Questions have been raised about Thanet DC suspending its deputy chief executive shortly after he was approached to help resolve an ongoing grievance.

Tim Willis is believed to have been suspended for interfering after a head of service lodged an appeal of a formal grievance decision made by Thanet's director of corporate governance and monitoring officer, Tim Howes.

Mr Willis is understood to have been approached because he was the only independent senior officer not involved in the ongoing grievance.

The head of service who lodged the grievance is understood to have claimed that senior management had fostered a culture of bullying, harassment, humiliation and intimidation, and that the council had failed in its duty of care towards them.

Their grievance is believed to have described a total breakdown in the trust and confidence between them, their line manager, head of paid service and the council.

An independent investigation is understood to have concluded that there was evidence of bullying by management but Mr Howes is believed to have stopped short of recommending formal disciplinary action because he judged that the behaviour fell short of misconduct.

Mr Howes did pledge to monitor the situation and has promised to undertake a review in a few months, but the complainant appealed to Mr Willis because they are understood to believe that there should be a full disciplinary investigation.

The complainant is thought to be unhappy that promises that Mr Howes would not decide on the next steps were ignored and that they have not been allowed to view the independent investigator's report.

They are understood to have now formally asked for their appeal to be heard by the council's general purposes committee. 

Mr Willis was sent home despite the senior management team being reminded in May 2017 that suspension ‘should be considered as a last resort'.

Last year an employment tribunal judge described Thanet's suspension of a building control surveyor as ‘probably the worst illustration of a knee-jerk reaction that I have come across'.

A council spokeswoman said: ‘In dealing with these matters there is a formal process that needs to be followed.

‘Allegations against senior officers are referred to councillors through an investigating and disciplinary committee, which will determine what, if any, action to take.

‘The council treats such matters sensitively and confidentially.

‘It would be unfair to the officer concerned to make any further comment and may prejudice the process.'