An MP has accused the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) of carrying out a targeted campaign against a former apprenticeships officer who reported that a colleague sexually assaulted her.
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East’s Seamus Logan detailed the case in Parliament during a debate on the use of legal threats to silence reporting on Thursday (21 November).
He told the Commons that Jan Cruickshank, a married mother of three, reported the alleged assault to the CITB, where she then worked, after it allegedly happened in 2015. She subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown and went on sick leave.
Logan also told the Commons the man she complained about was put on gardening leave for a week before returning and “began propagating false narratives, suggesting that Jan was falsely accusing him”.
Logan added: “A senior whistleblower at CITB has revealed that its legal team had indicated a substantial potential liability should Jan’s case come to trial. The whistleblower confirmed that there was a targeted campaign to discredit Jan over several mediums.
“CITB misused the false narrative to depict Jan as a homewrecker, subsequently initiating a predetermined human resources investigation focused on facilitating her exit from the company. A second whistleblower has corroborated that management planned to exit Jan from the business a month before her HR process was complete.”
Logan said in the Commons chamber that Cruickshank took the training body to an employment tribunal. But, Logan said, she was pressured into accepting a settlement “far below the realistic sum that she should have been entitled to” and was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
“She is determined to seek justice, so that the alleged attacker is prosecuted and she receives just compensation. This will enable her and her family to move forward,” he added.
“Jan should not have been subjected to an HR investigation or an employment tribunal. Rather, she deserved time off work for recovery and support following the trauma that she had experienced.”
The SNP representative told MPs that he believed the Police Scotland officer who interviewed her about the incident “lacked the requisite training to handle such a sensitive sexual assault case, resulting in the premature conclusion of the matter”.
The MP called on the CITB to issue a public apology to Cruickshank, for the police to consider looking at the way her case was handled and for Ministry of Justice minister Heidi Alexander to meet him to discuss it.
A CITB spokesperson said: “We are aware of the parliamentary debate on this former employee’s historic claim against CITB and appreciate the sensitivity of such a matter. Due to the sensitive nature of the settled claim CITB has nothing further to add at this time.”
