South Ribble Council chief executive sacked six weeks after resignation

Heather McManus had been placed on special leave in May 2019

A council chief executive has been sacked, six weeks after she resigned from her post.

Heather McManus had been placed on special leave from her post at South Ribble Borough Council in May 2019.

Councillors voted to dismiss her after an inquiry in June found she made "significant errors" and raised concerns about treatment of staff.

Ms McManus, who lodged two legal claims before her dismissal, said she was "saddened".

She was not due to formally depart from the authority until the end of August under her notice term.

However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said her contract had been terminated with immediate effect without notice or pay, after a majority of councillors backed the motion at a full council meeting.

An internal audit found the council's rules and procedures had been "consistently breached" often by its most senior employees.

'Counts for nothing'

The LDRS said Ms McManus' dismissal related to a separate independent investigation, which found she made "significant errors of judgement" and also raised concerns over the treatment of staff.

The investigators recommended she be issued with more than six written and final written warnings, but the council's own cross-party internal disciplinary committee suggested she should be instantly dismissed for "serious misconduct".

Council leader Paul Foster said the verdict of the independent investigation was "significant and serious".

The LDRS understands a third body involved in the procedure for dismissing a chief executive - known as the "independent panel" - did not support the conclusion that she had committed serious misconduct.

That panel backed her dismissal, but not without notice or pay.

The Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (ALACE), which represented Ms McManus during disciplinary proceedings, said it was the first time the panel process had been used "and South Ribble has shown it counts for nothing".

ALACE's Ian Miller added that the severity of the penalty was "both greater than anything recommended... and entirely against the unanimous views of the independent panel".

Ms McManus said in a statement she was "saddened by the actions of councillor Foster and his acolytes since the change in leadership at South Ribble".

She said she "worked hard to lead a team of dedicated and professional staff" and was "proud... of the successes we achieved".

"Unfortunately, following a breakdown of trust with the leader, an independent investigation ensued [and] unsurprisingly dismissed any suggestion of gross or serious misconduct on my part," she said.

"I did not take lightly the decision to resign and litigate but… I saw little alternative.

"With the benefit of all the facts it will be for the court to determine the outcome of this unfortunate dispute," she added.