Tribunal hearings have revealed that a senior manager of Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Plant accepted bribes, including a PS11,000 quad-bike.
Garrick Nisbet, an engineer, filed a claim for unfair dismissal against Notus Heavy Lift Solutions (a subcontractor in the plant) after being fired for gross misconduct because he had given items to Ashley Daniels. Daniels was the head of lifting and temporally works at EDF.
EDF, the owner of Hinkley, investigated Daniels after he received items such as hospitality tickets worth PS2,000 for a boxing event and a Montblanc refill. Nisbet claimed that the refill was a spare pen he bought for Daniels.
The tribunal heard that more work was directed towards Notus on the Somerset site.
In August 2022 there were concerns raised over payments made to Daniels, with the implied implication that another employee who was later fired had bribed him.
The investigation initially suggested that Nisbet was a whistleblower. However, it later emerged that he had also been implicated in corruption and should have been dismissed.
Dave Vaughan (then managing director at Notus) met Nisbet on 3 April 2023 and handed him a suspension letter. This was not followed up by a formal disciplinary procedure and Nisbet was dismissed summarily on 11 April without being offered an appeal.
Nisbet said to the court that Daniels is a “greedy, little toad”, who “is hard to say no” to.
He claimed that he did not bribe Daniels and was only offering him coffee, biscuits and lunches. However, he could not explain the quad bike. He said he was “not involved” in the boxing ticket purchase.
Nisbet was successful in his claim of unfair dismissal because there had been no fair disciplinary procedures, but O’Rourke determined that he would not be entitled to compensation.
In judgement he stated: “While it was clear that [Notus] had not followed the proper procedure, and had presented sham letters to [Nisbet], witnesses of [Notus] readily admitted that… they felt they had no choice but to proceed in this manner.
“Nisbet was at times evasive, and self-serving, in his testimony… The core accusation against him in relation to the Quad bike, that has been forensically analyzed in this hearing, remains impossible of an innocent explanation.”
It is evident from the evidence that Nisbet was, on balance of probabilities complicit in corruption and bribery involving Mr Daniels over a period of two years and more, and therefore engaged in culpable behavior.
A spokesperson for Hinkley Point C stated: “The project will investigate and take action against inappropriate conduct and set and enforce high standards for employees, contractors and supplier.”
Nicola Brown is a partner in the law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter. She said that the case highlighted the importance of policies against bribery and corrupt practices.
It is not something that is given as much importance as other policies and it can have a tendency to be overlooked.
She explained that this case highlights the need for an updated policy in this area and the importance of making staff aware of it and encouraging them to raise any concerns.
The risk to a company’s reputation is obvious, but they could also be liable for a criminal offense, and face unlimited fines, if their staff are involved in corruption or bribery.
Daniels remains under investigation by EDF Hinkley Point and the tribunal has heard.
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