Former procurement chief takes Co-op Group to tribunal for £5m damages

The Co-operative Group is entering a court battle with its former chief procurement officer. Kath Harmeston is claiming whistleblower status and is asking for more than £5m in damages for unfair dismissal.

The employment tribunal opens in Manchester on 7 January and is expected to continue until 22 January. According to press reports, Ms Harmeston claims she was fired after alerting bosses about corporate malpractice, governance issues and breaches of fiduciary duty, which is a legal duty to act solely in another party’s interests.

Allan Leighton, chair of the Group, said: “We intend to fully and robustly defend our decision to dismiss Kath Harmeston at the upcoming tribunal. We dismissed her because she acted in a manner which was not in keeping with the importance and seniority of her role, nor the values and principles of The Co-op.”

Senior figures at the group including chief executive Richard Pennycook and chief operating officer Pippa Wicks are expected to appear in court.

Ms Harmeston was hired as group procurement director in April 2014, but made redundant in September 2014 and placed on gardening leave. The Group had headhunted her from the Royal Mail and charged her with cutting costs following the emergence of its financial troubles in 2013.

As procurement director at the Royal Mail she managed a £2bn budget and helped deliver £650m in savings. Famously she bought bikes for postal workers from China instead of the UK, paying £45 instead of £360.

Since being made redundant by the Group she has been appointed as an independent director by the Ministry of Defence’s equipment and support division, which allocates a £14bn budget for weapons, ships and aircraft.

Carl Moran, employment lawyer at JMW Solicitors, who is representing Kath Harmeston, said: “Whilst it would not be appropriate to provide any further comment in relation to Ms Harmeston’s claims currently before the Employment Tribunal, our client is confident in her position and we look forward to presenting our client’s case on her behalf.”