The British Council has refused to re-employ a £70,000-a-year senior manager accused of sexual misconduct.
The organisation was ordered to re-engage Paul Sellers, the former head of the British Council in Italy, after an employment tribunal found that he had been unfairly dismissed.
But a British Council spokesperson told Third Sector it had appealed the verdict.
Last year, a London employment tribunal heard that Sellers was fired after a female embassy employee claimed he had “placed both hands on her breasts and rubbed down in a sexual manner”.
The tribunal upheld Paul Sellers’ claim of unfair dismissal against the council, saying it found “serious flaws” in the charity’s investigation and its handling of his appeal.
In September, the court ruled that the British Council must re-engage Sellers as a country director or an equivalent position by 26 October.
The charity, which is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, presented the court with a second investigation, which also found that he had committed the sexual assault.
But court documents show that the judge said the new report “did not remedy the failures of the original investigation”.
The judge also said he could not accept that the organisation had “genuinely and reasonably lost confidence in [Sellers]” and that it was “practicable” for him to return to the organisation – adding, however, that it would be inappropriate to occupy the same post in Italy.
According to the ruling, Sellers stands to regain his £70,000 per year position at the British Council, as well as up to £300,000 compensation.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “The British Council is deeply disappointed by the judge’s ruling and has submitted an appeal.”