FLINTSHIRE County Council must pay out the maximum sum allowed of more than £59,000 to a former senior official who was wrongly sacked.

Frodsham resident Paul Sillitoe, former county archivist, was dismissed in March 2006 for gross misconduct following complaints of bullying, but in June of last year an employment tribunal ruled the dismissal was unfair.

He had worked for the authority since 2003, after managing archives in Wolverhampton, Oldham and the Waterways Trust, but went off with work-related stress in 2004 after complaining about his workload.

Soon after he returned to work Helen Davison, an administrative assistant, complained that she had to ask permission to leave the office, even to go to the toilet.

When a “round table meeting” was held to sort out matters Mr Sillitoe was not told Miss Davison found his style of management to be “rude and abrupt”.

Instead, he thought the meeting was about two specific issues.

Though he moderated his behaviour she later submitted a formal complaint, alleging bullying and harassment, which resulted in her feeling anxious and nauseous.

A disciplinary hearing was held and although the tribunal found the investigation and hearing were thorough the conclusions reached by the council’s director of corporate strategy Julia Lorkin was not reasonably held.

At a remedy hearing in November Mr Sillitoe, of Francis Road, Frodsham, said he had tried to find alternative work but realised that without a reference it would be virtually impossible.

He said he had been very lucky to be awarded funding to study for a doctorate in archive studies at Liverpool University, receiving about £12,300 a year for three years.

At the hearing Richard Bradley, for the county council, argued by choosing to further his studies Mr Sillitoe had chosen not to make himself available for work, which should be reflected in the compensation.

That, however, was not accepted by the tribunal, whose chairman Mary Cocks said he would not have gone to university had he not lost his job in the first place.

“Mr Sillitoe was dismissed in circumstances which would be viewed extremely seriously by any prospective employer,” she said.

“A finding of unfair dismissal may well help him in finding work in the future, but we accept prospective employers may still have serious reservations about employing him in a managerial role.”

Mr Sillitoe, who was 49 when sacked, was awarded a basic sum of £870 and compensation of £58,400, the maximum sum allowed at the time of his dismissal.

The council was ordered to pay the sum immediately.