A LONG-SERVING Pen Llyn practice manager who claimed to have been bullied, harassed and intimidated by one of her GP bosses was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled.

When Meryl Williams lodged a formal grievance against Dr Adriaan Smits the other doctors in the practice closed ranks and tried to discredit her, accusing her of financial irregularities without producing any evidence, and of trying to run down the practice, the tribunal was told.

The fraught relationships at the Meddygfa Rhydbach Surgery in Botwnnog, near Pwllheli, were laid bare at an employment tribunal in Mold earlier this year and Employment Judge Tobias Ryan has now issued his reserved judgement.

He ruled that Mrs Williams, who started work with the practice as a receptionist in 1986, was constructively unfairly dismissed when she resigned in April 2016.

By that time, she said, her trust and confidence had completely broken down and the handling of her grievance appeal was “the final straw”.

In 1996, Mrs Williams was promoted to practice manager and the original doctors, who thought highly of her, later retired. From 2014 the partners were Drs Smits, Gwyn Morris and Zameel Haque.

“I find that there was a long-running history of difficult interpersonal relationships within the practice as regards administrative and clinical staff on the one hand and the partners on the other, but in particular involving Dr Smits,” said the Judge.

In 2010, 10 members of staff signed a letter complaining about Dr Smits’ manner and his effect on morale. He was described as “direct, brusque and blunt”, and others considered him “aggressive, irascible and overbearing”.

“I consider the claimant’s perception of Dr Smits that he bullied, harassed and intimidated her to be a genuine and reasonable one,” says the judgement.

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