A controversial private sector high-flier brought in as a senior civil servant at the Scottish Executive has resigned her post almost a year after being suspended pending disciplinary charges.
Susan Beevers, head of human resources and responsible for personnel matters relating to 4500 civil servants, was at the heart of a double controversy.
Ms Beevers was in charge of a disastrous £8.5m computerisation project which an investigation found had been a "debacle" from the outset. She was also accused of bullying, which led to her suspension just under a year ago.
It later emerged that during her time in the private sector Ms Beevers had lost an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal over similar allegations of staff harassment and intimidation, which she had failed to disclose at the time of her appointment to the executive.
The post, which carried a salary of up to £86,000, made her answerable to the director of change and corporate services, who in turn reports directly to John Elvidge, the Permanent Secretary.
After Ms Beevers's suspension last year she went off on sick leave so the disciplinary proceedings against her had to be put off. Now this process will not be concluded as in recent weeks she resigned, giving three months' notice.
A spokesman for the executive told The Herald: "Susan Beevers was suspended last year pending an investigation into alleged misconduct.
"While it would be inappropriate to comment on the findings of the investigation the report was considered by a member of the executive's senior management team and a disciplinary panel was convened. This was not completed as Ms Beevers resigned."
On the project to computerise all the executive's human resources functions under one system, the "e-HR Project", the spokesman said: "The e-HR Project was stopped last year and a review of it was published in November."
The project went off track so badly that it was halted so that a senior official from another civil service department could conduct an investigation.
This report, by Bill McQueen of the Crown Office, was concluded last July but not released until November. It highlighted failures in governance, leadership and communications and said failures could have been avoided if the executive's "established procedures and protocols for project management had been properly followed".
The e-HR programme prompted concern among MSPs on the Holyrood Finance Committee in 2005 when it was costed at £7m. The problems became an embarrassment for Finance Minister Tom McCabe.
MSPs were told the new system would produce "payback in around four to four-and-a-half-years' time". By the time the programme was halted last year it had spent more than half its budget and was still nowhere near completion.
Part of the problem was said to be the assumption that private sector knowhow was superior to that in the civil service. From day one, staff felt Ms Beevers demonstrated her contempt for civil servants and their working practices.
Eddie Reilly, Scottish secretary of the PCS union, said: "Our members will view this decision as bringing an end to a disastrous private sector appointment in a key industrial relations post in the civil service. Let's hope lessons have been learned."
Ms Beevers could not be contacted.
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