The Scottish Government fired a civil servant for lying about being gagged and tied by her colleagues. She will now file a whistleblower claim before an employment tribunal.
DeeAnn Fitzpatrick, a Marine Scotland worker was photographed taped on a chair. This picture went viral in 2018.
The woman claimed that she was made to endure the torture because she exposed misogyny in office.
Bosses discovered she was lying about the time and nature of the incident.
An investigation found that the men had “no case for answer” and Ms. Fitzpatrick was dismissed because of gross misconduct.
Canadian claim that the dismissal was unfair. They are pursuing their case via an employment tribunal. Marine Scotland will then reinstate them.
The tribunal rejected her request to file sex discrimination, age and race claims.
This has enabled her to move forward with the claim that she was dismissed for having made protected disclosures.
DeAnn Fitzpatrick claimed that she experienced a racist, misogynistic environment in the Scottish government agency. She also claims that two male coworkers taped her to a chair and gagged her as a warning.
In a bid for reinstatement by Marine Scotland, she will continue to pursue her case at the employment tribunal.
Alexander Kemp, the employment judge stated that the refusal of discrimination claims was in the interest of justice.
He stated that he had allowed the whistleblowing claim to be made on a “restricted” basis. It only relates to two emails.
The first contains details about an alleged workplace assault and the second about the chair incident.
Ms Fitzpatrick told the tribunal colleagues in Marine Scotland’s Scrabster office called her a ‘f***ing Canadian r****d’, ‘wh**e’ and ‘old troll’.
She stated that she pleaded for a safe work environment so that I could go to work to perform the job that I was paid. However, that wasn’t provided by her employer.
I was allowed to speak for myself within an unruly office, which they were aware was racist and misogynistic.
DeeAnn Fitzpatrick claims that she contemplated suicide after a decade of bullying at Marine Scotland’s Scrabster offices. Since then, she has been fired from the organization
“And because I spoke up, I was fired and am currently in an employment tribunal.”
Andrew Gibson, Solicitor to the Tribunal, stated that Ms. Fitzpatrick had been dismissed because she lied about parts of the chair incident.
He explained that the only thing that is disputable is the fact that the incident happened against the claimant’s wishes and was an assault in any form or manner.
“My client claims that the act was carried out entirely without her permission.”
A forensic expert confirmed that the photo was taken in 2009 and not 2010. This contradicts Ms Fitzpatrick’s assertion that it was taken as a response to her whistle blowing.
Gibson stated that it was a major falsehood and had serious consequences for Marine Scotland employees who were interrogated by police.