Council apologises to former employee over dismissal

Derby City Council has made a full apology to a former senior official who was sacked for gross misconduct.

Mel Smith was dismissed in 2008 after being suspended a year earlier. He had been head of trading standards at the council before he was one of 29 employees suspended from the council during a 12-month period.

His case went to an employment tribunal in October last year which has found that he was unfairly dismissed. As part of the settlement the city council has admitted that it was wrong to sack Mr Smith.

A statement from the council said: “The council acknowledges the unfairness and wrongfulness of the dismissal and apologises to Mr Smith for the impact that the dismissal had upon him and his family and on his professional career. The council also acknowledges that Mr Smith was a skilled, experienced and dedicated employee during the period of his service from 1997 until 2008.”

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