Airport chief claims she was bullied then sacked

Published on Wednesday 5 May 2004 01:00

A SENIOR manager at Edinburgh Airport claims she was bullied before being sacked from her post.

Diane Scullion had 18 years of unblemished service with the British Airports Authority (BAA) before she was dismissed from her job as security projects manager because of a "breakdown of trust".

Now the 47-year-old, who has been unemployed since leaving her post, has taken her case to an employment tribunal after an internal BAA investigation upheld the company’s decision to sack her.

The tribunal heard evidence that Ms Scullion, of Linlithgow, claimed she felt bullied and harassed after she asked for a formal investigation into why she was not given an interview for a more senior job.

Relationships between Ms Scullion and senior management at the airport deteriorated throughout the investigation and she was dismissed in January last year.

Mick Temple, 49, managing director of Heathrow Airport, chaired an appeal after Ms Scullion was dismissed but backed the company’s decision to sack her. He said: "The investigating process was lengthy but I understood Diane’s appeal to be about claims she had been bullied and harassed.

"It appeared that there was a breakdown of trust between management and employee to the degree that the management judged it impossible for her to continue being employed at Edinburgh.

"At the appeal hearing we had a full and frank discussion where Diane raised many grievances."

The tribunal continues.