Former Coop boss wins workplace bullying case

A former Channel Islands Coop boss has won a legal battle after claiming the board's behaviour left him with a psychiatric injury.

Colin MacLeod, who started at the firm as a trainee in 1990 and became chief executive in 2010 at the age of 40, told Jersey's Royal Court he was "bullied and undermined" by senior directors in a campaign to force him out.

He said it left him suffering insomnia, shaking and numbness in his arm before being signed off sick in May 2019 and eventually dismissed in 2020.

The court awarded him £40,000 in general damages plus loss of earnings after it ruled Coop had breached its duty of care and the harm was foreseeable. The company said it would challenge the decision.

In his complaint, Mr MacLeod said the situation had "made ongoing strategic management of the business exceptionally difficult".

Mr MacLeod said board meetings became "hostile" and he was "repeatedly being set up to fail".

"Results, no matter how good, were judged as not good enough," the court heard.

Medical experts diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder linked to workplace bullying, the court heard.

The court ruled three directors - Paula Williams, Jennifer Carnegie and Carol Champion - had acted in bad faith from February 2019 until Mr MacLeod's dismissal.

Mark Cox, chief executive of the Coop - which has about 45 shops across Jersey and Guernsey, said the firm would challenge the decision.

Mr Cox said: "Whilst we acknowledge the judgement, with respect, we do not agree with the findings.

"After liaising closely with our insurers and legal advisers, we consider there are substantial grounds for appeal."

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