A FORMER rape crisis worker who won a £20,000 payout amid claims she was bullied by her boss has failed to receive a single penny after the centre was liquidated.
Helen McKean worked at Central Scotland Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre and successfully sued for constructive dismissal after being forced to resign over threats and intimidation by board member Duncan Dennett.
However, the service entered liquidation before she was paid
any money.
She believes umbrella body Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) and the Scottish Government, which provided funding for the service, should be held accountable and pay at least some of her award – but both claim there is no legal liability for them to do so.
Ms McKean is also unhappy with the way RCS dealt with her situation, claiming she received no personal support or help from the organisation.
The 53-year-old, from Stirling, said: “Everyone thinks I got this huge payout but I never did. The money would be nice but I really don’t expect to get anything now, and, for me, this was never really about the money – it was about being believed, it was about justice.
“I was very badly let down. I was devastated by the way I was treated.”
Ms McKean and other staff members raised several complaints about Mr Dennett, who was awarded an MBE in 2014, claiming he was “angry”, “threatening” and “very intimidating”, but no action was taken by bosses at the centre.
Following the eventual closure of the service, a new centre, Forth Valley Rape Crisis, was set up in Stirling to replace it with the help of government funding.
Ms McKean has appealed to both RCS and the Government –which provided £50,000 a year to the former centre – but it now seems she will never receive her payout.
Her local MSP Bruce Crawford, who said she had suffered an injustice, has written to both parties and said it was entirely unfair Ms McKean will no longer receive her award because of liquidation.
Ms McKean, now a support worker, also claims she was “completely neglected” by RCS after she complained to them about the bullying.
She said: “Their purpose is to protect vulnerable women in crisis but they failed to protect one that worked there.”
RCS said it contacted the Voluntary Action Fund – the body responsible for monitoring and administrating public grants – about Ms McKean’s complaints, as well as a number of other issues to do with the running of the centre.
Sandie Barton, national co-ordinator for the charity, added that the centre was an independent organisation, over which RCS had “no governance or financial liability”.
She said: “As an independent organisation this is not something that we can legally have any involvement with, nor any liability for.”
The charity chief added: “It is unacceptable for anyone to experience bullying and harassment, and particularly so in an organisation which worked to prevent abuse in all its forms.
“Reports of this nature are taken very seriously and all involved devoted significant time and resources to the centre and improving the situation, as much as was within our power.”
Angela Constance, Communities, Social Security and Equalities minister, made clear in her response that the new centre was “distinctly separate” from the old service and “as such Ms McKean will not be able to claim anything relating to the previous organisation from the new service”.
The Scottish Government declined to comment further on the case.
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