A FORMER case worker fired by Sir Bob Russell has been ordered to pay the Colchester MP £2,500 after a second appeal against his dismissal was rejected.
Former part-time case worker John Scott, now 67, claimed his dismissal, in June 2009, was the result of a breach of contract, sex discrimination and his alleged whistleblowing.
In December 2010, an employment tribunal judge refused to allow the case to reach a full hearing and struck out the claim, which he described as having “no reasonable prospect of success”.
Mr Scott, of Ballast Quay, Fingringhoe, took his case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in London, where, at a preliminary hearing, he claimed fresh evidence necessitated a full tribunal. Judge Peter Clark has now dismissed the appeal, and ordered Mr Scott to pay Sir Bob’s costs of £2,500. Judge Clark described the application as “misconceived” and said he was “unable to see any prospect” of success at a full hearing.
However, the near three-year long saga is set to continue after Mr Scott indicated he intended to appeal again. He said he was sacked after complaining about not being allowed to answer phone calls from constituents wanting the MP’s help.
At the original hearing, Sir Bob insisted Mr Scott was fired because he was involved in an aggressive confrontation with a colleague. Mr Scott claimed he was not even at work when the alleged incident took place.
Judge Clark said evidence Mr Scott wished to present, including notes of evidence from his wife and newspaper articles, “would have had no influence on the proceedings”. He also rejected claims the original tribunal judge, David Skinner, was biased against Mr Scott.
Mr Scott said he now intended to make an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Sir Bob said: “This is total vindication of the absurd legal complaint which Mr Scott has pursued against me for nearly three years. He only worked for me for less than 100 hours in the spring of 2009.”
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