Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Review concludes into Marine Scotland bullying claims

The image of Canadian national DeeAnn Fitzpatrick who allegedly 
suffered years of bullying and harassment from colleagues at Marine Scotland.
The image of Canadian national DeeAnn Fitzpatrick who allegedly suffered years of bullying and harassment from colleagues at Marine Scotland.

Action to ensure acceptable working practices at Marine Scotland is under way following claims by a former worker of being taped to a chair at the agency’s Caithness base.

Scottish Government Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans carried out a review after images of ex-employee DeeAnn Fitzpatrick tied to the chair emerged.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


The government policy officer said: “Earlier this year I was asked by the First Minister to carry out a full review into the circumstances. I am clear that this was completely unacceptable, whatever the circumstances.

“A comprehensive internal review has now concluded. The Scottish Government has robust disciplinary procedures to address behaviour that falls below expected standards and I am satisfied that these have been followed thoroughly and objectively in relation to this incident.”

She added: “A broad set of actions are underway in Marine Scotland to ensure a working environment which meets both the Civil Service Code and Scottish Government Standards of Behaviour.

“My unwavering commitment to ensuring a positive workplace for all employees in the Scottish Government remains.”

Ms Fitzpatrick raised a series of complaints against the government agency during a two-day employment tribunal in Aberdeen in June, and her lawyer asked that she be awarded up to £42,000 in damages.

The alleged incident where Ms Fitzpatrick was bound to a chair could not be taken into account because it happened too long ago.

The tribunal instead focused on accusations that the 49-year-old received “threatening” cards on her birthday and Valentine’s Day between 2015 and 2017.

Representing Marine Scotland, solicitor Andrew Gibson argued that there was no proof that the letters had been sent by her workmates.