We received a complaint that a Member (“the Member”) of Bridgend Town Council (“the Council”) breached the Code of Conduct for Local Authority Members (“the Code”). It was alleged that the Member had bullied the Complainant, an employee of the Council, over a number of years, and had not treated the Complainant with courtesy and respect. Following investigation, we considered the Member’s conduct was suggestive of breaches of the Code and we referred our investigation report to the President of the Adjudication Panel for Wales, for adjudication by a tribunal.
The Tribunal found that the Member had failed to comply with a number of the duties in the Code. It found the Member had failed to treat the Complainant with consideration and respect; the Member had made vexatious, malicious or frivolous complaints about the Complainant; the Member had bullied/harassed the Complainant, and the Member had acted in a way which brought the Council into disrepute.
The Tribunal decided to disqualify the Member from being a member of Bridgend Town Council for 21 months.
The Case Tribunal’s decision is available here.