only further financial reward that Cara Davani
receives from Brent Council.
There should be no
other “payoff” or leaving payment of whatever description made to her. If Ms Davani has been “persuaded” to leave now, there
is talk of a possible “compromise package” - which, I understand, following
changes made to HR procedures during Ms Davani’s reign, would normally be
agreed on by either the Director of HR or the Chief Executive. As she is the
Director of HR, the Chief Executive (Christine Gilbert) is her friend and
former colleague from Tower Hamlets Council and Ofsted, who she helped to bring
into Brent in 2012, the interim Director of HR is to be Mildred Phillips
(another former colleague, first brought into Brent as an interim consultant,
then given a permanent position and promoted by Ms Davani to be her deputy), it
would not be possible for the amount of any payment, even if one were deserved
(which it most certainly would not), to be arrived at on an arm’s length basis.
It may be that she is leaving now, while she still has “friends in high places”.
[And please don’t suggest
that the terms of any payment might be agreed instead by Brent’s Principal
Employment Lawyer - Ms Davani’s personal and business partner, Andy Potts - or
by its Chief Operating Officer, Lorraine Langham, another former colleague of
Ms Davani and Ms Gilbert at Tower Hamlets and Ofsted. It is the extent of this “cronyism”
at high levels in Brent Council that has previously allowed Ms Davani to get
away with her actions against Rosemarie Clarke, and other now-former employees
of the Council.]
The is another financial
aspect of Cara Davani’s leaving Brent which councillors need to ensure is
handled properly. The full title of the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal
case is Ms RC Clarke v. 1) The London Borough of Brent and 2) Ms Cara Davani.
Ms Davani is a separately named respondent in the case, even though it appears
that she did not have separate legal representation at the full Tribunal
hearing, with Brent’s barrister (at Brent’s expense) effectively defending her
as well. There should be no
agreement made under which Brent agrees to pay, or indemnify Ms Davani in
respect of, any award of compensation, damages or costs made against Cara
Davani personally as the second respondent in the case. I also believe that Brent should make clear to Ms
Davani that she will need to arrange and pay for her own legal representation
in the case after she leaves the Council’s employment at the end of June.
At first sight, this may
sound vindictive, as the case relates to actions she took while Brent’s Head of
HR (although she held this role up to 31 March 2013 as a self-employed interim
consultant) and as interim, then formally appointed, Operational Director of
HR. However, it is clear from the evidence and findings of fact in the Tribunal
judgement that her actions against Ms Clarke were totally contrary to the
Council’s HR policy and practices, and that her victimisation of Ms Clarke was
done for reasons of personal spite, as a result of Ms Clarke complaining of
being bullied and harassed by Ms Davani. Her actions were therefore not in the
proper performance of her duties, particularly when those duties were of Brent’s
most senior HR officer, who should have been leading by example.
I hope you will agree with
the two propositions which I have highlighted, and that you will take early
action to see that these are put in place. I would suggest that you could ask
for “Departure from the Council of the Director of HR and Administration” as an
item to be put on the agenda for the Full Council meeting on 22 June, with the
current Chief Executive (or her representative, if Ms Gilbert is not available
to attend) making a statement about Ms Davani’s departure, and then giving
members the chance to comment or ask questions. The Chief Executive should give
at least outline details of any planned payments, over and above her basic
salary to 30 June 2015, which are proposed, and in particular, be asked to
confirm that Ms Davani will be personally liable for any award made in respect
of her as the second respondent in the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal
case, and that Brent will not pay, or indemnify her in any way, in respect of
such an award against Cara Davani personally. I am copying this email to the
Chief Executive, for her information.
Please acknowledge receipt
of this email, and let me have at least a brief response to my comments, which
reflect the views of many people, even though I am the one articulating them to
you. Please feel free to forward this email to any of your fellow councillors,
if you wish to seek their views before deciding what action you should take in
response to it. Thank you. Best wishes,
Philip Grant
Davani should have been dismissed forthwith after the findings by Watford Tribunal in the Rosemarie Clarke case. Instead Brent, a bunch of unprincipled councillors and paid officers of the council, continue to condone this disgraceful charade by acting in denial and rewarding Davani, who has already cost residents' hundreds of thousands of pounds by her actions. The sooner an independent investigation takes place the better!
