THE former Co-op CEO denied that there was any culture of fear during his tenure as he was grilled in the Royal Court yesterday over suggestions that some employees would hide away because they were so scared.
This claim was made in the Royal Court yesterday during the second day of the trial brought against the Channel Islands Co-operative Society by its former chief executive Colin MacLeod (55).
Mr MacLeod first joined the company at the age of 20 and claims that, from 2017 onwards, members of the Co-op’s board began conspiring to get rid of him.
He says the conspiracy made him ill with work-related stress and led to his eventual resignation in 2019.
Mr Macleod has already settled the employment case in the Employment Tribunal, and is now making a claim against the organisation for personal injury.
But Advocate Jeremy Heywood, defending the Co-op, questioned Mr Macleod about an alleged culture of fear and intimidation within the company.
“Some people were concerned about losing their jobs if they spoke out,” he said.
“It seems that many people were scared of being seen. One person hid away in the back corner of a store room because they were scared of being seen.”
He asked Mr Macleod: “If they weren’t scared of you why did they tell board members that they were?”
Mr Macleod said: “I was gobsmacked. I have always believed that the best place to put issues is on the table in front of me.”
And of the allegations of a culture of fear, he replied: “It’s not something I recognise.”
Advocate Heywood asked: “Do you agree that colleagues were discouraged to raise concerns?”
He said: “We have whistle-blowing policies and grievance procedures which are there to protect people.”
And Mr Macleod repeated his allegation that moves to get rid of him began after the arrival of non-executive director Jennifer Carnegie.
“The cliques became cliquier and set about trying to find evidence to ultimately justify my removal from the Society,” he said.
Commissioner Matthew John Thompson is presiding, with Jurats Le Cornu and Powell sitting. The trial continues today.
