Durham Council vindicated after sacking Christina Blythe

Jul 21 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

COUNCIL bosses last night said they had been vindicated after claims they discriminated against a senior manager were dismissed.

An employment tribunal found Durham County Council had acted fairly when it sacked Christina Blythe from her £66,000 a year post as head of the youth engagement service.

The 51-year-old had claimed she was left out of a reshuffle at the council because of her sex, disability and an illness which meant she had to take time off work. A judgment by a tribunal, held in Newcastle, found the claims were not well founded.

The case attracted widespread attention when it emerged the helpline chief at the centre of a bullying row centred on staff working with the-then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, had been called in to oversee Ms Blythe’s grievances against Durham Council.

But Christina Pratt, who claimed her National Bullying Helpline charity had taken calls from staff at No 10, bungled the role, failing to record crucial evidence and overlooking witnesses she had specifically been asked to speak to, it was claimed during the tribunal.

The council, which denied all allegations of impropriety during the hearing, said its decision was to sack Ms Blythe was justified by her failure to respond to a serious child protection incident, among other issues.

County bosses welcomed the judgment, which was made public for the first time yesterday. Colette Longbottom, head of legal and democratic services at Durham County Council, said: “Ms Blythe claimed she had been discriminated against on the grounds of sex and disability and that she had been unfairly dismissed.

“The tribunal has ruled that the discrimination claims were not well founded and dismissed them. It also ruled that Ms Blythe was fairly dismissed.”

During the tribunal Ms Blythe claimed she was ousted from her role and prevented from applying for a new position, by director of children and young people’s services, David Williams, while she was off sick with diabetes and suspected cancer.

Ms Longbottom added: “The council believes that its conduct in this matter has been endorsed by the tribunal and that Mr Williams has been vindicated.”

The council said it believed it had acted correctly towards Ms Blythe and handled her dismissal for gross misconduct in “a professional and thorough” way.

Ms Blythe, a former head teacher at King James Community Arts College, Bishop Auckland, said she was “shocked” she and her legal team had not been informed of the decision by the Tribunal Service, and she intended to examine the legal reasons for the decision before making any further comment.

The mother-of-two, of St Nicholas Drive, Durham, had previously told of her “disappointment” in the situation with her former employers.

Ms Blythe, who had worked in related areas in the county for 28 years, brought grievances against her employer in 2007, while she was still the subject of disciplinary proceedings for unprofessional conduct and undermining authority. These ultimately resulted in her sacking.

The Tribunal Service was unavailable to comment on Ms Blythe’s claim she had not been sent the judgment.