If Priti Patel Were To Resign Over The Sir Philip Rutnam , Could She Still Be Called To Give Evidence?

[barney15c]

If Ms Patel were resign, will she still have to appear at Sir Philip Rutnam constructive dismissal court case.

[david small]

Rutnam’s a slime slug. Ms Patel should stand up to the slithering creature.

[barney15c]

Should the poor woman who was bullied by her to the extent she took 2 overdoses and then paid off to the tune of £25k have stood up to her too?

[ichkeria]

I’m not sure she is obliged to give evidence anyway.
I doubt she’ll survive that long. She should plainly never have been appointed in the first place. Regardless of what you think it her views, or the allegations of bullying, she plainly has neither the ability or the wit to push through her radical ideas.

[jno]

perhaps her replacement would know the difference between terrorism and counter-terrorism. I don't expect Home Secretaries to be intellectual giants, but that sort of knowledge would be quite useful in a senior minister.

[Mozz71]

//Ms Patel should stand up to the slithering creature//

I hope she has the chance to do so. During an investigation into the claims. If she did nothing wrong, she'll have nothing to fear.

If she is a work place bully, she can disappear back under the rock she crawled out of.

[ToraToraTora]

oh dear wishful thinking above, PP is a magnificent home sec just the person to weed out the Quislings in the Civil service. No way she'll be gone anytime soon.

[ToraToraTora]

for too long the civil service has existed to serve the civil service, it's time they came to realise they work for us.

[New Judge]

Yes I’m afraid Mr Rutnam is an archetypal career bureaucrat. He’s never really had a proper job unless you count a spell with Morgan Stanley. He obviously realised that “public service” was a far better career option than the tiresome business of having to contribute to an organisation which aimed to satisfy shareholders and where he ran the risk of being called to account. Far better to have politicians take the rap for your ineptitude so he joined the Civil Service in 1987. Since then he’s shunted himself around various positions (including a spell at Ofcom) no doubt receiving a generous promotion and pay rise on each occasion. His performance on the telly over the weekend was truly pathetic, almost in tears telling everybody how he had been bullied into submission by the Most Vile and Evil Home Secretary the World Has Ever Known.

The current batch of senior Civil Servants have had their own way for far too long. Their concerted efforts, along with their Parliamentary allies, almost cost the country a proper Brexit or indeed any Brexit at all. It’s taken almost four years to see them finally declared as batting for the losing side and they don’t like it. I think we can expect to see more examples where those who cannot deal with the New Order seek to blame somebody else for their shortcomings.

[youngmafbog]

She had better not resign and even more so she shold not be sacked as the left are howling for. We need more like her to drain the swamp.

Go Priti !

[ToraToraTora]

bang on as usual judge!

[youngmafbog]

The staff member's grievance letter alleges she had previously attempted to kill herself after reporting similar allegations of workplace bullying concerning another individual in 2014, before Ms Patel was a minister.

So the person had previous

Secondly this never came to Court and so still remains alleged.

Interestingly a settlement was reached in 2017 for £25,000 after the member of staff threatened to bring a legal claim of bullying, harassment and discrimination on the grounds of race and disability against the department, including Ms Patel who is directly named.

So race and disabilty card played, hence no Court case.

[youngmafbog]

For those that wil say it came from the right wing press:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51705069

[Peter Pedant]

// PP is a magnificent home sec just the person to weed out the Quislings in the Civil service.//

oh dear - if it is tuesday it must be AB - in full swing !

anway wonderful or not - I dont think witnesses are compellable in the employment courts

[Peter Pedant]

//Yes I’m afraid Mr Rutnam is an archetypal career bureaucrat.//

a bit like a judge den new judge ?

oh no you will say - judges are wonderful himan beings who have honed a career in the cut and thrust of courts in the strand and old bailey - therein is all life, raw bleeding, and er something else

well , a bit like a judge den new judge ?

[Khandro]

PP; We are not discussing judges, carpenters or whatever you are or were, we are talking about one individual senior civil servant & one politician.

[Apc2604]

Excellent post by NJ. To be honest we don't know the facts about the attempted suicide or the mind set and vulnerability at the time of the lady concerned. Preti is a tough cookie, but needs to be. What one person sees as bullying another might brush off.

[New Judge]

//What one person sees as bullying another might brush off.//

Indeed. Many workers in the public sector seem remarkably fragile. Life's tough sometimes and if you have a boss or a colleague who is not treating you as you would like you have to deal with it. Almost all workers come across it from time to time. Mr Rutnam is supposed to be (or was) the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office. In a similarly sized organisation in the private sector he would be expected to deal with what he perceives to be "bullying" without running to the press, the telly or the courts. Of course we don't know all the details but it strikes me that he has an extremely wide view of what "bullying" entails. Senior Civil Servants are in a unique position in that they have a politician who must take the flack when things go wrong. They should savour that position (which would be a luxury undreamed of by most workers) and not whinge. I have a strong suspicion that his perceived bullying stemmed from being told a few home truths and being instructed to get on and do as he was told. It probably hasn't happened to him before and as a man who received a Knighthood for "public service" (aka doing his job) he's struggling to cope.

[Khandro]

A spell in the forces would have done him good - as it would a few of the posters on AB !

[jim360]

// Senior Civil Servants are in a unique position in that they have a politician who must take the flack when things go wrong.//

This is true, but Civil Servants are also in the unique position of being literally not allowed to defend themselves from undue criticism.

It's been long known within the CS just what a terrible boss Patel is. I don't give two hoots about her politics -- her behaviour to her staff has always been appalling. It should be objectively unacceptable to bully and belittle people.

[Peter Pedant]

// we are talking about one individual senior civil servant & one politician.//

pen pushers all of them - when did you see them last do a decent days work ? never - that's when !