A SENIOR partner claims he was forced out of one of Merseyside’s top law firms because he refused to back down in the face of a campaign of bullying and harassment.
John Tuson is bringing a case of unfair dismissal against Kirwans solicitors, where he was head of the commercial property division.
At an employment tribunal hearing, which began yesterday, Mr Tuson, 53, said he and other partners were the victims of threatening and abusive behaviour by the firm’s managing partner, David Kirwan.
This took the form of “coercion at meetings and aggressive and sometimes vicious emails”.
Mr Tuson said the “fear and blame culture” was endemic throughout the firm.
It culminated in Mr Tuson taking an extended period of sick leave because of stress and anxiety.
When he returned he was put on a three-day working week – against his wishes – and had his pay cut because of insufficient work and the financial performance of his department.
But he was unable to manage the workload in his reduced hours and in September of last year he was told he was being made redundant because his department was being closed down due to the economic downturn.
Mr Tuson claims the real reason for his dismissal was “personality issues” with Mr Kirwan, who, it is alleged, said some months earlier that Mr Tuson was “finished at Kirwans.”
During his evidence Mr Tuson said he first fell out with Mr Kirwan over the introduction of an out-of-hours rota system for heads of department to monitor inquiries on the law firm’s website.
When Mr Tuson raised objections to this and suggested an alternative system he claims that Mr Kirwan in one telephone conversation “became verbally violent and shouted so hard that he finally lost his voice and rang off”.
On his return to work from sick leave Mr Tuson claimed that Mr Kirwan’s attitude towards him had not changed.
Mr Tuson said he was the victim of further hostile emails from Mr Kirwan over the sale of a hotel he owned, the Golden Pheasant in Llangollen, North Wales.
One read: “Have you opened the file and have you started to get everything ready to send out a contract as soon as I instruct you with the final details? I want no delays please. I hope that you will be completely on the ball.”
Mr Tuson claimed he was coerced into agreeing to a three-day week and that the redundancy process had been a “sham” because Mr Kirwan had already decided he wanted him out.
Kirwans’ current managing partner, Simon Gibson, denied there was any concerted attempt to find grounds for Mr Tuson’s dismissal.
He said: “The decision to close the commercial property department was made for business reasons only because it had become unsustainable. The dispute with Mr Kirwan was wholly irrelevant and ancient history.”
The tribunal continues.
