The world-famous Henley Management College was blasted by an employment tribunal for blunders which left a long-serving and loyal worker floundering in the dark and finally jobless.

The bosses, who advise big business on how to get the most from their staff, were strongly criticised for feeble management of popular employee Noel Blatchford.

John Hollow, chairman of the panel, told how bosses had failed to tell the employee of ten years that her willingness to take on a new role at work could leave her without a job. He also strongly criticised them for not updating her on how she was doing in the new post, even though she had been told it was subject to a six-month review.

However, he found there was no evidence to support the 51-year-old former inquiries manager's claims that her immediate boss, Michael Pitfield, had bullied her. Mr Hollow made his scathing remarks after hearing that bosses at the college, had even failed to keep written records of conversations they had with their colleague over the job switch.

The tribunal in Reading, Berks, heard how Miss Blatchford, of Whitecross, Wootton, had joined the charitable organisation as a course administrator in 1988, and had risen to alumni manager by late 1997, when the new role of inquiries manager was created for her.

That was when the new role of inquiries manager was created for her to avoid having to make her redundant under reorganisation - but which led to her redundancy anyway on July 31, 1998.

Mr Pitfield had earlier offered her a role as a database manager but she had turned this down because she preferred dealing with people to being purely a "number cruncher". Mr Hollow said: "One of the disciplines, as we understand it, of good management procedures is effective communication and we have to say that communication with the applicant was not as full as it should have been."

Story date: Saturday 24 April

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