Bullied MPs aide receives £35,000 in compensation
By Ned Simons - 2nd November 2010
The successful compensation claim against a former MP has highlighted the "unprofessional" atmosphere in Parliament, according the parliamentary staff union.
A former staff member for ex-MP Jim Devine has received £35,000 in compensation after being subject to "bullying and harassment".
Marion Kinley served the former Livingstone MP as an office manager in his constituency from 2006 to 2009 but left the position after Devine staged a hoax leading her to believe she was being investigated for wrongly claiming expenses and that the media was about to incorrectly reveal the two were having an affair.
The payout included £10,000 of withheld expense payments owed to Kinley by the MP.
Devine stepped down from the Commons at the election and is currently facing allegations of false accounting in relation to his parliamentary expenses claims.
Last month a Scottish judge said the MP had been guilty of subjecting his staff member to "bullying and harassment".
Unite parliamentary staff branch secretary Louise Haigh said she was pleased that Kinley received an adequate compensation payment for the stress she has been under but said MPs staff still did not have adequate protection.
"In many ways Parliament is still a very unprofessional place to work - the lack of a dedicated Human Resources department for staff makes bullying and harassment cases like this one much more difficult to deal with," she said.
"There are almost 3,000 members of staff across the House of Commons who have no HR support at all, which I’m positive must be a unique situation and an absolutely appalling one to be allowed to continue."
Article Comments
IPSA has announced that it will not fund any settlements, either when staff are awarded compensation by a tribunal or, more usually, compromise agreements made with Members' staff as part of a negotiated settlement. Previously, and obviously for cases arising before this Parliament, the House covered these costs, albeit with an impact on the funds available to a Member for staff in that year.
IPSA's ruling makes Members personally liable for such costs. IPSA says it might fund insurance against these payments, but insurers often insist on a very robust process which is often impractical in the political environment.
Given the law tends to favour employee over employer, and most lawyers recommend settlement anyway - with or without the publicity concerns of MPs - this could be an expensive decision for MPs and yet another reason to put people who are not wealthy off politics.
insider
2nd Nov 2010 at 1:06 pm
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