Woman loses claim of unfair dismissal

A FORMER office manager who claimed she was “treated badly” by then Conservative MP Chris Davies has lost her claim of constructive unfair dismissal against him.

Sarah Lewis told a tribunal in December that she was forced out of her job by Mr Davies after she made an official complaint to the Conservative Party about a forged expenses claim.

All three complaints, two of constructive unfair dismissal, and complaints of public interest disclosure, were dismissed by the tribunal.

The judgement said Ms Lewis failed to show that Mr Davies and his staff were influenced by her whistle-blowing disclosures, save for one incident, where Mr Davies looked through personal documents on Ms Lewis’ work computer.

In summarising, Judge Davies said: “The claim of unfair constructive dismissal failed because the tribunal declined to conclude that a letter sent by Mr Davies regarding Ms Lewis’ return to work from long term sickness absence, amounted to a ‘last straw’ capable of reviving the earlier breaches of contract.”

Speaking about the decision, Mr Davies said: “It has been a long two years and I am glad to have had the judgement last night.”

Mr Davies added: “I am looking to move on now, this has been very hard for me, my family, for my staff members who were made redundant.”

The employment tribunal arose out of events that followed Mr Davies’ making of a fraudulent expenses claim.

Ms Lewis was working for Mr Davies, who at the time was Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, when she discovered an inconsistency in an expenses claim.

In April 2019, Mr Davies admitted making invoices he knew were “false or misleading” and was given a community service order of 50 hours of unpaid work and fined £1,500.

“There was no financial gain made, it was a mistake and it has been very costly,” said Mr Davies.