Tribunal finds Wiltshire Council Chief Exec broke law contacting staff
Terence Herbert contacted GMB member staff ahead of a strike ballot in 2022
An employment tribunal has found Wiltshire Council Chief Executive Terence Herbert broke industrial relations laws in an email he sent to union members in November 2022.
A dispute between the Council and it's staff that are GMB members over proposed changes to staff contracts has been ongoing since 2022.
The case was heard at Bristol Employment Tribunal and the Judge concluded: "the council have been found to have unlawfully broken s146 (b) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (consolidation) Act (1992), of acting to deter legitimate trade union activity.”
Mr Herbert has defended his actions and said he's disappointed with the outcome.
However, Mr Herbert will not be in his post at Wiltshire Council for much longer, having taken the Chief Executive role at Surrey Council.
The dispute is over the council's controversial 'fire and rehire' plans, which would see out-of-hours pay boosts, currently in staff contracts, removed.
Time to move on from dispute, say GMB
The GMB claims Mr Herbert has brought the Council into disrepute with his actions.
Andy Newman, GMB Branch Secretary said: "The simple fact is the court ruled an email sent by Terence Herbert, the chief executive of Wiltshire Council on the eve of a strike ballot in 2022 broke the law.
"Furthermore, the judges state that some of Terence's evidence to the Employment Tribunal was, in their words, ‘simply implausible.’
"The judges refer to Terence's ‘frustration and irritation’ with GMB, and in our view this led him to acting rashly.
“The evidence given in court also reveals that Wiltshire Council's HR advice to Terence was completely wrong and our view is that between them they have brought the council into disrepute.
"GMB had sought to settle out of court, but Wiltshire Council preferred to waste taxpayers’ money in fighting and losing in court.
"The email was unlawful and as far as GMB is concerned it was a bully-boy ploy to intimidate staff from voting yes to industrial action, so it is no coincidence Wiltshire Council is still threatening to use ‘fire and rehire’ to force a 10 per cent pay cut on frontline workers.
"It is time for Wiltshire Council to put this long-running industrial dispute to bed and withdraw the threat of the pay cut for staff working unsocial hours."
Mr Herbert 'disappointed' with ruling
Mr Herbert has defended himself, saying he was attempting to correct 'inaccurate information'.
“We are disappointed with the outcome of this tribunal as we believed our position was strong. The email was intended to correct inaccurate information and reassure staff that the council was working to resolve this as swiftly as possible as our priority throughout has been and remains their wellbeing.
“We are currently seeking legal advice about an appeal which limits further comments.
“Our priority has been, and continues to be, to resolve the terms and conditions issue as quickly and fairly as possible, and we’ll work hard to achieve this.”