ReplyDeleteYes
ReplyDeleteAd the second James defendant Ms Davani should bot nave the public pur se pick up her legal bill.
Particularly when legal aid has been cut !
Looking forward to Florence demonstrating her support on Friday!
ReplyDeleteFive more working or, should we say, tidying up days to go!? Hope the Oyster cards are kept safely under lock & key.
ReplyDeleteCleaning out the Augean kennels?
DeleteMike Hine
There is HOPE for a cleaner brighter future!?
DeleteAndy Potts also going at the end of the month if the rumour-mill is accurate. He could always hire out his services as a conflict of interest specialist. [There is much scope for this in the NHS.]
DeleteI trust Muddling Mildred (Philips) she of the botched investigation into fictional charges, will follow her mates out the door.
There is hope for a New Chemistry Fit as Brent has not gone Potts & The Cronies.
Delete.. Guess his employment law advice has become somewhat tainted and fragile.
Who'll let the dogs out!?
DeleteHallelujah!
DeleteBotched investigation and fictional charges that bares no relation to the principles of fairness and natural justice - sounds familiar!? Good riddance to these so-called professionals?
DeleteBack from holiday.
ReplyDeleteNo statement about this issue at the Full Council meeting from Christine Gilbert (who was there).
My local councillors had referred it to Cllr. Pavey, who was absent from the Full Council meeting, and I have not yet received any word from my councillors or the Deputy Leader about whether or not there is to be a "pay off" to Cara Davani.
This is a serious issue, and Brent Council needs to deal with it in an open and transparent manner. I will keep on pressing, and hopefully someone at the civic centre will respond. When they do, I will share the information with you.
Philip Grant.
Hope you had a great (well earned) holidy Phillip! I think you are too nice and it's now time to take the bull by it's horns. These people have been pussy-footing and manipulating honest council payers for too long! Let's DEMAND SOME ANSWERS!
DeleteDear Anonymous at 00:02,
DeleteLike you, I want answers from the Council about any possible "pay off" to Cara Davani. However, I don't think that just "demanding" answers will get anywhere - those in power at the Civic Centre would just ignore the "demand", and if they responded at all would point out that there was no legal right to back it up.
What I have done instead, is to send an email to Christine Gilbert, as (interim) Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service, politely asking for answers to specific points over any payments or other financial arrangements in respect of Ms Davani leaving Brent Council. I have explained why it is reasonable to request that information, and why it makes sense for Brent Council to make it public.
I have also copied my email to Cllr. Pavey, as the Cabinet member responsible for employment matters, to Cllr. Filson, Chair of Scrutiny Committee, and to my Fryent Ward councillors, and have asked that they be copied in to Ms Gilbert's reply to me.
You, and others, may feel that my way of dealing with this is 'too nice', but I believe that any independent person looking at my email would consider that I have acted reasonably, and that not to answer the points I have raised would be unreasonable. That, in the long run, may mean that my approach is more effective. If I am successful, you will be able to read the answers I receive on "Wembley Matters".
Philip.
DeleteExcellent advice. In the real world this is how such things should happen but I have observed that the Cronies pass the buck and cover a lot of butts, if they like them, including Butts. Anyway, Phillip, keep up the great work - I'm a fan! ;)
Dear Anonymous at 23:50,
DeleteThank you for your flattering comment, but please note that I am not looking for "fans" (except the sort that help to keep us cool in this uncomfortably hot weather). I am doing what I do, and openly putting my name to it, both because I think it is the right thing to do, and hopefully to encourage others not to be afraid to stand up for what they think is right.
