The Co-op will have to pay its former Chief Executive more than £3 million after the Royal Court found its directors had “acted in bad faith” and caused him psychological injury.
Colin Macleod joined the company aged 20 and served as Chief Executive of the Co-Operative Society since 2010 until he was dismissed in 2020.
The Royal Court found yesterday that three Co-op directors – Paula Williams, Jennifer Carnegie and Carol Champion – had acted “in bad faith” against Mr Macleod and the company had failed in its duty of care towards its CEO.
Mr Macleod suffered a psychological injury as a result – which Commissioner Matthew Thompson said in his judgment was “foreseeable”.
He found that when Mr Macleod was dismissed in 2020, he hadn’t fully recovered from his psychological injury and that the dismissal caused a relapse in his mental health.
The Commissioner awarded Mr Macleod £3,515,407 – a combination of the past and future earnings he lost, as well as damages.
The trial brought to the fore some of the inner workings of the Co-op’s top levels.
In WhatsApp chats, other directors appeared to conspire against Mr Macleod. Messages show them asking about “evidence gathering” and criticising the organisation’s leadership.
Advocate Michael O’Connell, representing Mr Macleod, said board meetings “became increasingly difficult” from 2017 onwards.
He said Mr Macleod was “the subject of bullying and a smear campaign”, and his workload was increased past what was recommended.
Following the verdict, Mr Macleod said he wanted to thank his partner, his family and his legal team for their support.
“It has been a long and difficult struggle to fight this legal case. But I have always been confident that the truth would eventually emerge,” he said.
“My belief in the co-operative movement and its principles endures, for the judgment exposes not a flaw in co-operative ideals but in the bad actors who abandoned them in favour of their own personal agendas.”
The Co-op is due to appeal against the decision and has until 30 January to file that case.
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