A former food bank worker who will be given £8000 in compensation after being unfairly dismissed says it’s been a “dreadful ordeal” which has “devastated” her mental health.
Caroline Marsland took Dumbarton -based Food For Thought to an employment tribunal after being dismissed in 2019, with a judge last month finding the process had been procedurally unfair.
She claimed she was let go over her concerns about a married priest having a relationship with a “vulnerable” member of his congregation – an allegation the clergyman last week said was “seriously untrue.”
A judge at the tribunal in Glasgow ruled the dismissal was procedurally unfair but said it was not related to the allegation.
Last week, the food bank hit out at being forced to hand over the cash “during the worst cost of living crisis we have seen” – with the priest saying £8000 had been taken “from the mouths of hungry people”.
But Caroline said: “This has been the most dreadful ordeal for both myself and my family.
“It has devastated my mental health, my career and my religious life.
“I have been left with no job, no income, no self-esteem and no church through no fault of my own.
“I still have extreme anxiety and depression and take medication daily.”
She said she felt “sick to the stomach” over the comment saying she has taken food out of people’s mouths, adding she was unfairly dismissed “only a matter of weeks” after she “blew the whistle”.
She went on: “This sum of money in no way compensates me for my subsequent loss of earnings or the damage to my mental health.
“I am thankful to my family for all the financial and emotional support, for support from medical and legal teams without which I may not have made it through the darkest of days.”
The charity operates from St Augustine’s Scottish Episcopal Church and provides emergency food parcels to struggling residents across West Dunbartonshire.
It said the payout was “not welcomed” and claims the original bid was for £48,000.
But it said it was pleased with the tribunal process outcome, saying it “allowed a lot of false claims and inaccuracies to be quashed”.