When I wrote to Brent's Audit and Investigation Team on 17 June about possible financial malpractice / irregularities if there were to be any "pay off" to Ms Davani, I ended my report with the following example, to explain my motivation for reporting the matter to them. I do not go looking for battles to fight with the Council, but sometimes situations arise where I feel so strongly that I must, so here, for the information of "Wembley Matters" readers, are the final paragraphs of my "report":-
'As I left the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 30 April, I was introduced to a lady and her husband who had come to listen to my Deputation, and to hear how Cara Davani responded to the points I wished to raise about the Rosemarie Clarke case. The lady was a former Brent employee who suffered similar treatment to that in Rosemarie's case. Although she was still recovering from the stress of the experience, and needed her husband's support, she felt that she had to be there to see Ms Davani "face the music" for the way she has run Brent's HR.
Although disappointed that the committee had not been willing to hear what I had hoped to say, she wanted to tell me about her experience, so we went and had a cup of coffee together nearby. She had worked for the Council for many years on the social care side, and had stood up for herself and colleagues by making a grievance complaint when Brent’s HR department sought to impose changes to work schedules which breached the EU working time directive. Soon afterwards she found herself suspended on the grounds of misconduct allegations which were so ridiculous that she thought at first it was a practical joke. However, one of the allegations, though untrue, was a serious one, and was supported by false "evidence" from another employee.
The misconduct investigation was handled, not by a member of Brent's staff, but by a consultant, Shahidul Miah (see section 7 of PG2, and my emails of 21 and 23 March 2015 to Head of Audit and Investigations), who she described as 'a nasty little man'. She was found guilty and dismissed, but (like Rosemarie Clarke) felt so aggrieved by her treatment that she put in a claim of unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal. After months of worry and stress in preparing her case and waiting for it to be heard, when the case opened at Watford Employment Tribunal Brent's lawyer said, out of the blue, that the Council wished to settle the case. She was paid compensation by Brent Council for her unfair dismissal, but under the terms of the settlement agreement, she could not and did not tell me the amount that she received.
It was clear to me from talking with the couple what a toll this experience had taken on both their lives. I am glad that the Council’s employees will not need to suffer at the hands of Ms Davani after the end of June 2015, although I do not know how many other Employment Tribunal cases from her three years at Brent are still “in the pipeline”. It is the courage in adversity of these victims, as well as my strong sense of what is right (and what at Brent Council has gone wrong, and needs to be changed), which sustains my considerable efforts in matters such as this report.'
Philip Grant.
Please see my comment of 8 July 2015 (at around 18:50) below, for an update on my email to Christine Gilbert of 30 June.
DeletePhilip.
First time poster. I have delayed until now as I was awaiting admissions from Brent Council and officers on certain legal matters they got wrong and badly so. I received them recently - they should have listened to me 4 years ago.
ReplyDeleteNow then, Brent Council through the numbers of naughty officers (not all but too many) will act unlawfully in conduct and decision making. It takes the most persistent of person(s) (and they are few) to challenge Brent Council successfully. I have been watching carefully how events unfolded in Ms Clarke's case. I too wrote to my local Councillor and MP about Ms Clarke's situation - I expect replies from them - no matter how long it takes. Now Mr Andrew Potts AKA "Andy" knows what role he played. Ms Cara Davani character is clear to read about. I have met her and experienced her wrath. It was the Power of Tower Hamlets Trade Union who were brave enough to expose her behaviour to all its union members. Many of them are resurrecting their stories of heartache at the hands of Cara Davani's decision making and Christine Gilbert too. It makes for uncomfortable reading and hearing considering the same detriment that Ms Clarke experienced was evident over a decade ago and Cara Davani's negative attitude towards people was highlighted and publicly too. Clearly Brent council as an employer did not make sufficient reference checks. Now then, what are we all going to do about this? Well, as a Citizen I can only do so much on the outside. But for those who work for Brent will Members contact their trade unions of Local Government in Brent organise a mass march? Members need to get active. The trade Unions are only as strong as the members. If you are just paying your subs and doing nothing else then so are others. That then makes for a weak trade union branch. So I appeal to members of Unison/Unite/GMB etc to keep this matter alive and take to the streets in celebration of Justice for Rosemarie Clarke and to highlight that the way forward is by working to represent members and to recruit new members. Is it true the trade union offices are in the Civic Centre and located near to HR/management? Members - and it takes just one and a call for changes at the AGM or other meeting or by email - to ask for changes. Trade Union Offices should be located at a place where members feel comfortable in accessing the services in person.
