AN independent investigator appointed by Gawler Council to look into serious bullying allegations made against its CEO has been removed due to perceived conflicts of interest.
Council moved to investigate the allegations against CEO Henry Inat in July after an Australian Services Union (ASU) staff survey alleged enterprise agreement negotiations were causing feelings of “worthlessness”, “intimidation” and “frustration” among employees.
Belinda Richards from InSynchHR was appointed as the independent investigator during a closed council meeting last week, but was removed days later.
In a letter to council, ASU secretary Abbie Spencer raised concerns with Ms Richard’s appointment and her connection to Mr Inat’s wife during their employment at Norman Waterhouse Lawyers.
“That these individuals worked alongside each other for eight years constitutes a significant conflict of interest,” Mrs Spencer said.
Ms Richards was also allegedly recommended to council by the same lawyer currently advising and representing Mr Inat during the ongoing enterprise agreement negotiations.
After receiving the letter, Gawler Mayor Karen Redman said council would look to engage a different investigator moving forward.
“Whilst confident in the process and that Ms Richards would have conducted an investigation free of any bias, council does not want the perception of bias or a perceived conflict to either deter staff from participating or detract from achieving a fair outcome for all parties,” she said.
“Therefore the panel has made the decision to stop the current process being conducted by Ms Richards and will be looking to engage a different consultant to conduct the investigation.”
Ms Redman encouraged council staff to assist the investigation.
“For the investigation to be fair and inclusive, council wants to engage all staff in the process,” she said.
“The letter sent to council by the Australian Services Union has stated that it is ‘unable to recommend to members that they take part in this process’ due to a perception of bias. “Unfortunately, this statement, that council considers to be misplaced, may prevent some council staff from engaging in the process.
“This is something that council wants to avoid as it wants as many staff as possible to engage in the process.”
Meanwhile, council is hopeful to receive the results of the investigation in four to six weeks.
