News

A social worker at Swindon council, who set up a website criticising the performance of her employers, has been sacked at a disciplinary hearing, writes Amy Taylor.

Deborah Rees was suspended from her job as a planning officer for adults with learning difficulties last August, six days after she set up the website.

The website accuses council leaders of ineffective and incompetent management and says a strong blame culture is in operation. It also alleges that institutional bullying, discrimination and victimisation are rife in the housing and social services departments.

Rees described the hearing as a farce saying that the council had already decided to sack her, and they weren't interested in any of the reasons behind her whistleblowing.

She said that she had not made any decisions about her future yet, and was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. She criticised the lack of protection for people working in social services who choose to be a whistleblower, and said that she had received many emails from individuals who wanted to, but were too afraid to do so.

"I would like there to be a support network for people working in social services so they don't fall into my situation," she said.

The council said Rees had been dismissed for failing "to exhaust the internal complaint procedures that were open to her" before going public with her criticisms. They added that they could make no further comment until any appeal procedure that Rees may wish to pursue had been completed.