AN IT manager at the Medical Specialist Group was sacked when pornographic images were found on his computer, an employment and discrimination tribunal heard yesterday.
But Peter Phillips (pictured), who was also facilities manager, claimed he was unfairly dismissed.
For the MSG, Advocate Jessica Roland told the hearing at Les Cotils that joke and betting emails, sexually explicit images, a pornographic video featuring former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and her rock star husband Tommy Lee, and a cartoon considered by her client to be obscene and involving a child were found on Mr Phillips’ computer.
‘While not illegal, for this employer it was unacceptable,’ she said.
‘The work of the MSG involves obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics and those who work for it must be judged by the highest standards.’
Representing Mr Phillips, former local civil servant Andy Castle, of Castle Defence, said his client would be saying that ‘data hounds’ had been set in an attempt to get him out of the organisation.
The cartoon image involving the child was connected to a disciplinary matter connected with another member of staff.
Advocate Roland said Mr Phillips had effectively been the gatekeeper of the MSG computer system.
‘Employers cannot prevent all such inappropriate emails being sent to staff, but the pertinent question is what they do with them on receipt,’ she said.
The hearing heard that the MSG employed an independent IT consultant, Jason Robert, while Mr Phillips was on a period of sick leave.
Mr Robert was asked by former MSG chief executive officer Pamela Le Cheminant to provide daily IT support and carry out an overall review of the company’s IT system.
It was while doing this that he found ‘systematic failings’ in the system and the images on Mr Phillips’s computer.
The hearing heard that following the discovery of the images, Mr Phillips had been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing.
MSG consultant anaesthetist Dr Callum McClymont accompanied him for support and the meeting went on for more than four hours.
Mr Phillips’s laptop was produced. He was shown a pornographic image on it and he said he did not know how it had got there and that it must have been there for years.
A few days later Mr Phillips was called to a second meeting, at which he was told his contract was being terminated.
Dr McClymont told the meeting that Mr Phillips felt he had done nothing wrong and that Mrs Le Cheminant had picked on him because she wanted him out of his job.
Dr McClymont said he thought Mr Phillips had been treated fairly at the meeting.
Responding to a question from Mr Castle, he said he could not recall similar images to those that were found on Mr Phillips’s computer being stuck on walls within the MSG.
Article posted on 29th July, 2009 - 2.30pm
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