Tribunal told of two-day hunt for bipolar PR chief

Published on Thursday 17 September 2009 00:31

A PR EXECUTIVE hired to mastermind the Homecoming Scotland campaign triggered a two-day police hunt following a mental breakdown, a tribunal has heard.

Richard Saville-Smith, 48, of Edinburgh, suffered a recurrence of his bipolar condition seven weeks after being appointed as PR manager for Year of Homecoming.

Gillian Saville-Smith, 47, told an employment tribunal that her husband was a "high-suicide risk" when suffering from the condition and that he disappeared of a large VisitScotland event he was working on.

Mr Saville-Smith turned up 48 hours later at the New Craigs Hospital in Inverness, where he was subsequently treated for three weeks. He blames bosses at Homecoming Scotland for the onset of his illness after increasing his workload, but failing to provide additional support.

He was effectively sacked after his spell of ill-health and is seeking about 50,000 in wages and damages on the grounds of disability discrimination legislation. The tribunal continues.