DRAFT Minutes of Appeals Committee 26 03 26
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 March 2026
Back to Appeals Committee — 26 March 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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APPEALS COMMITTEE At a meeting of the Appeals Committee held in Brock Meeting Room, first floor Council Offices, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton G82 1QL on Thursday, 26 March 2026 at 9.30 a.m. Present: Councillors John Millar (Chair), Fiona Hennebry, Jonathan McColl, and Hazel Sorrell. Attending: Victoria Rogers, Chief Officer – People and Technology; Sophie Berry, Legal Officer and Nicola Moorcroft, Committee Officer. Councillor John Millar in the Chair DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of Meeting of the Appeals Committee held on 4 December 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC The Committee agreed to approve the following resolution:- “That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 7A to the Act”. PROCEDURE The Committee agreed to note the Appeals Committee Hearings - Dismissal Appeals Process would be followed at this Hearing of Appeal. APPEAL AGAINST DISMISSAL (REF: APP/26/01) There were background papers relating to an appeal that had been submitted to the Council in relation to a capability dismissal.
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The Appellant was present and represented by a Trade Union Representative, Mr Alex Johnstone (UNITE). Richard Butler, Section Head – Corporate Administration Support was in attendance to present the case on behalf of Management. Mrs Louise Hastings, Strategic People and Change Manager, was in attendance as a Human Resources Adviser to Mr Butler. Mr Butler presented the case for Management and thereafter answered questions from Mr Johnstone, the Appellant and Members of the Committee. Mr Johnstone then presented the case for the Appellant. Mr Johnstone and the Appellant then answered questions from Mr Butler and Members of the Committee. ADJOURNMENT The Chair adjourned the meeting for a short recess. The meeting reconvened at 12.10 p.m. with all those listed above present. Ms Butler and then Mr Johnstone summed up their respective cases and thereafter both parties withdrew from the meeting. After the Committee had deliberated the matter in private, both parties were re- admitted to the meeting and advised that, having heard all the evidence submitted, the Committee agreed that the grounds of the appeal not been substantiated and the appeal against dismissal was not upheld. The Chair advised that the decision would be issued in writing. The meeting closed at 13.33 p.m.