Stoke on Trent City Council has defended its decision to sack the authority's housing director while she is battling breast cancer, but it faces further controversy over the timing of its appeal.
Earlier this month, the council sent a letter of dismissal to Jeanette McGarry as she underwent cancer surgery (The MJ, 22 April).
Now the authority is trying to set the earliest-possible date for her appeal, regardless of the speed of her recovery, insiders of the case have claimed.
After The MJ went to press last week, chief executive, John van de Laarschot, issued a statement claiming the council had been ‘compassionate' over Ms McGarry's health problem, but had decided to terminate her contract during what the council claimed was her extended probationary period.
Mr van de Laarschot's statement reads: ‘I have taken the decision not to confirm Jeanette McGarry in post during her probationary period with Stoke-on-Trent City Council. This is based on concerns around her performance, conduct and behaviour. The city council has been compassionate in relation to Ms McGarry's illness.
But insiders from the McGarry camp claimed the statement was at odds with the dismissal letter, which focued largely on her inability to do the job, due to her health problems.