Brent council is one of the largest employers in the Borough (if not the largest) and the workers and public need to be secure in knowledge as to how the council uses the public purse, and that the Authority's moral compass possess the righteous many, many things that are good i.e. compassion, integrity etc rather than far too much bad and ugly. Senior Managers can get it wrong and so do Lawyers. What Brent needs to do now is admit they were wrong and know investigations in the dark will reveal themselves for what they truly are come daylight....
Black people in Brent need to find its voice on the subjects that matter most.
My regards to Rosemarie and her brother and bank of supporters. Keep the faith.
Dear first time poster at 08:43,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to add your comment, which makes some very important points and was well worth reading. It is not just black people in Brent who need to find their voices on subjects that matter, but all citizens of whatever background who want to see a fairer and more just society for everyone in our community.
You mentioned that you had finally received admissions from the Council 'on certain legal matters they got wrong and badly so'. If you are not bound by the terms of a legal agreement to keep these admissions confidential, I would be grateful if you could share this information, either publicly as a post on "Wembley Matters", or privately to me (you can send them to Martin at the contact email shown in the right hand column: mafran@globalnet.co.uk, and I am sure he would forward your email to me) so that it is available to be used as evidence of wrongdoing in any action I take.
I hope that employees at Brent Council will take your advice, particularly when the shadow of fear cast by Ms Davani has been lifted from them. Active trade unions supported by active members will help to deter any future unreasonable actions by senior Council officers.
Rosemarie Clarke will finally receive a financial settlement in the next few months for the wrong she suffered at the hands of Brent and its Head / Director of HR, but justice will not be fully done until this core value set out in Cllr. Pavey's review has become a reality:
‘Every Brent Council employee deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.’
Philip Grant.
Just to say it is not true about them being located close to HR or management, they are on a completely different floor of the Civic Centre.
DeleteA different floor still means they are too close for comfort! Brent happily declare telephone calls, use of the internet and emails may be monitored. Unison & the GMB's clout was lost years ago. They are not interested in members, apart from collecting subs, and make no attempt to find out what is going on in the workplace. Frequently, when members approach the unions phonecalls are ignored and/or legal advice sat on. I don't think they ( the branch secretaries / exec) want to upset Brent, their employer.
DeleteA very interesting post from Annomomous 8:43. I wholeheartedly agree that the trade unions in Brent should be doing more to represent their members but think that the in-house unions, namely Unison and the GMB, have become so beholden to Brent, their paymaster,that they are AFRAID to challenge anything. This is why Davani & Cro's have got away with so much! Sad, eh!?
ReplyDeletePhilip made the very valid point at 12.30 that
Delete"active trade unions supported by active members will help to deter any future unreasonable actions by senior Council officers".
It has always been thus. When I was branch secretary of Brent Nalgo (that is now called Unison) I was only able to succeed when the management knew I was backed by my members. The union is the membership, they are one and the same. It is not enough to pay our subscriptions and expect that the union will be able to work miracles on our behalf.
The balance of power always favours management which is why members need to be united in their actions. I was never a great advocate of strike action and tried to avoid this as very much last resort. Working to rule and withdrawing goodwill was much more effective because it is astonishing just how much staff goodwill is needed to keep services running.
With reference to the 'core value' set out in the Pavey review of
‘Every Brent Council employee deserves to be treated with dignity and respect’
it is only an organisation that is utterly bankrupt of the qualities of courtesy and natural justice that has to actively parede its intention to abide by this most basic tenet of ordinary good behaviour.
