The proposed transfer has angered the majority of staff

MSPs on the public petitions committee have asked the finance committee to study the move out of Edinburgh after an SNH employee appealed for a re-think.

The executive formally ordered the move despite protests from the 270 workers.

Unions also warned against the move, which forms part of the executive's policy of dispersing public sector jobs throughout Scotland.

This will not only be a huge cost to the taxpayer but will result in lasting damage to one of SNH's core capabilities SNH worker Philip Immirzi

All but 50 of the 270 posts are being relocated but many employees are expected to resign rather than move north.

Philip Immirzi, an SNH employee, said staff were disillusioned over the transfer.

Mr Immirzi handed a petition signed by 2,250 people to the public petitions committee on Wednesday.

He claimed the transfer could damage the agency's efficiency and said some staff could face compulsory redundancies.

He said: "We are public servants, not civil servants.

'Profound concerns'

"This will not only be a huge cost to the taxpayer but will result in lasting damage to one of SNH's core capabilities - its highly experienced and qualified advisory staff, who provide services to government, partners and the public.

"We are mystified as to how compulsory redundancies can be minimised without invoking some new idea that has not yet been shared with the union."

Mr Immirzi said greater consultation is essential if the executive wants its dispersal policy to succeed.

Many of the staff at SNH are unsure about their futures, he added.

Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, said she doubted whether the executive should force through the transfer against workers' wishes.

Some workers may resign rather than move to Inverness

She said: "I have profound concerns about the style of management - by that I mean ministers' handling, I don't mean SNH management.

"To me it smacks of the very worst kind of industrial relations that we have seen in this country for a very long time."

Fergus Ewing, Scottish National Party MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, said confidential documents on the proposed transfer should be made public.

The Prospect union said the transfer should not be considered lightly.

The union's Alan Denney said: "At a cost of over �100,000 per job, we must be absolutely sure that it is done properly.

"For the dispersal policy to work properly it must be based on staff being persuaded to move, not forced by the threat of losing their jobs.