A civil servant who claimed she was tied up and gagged by her colleagues has been allowed to pursue a last-minute whistleblowing claim at an employment tribunal.
DeeAnn Fitzpatrick is seeking a case for unfair dismissal against the Scottish Government and last week sought to amend her claim to include whistleblowing and discrimination allegations.
The tribunal has now rejected her bid to pursue sex, age, race, religion and disability discrimination claims, but allowed her to proceed with the assertion that she was dismissed because she made protected disclosures.
Ms Fitzpatrick claims she was bound to a chair because she blew the whistle on misogyny and abuse in a Marine Scotland office, but bosses found that she lied about the timing and nature of the incident, which was deemed “high jinks”.
A photograph of her taped to a chair went viral at the peak of the #metoo movement in 2018, prompting a national outcry and investigation by the government body.
The probe found the men involved had “no case to answer” and Ms Fitzpatrick was instead dismissed for gross misconduct.
The Canadian will now pursue her case in full at the employment tribunal next month in a bid to be reinstated by Marine Scotland.
In a written judgment on his decision, employment judge Alexander Kemp said it was “in the interests of justice” to refuse the discrimination claims.
He added that he has permitted the whistleblowing claim on a “restricted” basis, relating only to two emails – one containing...
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