Friday 18 September 2015

Brent Council settles Employment Tribunal compensation out of court

Ten minutes before the Employment Tribunal remedy hearing was due to start at Watford Tribunal on Wednesday  Brent Council settled with Rosemarie Clarke's legal team out of court.

Although details are subject to a Confidentiality Agreement an award would normally cover legal costs and loss of earnings.

This marks almost the last chapter in the saga with the main protagonists including Cara Davani, Andy Potts, Fiona Ledden and Christine Gilbert no longer employed by Brent Council.

Muhammed Butt, a stout defender of Cara Davani, remains in post and of course Philip Grant's two questions remain unanswered.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The 'openness and transparency' continues .............

Anonymous said...

Everyone should quit and Scott 'Jed' Bartlet should take over

Philip Grant said...

One of the worst aspects of this sordid case is that Brent Council continued its victimisation of Rosemarie Clarke for a year after the original Tribunal judgement, apparently at further cost to Rosemarie's health.

As far as I am aware, Brent has never apologised for the outrageous treatment which Rosemarie suffered at the hands of Ms Davani in particular, which treatment was clearly set out by the Tribunal's findings of fact, based on detailed evidence recorded in the judgement.

Brent's last minute agreement to settle the case is an attempt to ensure that the cover-up of the wrongs done by Senior Council Officers continues.

Even if Brent Council regards that as a "victory", Rosemarie and others like her, who suffered at the hands of Cara Davani's HR management style at Brent, still deserve a public apology. And staff still working for Brent deserve a promise from the current Senior Management Team that such ill-treatment of Council employees will never be repeated.

Philip Grant

Anonymous said...

Let's hope Rosmarie Clarke fully recovers from this ordeal & she enjoys whatever she chooses to do in the future.

Anonymous said...

Butt & the rest of those in denial should be ashamed of themselves.

Anonymous said...

Is there a greater admission of guilt than one side's insistence on a 'confidentiality agreement'? The fact that it is 'normal' is simply a further condemnation.
Nevertheless, I'm sure that an informed estimate of the compensation costs could be made as it could also be for the Davani pay-off. Would somebody in a position to do so like to add these figures together and, adding in any other relevant sums, come up with an estimated total cost to Brent taxpayers of just this little chapter of the Davani/Butt/Gilbert adventure?
Old, unreconstructed blues singers used to encourage their dancing girlfriends to 'shake their 'moneymakers'. Not a term anyone would use to describe BRENT's Butt, it would seem.

Mike Hine

Anonymous said...

Butt must be Stopped.

Anonymous said...

Well said, Phililp! But, I'm not convinced that Brent will earnestly ever deal with matters of bullying and harassment in the foreseeable future, as Butt, Pavey and Co are still in denial and will seek to bury all grievances, bad practice and complaints from the Davani and Potts era.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Anonymous at 16:23.

Philip Grant.

Anonymous said...

Just shows you.

Those in a position of power will use it until the last minute knowing a cover-up job can be done!

Society is sick of such power.

Vive La Revolution

Anonymous said...

I hope Brent has enough money left to pay for the cost of Rosemarie Clarke's case as it has been reported: "Suppliers to Brent Council paid twice in blunder costing more than £2m - News - Kilburn Times". For further info see link below:-

http://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/suppliers_to_brent_council_paid_twice_in_blunder_costing_more_than_2m_1_4236003

Nan said...

What stands out in this sorry saga is the power of one individual's tenacious struggle to expose the truth and how that struggle carried out in the public domain, i.e. Wembley Matters, bolstered its effects to ensure a massive degree of success.

Philip Grant's relentless pursuit of matters of fact in this case, together with Martin Francis shining a light on that pursuit, has had the powerful effect of seeing off Cara Davani, Andrew Potts and Christine Gilbert.

After stringing out the Chief Exective 'interim' role for 3 years, Brent Council and Gilbert would have been quite comfortable for her to throw her hat into the ring for the permanent position and for her to have been appointed based on her sterling record of failure to follow basic procedures and nurturing conflicts of interest.

Andrew Potts, business and personal partner of Davani, emerged as a beneficiary of the legal department restructure that had been conducted by Davani and signed (nodded?) off by Gilbert.

Davani herself was secure enough to work on adding such unlikely strings to her bow as taking on responsibility for equality and diversity as well as wanting the acclaim of a Business in the Community award to trumpet the Council's equality achievements as a means of countering the public disgrace at the Watford Tribunal and the public disrepute she brought the council into, for blatant race discrimination.

And Philip's efforts have also exposed for all to see (the video of the council meeting would probably warrant an 18 certificate in the scheme of these things!!) the underlying ill manners and discourtesy of Cllr Butt and Cllr Dr Helen Carr BA (Hons); M Phil (Oxon); Cert TEFL; Dip; DPil who appear singularly unable to understand the balanced deportment required of public figures.

So at a time when it appears that we the public are powerless against those in power, Philip Grant has led the way in showing that we can put the frighteners on public institutions whatever they may choose to admit or however much they may attempt to conceal.

Philip, we salute you.

Alison. Hopkins said...

Well said Nan.

Philip Grant said...

Cllrs Butt and Pavey may be "in denial", but they cannot deny that they have been made aware of my comment of 18 September above. I have a copy of the email which forwarded the text of my comment to them today.

Philip.