A Glasgow cleaner has won more than £4,000 after she sacked following accusations she said "I'm going to s**g him by the end of the year" about her boss.
Bernie Buchan was fired after allegations were made that she made the sexualised comment about company owner Chris Pearman.
The 56-year-old also came under fire over claims she brought in takeaway curry for other cleaners on Fridays, but deliberately left some colleagues out.
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The cleaning supervisor, based at a college in Glasgow, has now successfully sued United Cleaning Solutions for unfair dismissal.
An employment tribunal heard Mrs Buchan worked for the company from February 2015 until she was fired in February this year.
The married supervisor, who was in charge of 17 cleaners at Glasgow Kelvin College's Springburn campus, had a friendly relationship with owner Mr Pearman and brought in samples of her home cooking for him to try.
Following a fall-out with colleagues in October 2021, Mrs Buchan found herself subjected to allegations of 'bullying' and 'intimidating' staff.
She was hauled to a disciplinary hearing in February this year facing 13 allegations.
Despite a lack of evidence, she was said to have told another colleague "I'm going to s**g him by the end of the year" in reference to Mr Pearman.
Mrs Buchan denied it, saying they were 'friends and she cooked him dinner regularly and had never made any sexual comments about him'.
She was also accused of bullying other colleagues by bringing in takeaway curry on Fridays for colleagues, but only letting 'certain cleaners sit in the canteen and join'.
Mrs Buchan allegedly told one colleague 'no c**t likes you here' and that other cleaners were 'rubbish' and she wanted them gone.
She denied the offences but admitted telling one co-worker to 'have a word with' cleaner Steven McFadden because "I'm going to punch him in the f***ing face if he keeps growling at me".
Immediately after Mrs Buchan exited the hearing, dismissing officer Kathleen MacDonald admitted to other managers the allegation about the sex comment was 'hearsay' and that the questions were 'shambolic'.
But, most of the allegations - including the one about her sexual comment - were upheld and Mrs Buchan was sacked.
It was not until Mrs Buchan appealed that the sex comment was found to be lacking evidence. However, her appeal was thrown out and the other allegations were upheld again.
At the employment tribunal, employment Judge Lesley Murphy ruled that Mrs Buchan was unfairly dismissed.
The judge ruled that the investigation by United Cleaning Solutions was flawed as witnesses were not interviewed, Mrs Buchan was kept in the dark about some matters, and evidence supporting the allegations was 'vague or uncorroborated'.
Judge Murphy said: "The investigation was not conducted in a manner which was objectively reasonable.
"An employer of the company's scale and resources, acting reasonably, would have taken a more thorough and even-handed approach to the obtaining and recording of witness evidence.
"I do not find that Mrs Buchan would have been dismissed in any event if a reasonable investigation had been undertaken and a fair procedure followed."
Ms Buchan, who now works in the NHS, was awarded £4,411 for unfair dismissal. Her claim of breach of contract was dismissed.
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