Two senior Welsh Conservatives are facing questions about why they have never acted on complaints from staff working for Janet Finch Saunders. Allegations which Finch Saunders has strongly denied.
Former chief whip Paul Davies and current chief of staff Paul Smith have both been named by former employees of the Aberconwy MS as senior Conservatives who it is claimed they approached about her behaviour. Behaviour which the employees claim left them in tears.
WalesOnline has approached both Mr Davies and Mr Smith for comment, prior to publication we have not received a response. The party has maintained that it “didn’t recognise” any of the allegations against Ms Finch-Saunders.
Read more: Former staff say they were left in tears working for Welsh Tory MS Janet Finch Saunders'
One former staff member alleged she had directly raised the worries with former party leader Paul Davies (then chief whip) who she said she “respected”. “I went twice in borderline tears to Paul Davies who I respect” she told WalesOnline. “I told him I can do nothing right in this job and no matter how many hours I work, everything I do is wrong. He assured me that things would be done in the background, but nothing ever came of it, and it never got any better."
Another former staff member who claims he was left anxious and depressed because of his time working for Janet said he also complained about her treatment of him. WalesOnline has seen documents where he outlined his concerns to chief of staff Paul Smith. He spoke about how he was constantly scrutinised by Ms Finch Saunders going into specific detail about her management style and the impact it had upon him.
The former staff members came forward after WalesOnline’s first article highlighting allegations about Janet Finch Saunders behaviour as a boss. Several said they decided to come forward because they were angered that the Conservative group had said it “didn’t recognise” the allegations against Ms Finch-Saunders. The allegations include that the MS called staff in the middle of the night, made them do her Christmas shopping and left them anxious to go to work .
Whilst neither Paul Davies and Paul Smith responded to our requests for a comment, we received a comment from the Conservative group saying: “Individual MSs are responsible for employing and managing their own staff. There is a staff handbook with clear guidance on how formal complaints can be raised. We take the wellbeing of all staff very seriously.”
In response to the allegations made against her Janet Finch-Saunders previously said: “I am proud of my record for delivering for the people of Aberconwy, which has seen me re-elected twice.
“I also take the health and welfare of my staff very seriously. In my time as an elected member for some eleven years, as the member of Aberconwy, I have not been made aware of any official complaint about the working arrangements in my office.”
Read more:
