Woman boss wins job fight with Scots hotel tycoon

Published on Wednesday 23 April 2008 22:10

DONALD Macdonald, the multi-millionaire founder of Scotland's largest hotel chain, has lost a legal battle against an executive who claimed she was bullied and sacked from his company.

An employment tribunal judgment, seen by The Scotsman, ruled that Jane Cottrell, 56, was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed, with Macdonald Hotels ordered to pay her 25,000 in damages for breach of contract.

This is the second time in less than three years that a senior female employee has taken legal action against Macdonald Hotels.

Mrs Cottrell, who earned 80,000 a year, alleged there was a "culture of bullying" within the organisation. She claimed unfair dismissal and breach of contract in February at a tribunal in Bristol. After five years with the company, she was sacked in May last year. She said she had enjoyed a good working relationship with Mr Macdonald until October 2004, but said she was then "frozen out".

Last night, she said she was "delighted" by the ruling. "I told the truth and that was reflected in the judgment," she said.

As a senior manager, she was on the firm's executive board. She worked at the Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel in England, a five-star resort with butler service.

She believed her case had similarities to that of Elizabeth Irons, a former director of corporate affairs at the company, who in November 2005 claimed she was paid 50,000 a year less than men in equivalent jobs.

Miss Irons, the daughter of the former Edinburgh lord provost Norman Irons,

sued for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal, alleging she was subjected to bullying, harassment and victimisation. However, Macdonald Hotels paid her an undisclosed settlement in May 2006 just hours before the start of a tribunal in Edinburgh.

In the latest case, the tribunal heard that Mrs Cottrell enjoyed a positive working relationship with Mr Macdonald until he began telling colleagues he "wanted to remove her from the business" in 2004. She alleged she was subjected to vicious verbal attacks in "hostile" meetings at which her bosses set unachievable targets.

Mr Macdonald, 61, denied the accusation he had made up his mind to sack her. A spokesman for Macdonald Hotels denied the allegations of bullying and said an appeal had been lodged.