Nan Tewari, former Branch Secretary and Branch President, Brent Nalgo
PS Good to have you back, Philip
Is it possible for this blog link to be sent to the Kennel Club, Dog World and posted on Facebook so that people that trust Ms Davani in the dog showing and breeding world can see what her real character is? The Kennel Club should refuse to accept her as a breeder
ReplyDeleteIf Brent Council weren't interested in protecting its reputation and its staff from Davani's real character, I doubt the dog organisations will be too exercised about the issue.
DeleteIn the interests of fair, ethical and reasonable behaviour both Brent Council and the dog organisations ought to take stock. Apparently most of the dogs are now owned by Andy Potts. Does his LinkedIn profile list his joint ownership of kennels, incredible dog show travelling across Europe and managing a full time senior management position at Brent effectively? Ms Davani's LinkedIn profile appallingly listed her job at Brent and under description of her Brent position 'I also do private consultancy through Cara Davani Ltd' - is that Council protocol or did she write a separate policy for herself?
DeleteI doubt whether Davani does much, if any, of the hands-on work in relation to breeding the innocent creatures; she appears to pose, rub shoulders with supportive and influential people, delegate, make excessive amount of money and take on the role of judge.
ReplyDeleteThe more Brent talks about equality the less it means, the place is riven by by conflict because of poor management and political leadership.The culture is all about looking good with no depth and simply about producing a tick box approach. if only the public knew about the self serving pen pushers
ReplyDeleteIn at comment on 30 June (at 19:41) above, I said that I had sent an email to Christine Gilbert, asking for answers to specific points on any financial arrangements arising from Cara Davani leaving Brent Council. I have now received her "reply", which I am setting out in full:-
ReplyDeleteDear Mr Grant
I refer to your email dated 30 June 2015. I can confirm that Cara Davani, then Director of HR and Administration, left the Council at the end of June. The Council is grateful for the significant contribution Cara had made over the last three years.
Having discussed your queries with Fiona Alderman, Chief Legal Officer, I am advised that the Council cannot legally disclose any details of the arrangements relating to Ms Davani’s departure.
Yours sincerely
Christine Gilbert
Chief Executive
I have emailed Christine Gilbert to say that her "reply" is totally unsatisfactory, and asked her to reconsider the matter, copying the email to Fiona Alderman with the suggestion that she may wish to explain why Brent cannot 'legally disclose' answers to even the simplest of points.
I have also forwarded a copy of Ms Gilbert's "reply" to Cllr. Michael Pavey, Cllr. Dan Filson and my Fryent Ward councillors (Cllrs. Crane, Moher and Tatler), as Christine Gilbert had not copied her email to them, despite my request that she should do so. I hope that the councillors will impress upon Brent's "lame duck" interim Chief Executive that the question of any "pay off" to Ms Davani is a matter which cannot be "swept under the carpet", as many members of the public, Brent Council employees and at least some councillors have very serious concerns about it.
I hope to be able to report some progress on this matter by the beginning of next week, so look out for a "guest blog".
Philip Grant.
I am "replying" to myself, to update anyone who is still following this blog on the latest developments.
DeleteOn 9 July I sent another email to Christine Gilbert, to help her out of her dilemma about not being able to 'legally disclose any details of the arrangements relating to Ms Davani's departure'. I reduced what I was asking from her to just two questions, which each required just a simple (but honest) "yes" or "no" answer.
On 10 July I received a reply from Christine Gilbert, but without the answers I had requested. It told me that she had passed all of my emails to Brent's Chief Legal Officer, Fiona Alderman, who would reply on her behalf. I have not yet received that reply, or been given any indication of when I can expect to receive it.
When an (interim) Chief Executive on an annual salary of £191k cannot give simple "yes" or "no" answers to two questions, when she must know the answers to those questions, you do have to wonder why the Leader of the Council was determined to hire her, and keep her for nearly three years, in that role. And what are Brent's councillors doing about it? I have yet to hear back from any of them.
Philip.
Is there any update on this matter? Has Fiona Alderman and/or Cllr. Michael Pavey, Cllr. Dan Filso replied?
ReplyDeleteSee latest Guest Blog from Philip Grant today.
Delete