AN MSP’s caseworker who was accused of spreading rumours that her line manager performed sex acts in the office has lost her claim for unfair dismissal and sexual harassment.

Philomena Donnachie, an employee of SNP politician Stuart McMillan, was said to have told constituents that office manager Matthew Leitch stared at the back of her head before going to the bathroom for long periods of time.

It was alleged that she insinuated this was because he was aroused by her and went to the toilet to masturbate.

Ms Donnachie tried to claim the allegation and the way it was dealt with amounted to sexual discrimination and harassment, and went on to raise an employment tribunal which also included claims for constructive dismissal and disability discrimination.

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During the tribunal, she claimed she was regularly “belittled” and “undermined” in the Greenock office and that the complaint about the salacious rumours “horrified” her and was the “final straw” leading to her resignation.

However, employment judge Lucy Wiseman rejected her claims and found that she resigned because she was facing a disciplinary investigation.

In her judgment on the case, Judge Wiseman added that she did not find Ms Donnachie “to be an entirely credible or reliable witness”.

The Herald: Stuart McMillan MSP outside his officeStuart McMillan MSP outside his office

The tribunal heard that Ms Donnachie began working for Mr McMillan in 2015 after meeting him during the independence referendum.

She told how she was very passionate about her job, saying: “It wasn’t just a parliamentary office. It was Stuart, it was the SNP, it was independence. It was a whole philosophy and way of life for me.”

However, in April 2016 she suffered a stroke while working late one night and had to take three months off.

When she returned, Mr Leitch had been appointed as the new office manager and things began to deteriorate from that point.

Mr Leitch questioned her work ethic and poor time-keeping, but any time he raised the issues with her, she complained to Mr McMillan.

In March 2019, it was suggested that mediation should take place to try to resolve the issues between the pair.

However, shortly after this, Mr Leitch emailed Mr McMillan with a formal complaint about Ms Donnachie.

The judgment stated: “The complaint referred to the claimant’s attitude towards Mr Leitch being poor and being one of disrespect and disdain. Mr Leitch then set out the various issues he had had with the claimant which included timekeeping, working from home, the fact that if Mr Leitch tried to address issues with the claimant she complained to Mr McMillan, the claimant’s level of absence and the mediation.

“Mr Leitch concluded by stating he had learned that the claimant and [her friend] had been making comments in public that Mr Leitch stared at the back of the claimant’s head, following which he often goes to the toilet: the insinuation was that Mr Leitch had become aroused whilst staring at the back of the claimant’s head and had gone to the toilet to masturbate. [Ms Donnachie’s friend] had commented she thought Mr Leitch was attracted to the claimant.”

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Mr McMillan appointed an independent consultant to investigate the complaint and wrote to Ms Donnachie to inform her of the details.

Ms Donnachie denied making the comments and said “she was horrified this had been put in writing in the complaint”.

During the tribunal, her lawyer Brian McLaughlin argued that Mr Leitch had made up the complaint, deliberately making it sexual, but judge Wiseman rejected this.

The judge said she could not accept that he had conspired with two others to fabricate a complaint “which was embarrassing and potentially damaging to Mr Leitch’s reputation”.

Ms Donnachie tendered her resignation on June 11. She claimed she chose to do this because of the allegation about the comments and the way it was presented to her by Mr McMillan.

However, the tribunal found that she “affirmed the contract” by continuing to work for the MSP for a further three months.

Judge Wiseman added that contact from the independent consultant was what prompted the resignation.

She said: “We considered the claimant did not want to be interviewed regarding the allegations in Mr Leitch’s complaint. The investigation was being carried out by an independent consultant and the claimant did not have the opportunity to turn to Mr McMillan as she had done in the past. We concluded these factors were the cause of the claimant’s resignation.”

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Responding to the tribunal’s decision, Mr McMillan said: “I am pleased and relieved that the tribunal is over. This has been an extremely difficult time for my staff and myself and we can now put this matter behind us.

"The tribunal dismissed and could not find evidence to support any of the claims made by Ms Donnachie.

"The matter is now behind me and my staff and I can focus all our efforts on my constituents in Greenock and Inverclyde. I wish Ms Donnachie well for the future.”