The Channel Islands Co-Op’s motto, ‘Belonging Is Everything’, was put into question yesterday during the opening of a trial in Jersey, brought against the supermarket by its former CEO.
Colin Sinclair MacLeod claims that, from 2017 onwards, members of the Co-Op’s board started to conspire to get rid of him, leading to him being off sick with work-related stress and eventually leaving the company in 2019 – allegations strongly denied by the Co-op.
Mr MacLeod, who joined the retailer aged 20, has already settled the employment case in Jersey’s Employment Tribunal, and is now making a claim against the organisation for personal injury.
While his lawyer, Advocate Michael O’Connell, told the Island’s Royal Court yesterday of an alleged “secret agreement” between directors to oust the former CEO 2019, Advocate Jeremy Heywood, representing the Channel Islands Co-Operative Society, instead pointed to the financial concerns about the retailer at the time highlighted in a critical audit report by KPMG.
“The auditors told the Board that this meant that the Society was technically unable to meet its liabilities,” the advocate said, later noting that the Co-op’s finances are now in order.
Setting out his case yesterday, Advocate O’Connell stated: “The strapline of the Society is ‘Belonging is everything’. That was established by Mr MacLeod during his tenure as Chief Executive of the Society.
“Mr MacLeod belonged to the Co-Op… His case is that he reasonably expected to belong to the Co-Op to his contractual retirement at the age of 67.
“But after 30 years of devoted service to the Co-Op, and aged only 50, his employment was terminated.”
He explained that Mr McLeod was diagnosed with a mental health issue and was off sick from May 2019 – he said at that point he had his email address blocked.
But Advocate Heywood said there had been no evidence of a psychiatric condition, adding that stress isn’t a psychiatric condition.
The case continues today. Commissioner Matthew John Thompson is presiding, sitting with Jurats Le Cornu and Powell.
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