SilverLining had been investigated for incompetence and profiteering by Royal Mail Group

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Article in The Times, January 12 2016:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/ ... 662611.ece

Co-op was feral business, says sacked chief



Kath Harmeston claims she was suspended minutes before she was due to tell the Co-op board that malpractice was endemic

Published at 12:01AM, January 12 2016

A senior manager at the Co-operative Group was suspended from her job 15 minutes before she was due to tell the board that it was presiding over a feral institution where malpractice was endemic, a tribunal was told yesterday.

Kath Harmeston, the group’s procurement director, lasted only ten weeks before she was ousted from the company, which assures customers that they are “here for you for life”.
When she took up her post in April 2014, she claimed, she discovered a culture of “cover-up, concealment and collusion” that went right to the top. She suggested that more than 70 per cent of the ethical society’s £1.5 billion budget failed to comply with its own procurement policy.

She told an employment tribunal panel in Manchester how she had been aiming to raise her concerns about the company’s policy and the risks it posed with executives when she delivered the presentation.

Stating that it was her chance to “have their ears”, Ms Harmeston, 50, said: “It was my opportunity to showcase problems and concerns, and the opportunities open to us, and I was not afforded that.”

Instead, she says, she was told by Pippa Wicks, the interim chief operating officer, that she was being suspended. She learnt later that it was because of questions about her relationship with SilverLining Partners, the consultancy, which she had introduced to the business. The Co-op claims that Ms Harmeston failed to inform it that SilverLining had been investigated for incompetence and profiteering by Royal Mail Group and that she had left the group shortly afterwards.

Ms Harmeston was suspended by the Co-op days after it had received a letter from an anonymous whistleblower outlining what she described as “vexatious and malicious” allegations about her involvement in the affair. They were also critical of the quality of her work at a time when her strategy for cost savings would be put before the banks as part of the group’s rescue plan.

When asked by Andrew Burns, QC, counsel for the Co-op, whether she regarded her suspension, and subsequent dismissal, as career-ending, Ms Harmeston became emotional and burst into tears.

In her witness statement, Ms Harmeston said: “I had grave concerns that I was being held to account by an executive team which itself holds double standards, exerts poor judgment and allows continued breach of procurement policy for significant consultant spends. I stated that it was difficult not to conclude that the suspension was being used as a device to avoid transparency.”

Ms Harmeston, a high-flying executive who had gained a reputation for ruthless cost-cutting at Royal Mail, was recruited to carry out a similar job at the troubled society. At the time, the Co-op was trying to rebuild its reputation after a series of scandals. She is claiming £5 million for unfair dismissal.

From being the corporate hunter, she believes she became the hunted and was relentlessly “pursued, harassed and eventually hounded” from her post by management.
Joanne Woodward, counsel for Ms Harmeston, asked her whether anyone in management had ever criticised her performance before her suspension. “No,” Ms Harmeston said.
The Co-op denies the claims. The hearing is expected to last into next week.