THE employment tribunal was given an account of a “vicious political agenda” by union officials against Land Registry managers and a breakdown in relations.

On top of Jane Brooke’s claim for unfair dismissal she made a claim alongside her fellow worker Suzanne Pymn for union victimisation but this was also dismissed by the tribunal judge.

In the hearing and in the tribunal judgement report witness accounts showed how the relationship between the two sides started to deteriorate in the late 1990s when the union objected to performance targets being linked to executive’s pay.

The tribunal had heard how Ms Brooke, Mrs Pymn and three colleagues started legal action about their injuries in 2006 and 40 union colleagues were considering whether to do the same.

The Land Registry’s head of human resources Tabitha Green said the union was “scaremongering” about arm injuries and reported that staff had described “a personal and vicious political agenda against management and Lynn Narramore”.

The Land Registry then paid £41,508 to film the five members of staff who were bringing legal claims and when the union found out they felt this was arranged “to attack claimants” because of their trade union status.

The tribunal judgement found that the video surveillance was justified in the face of a possible “floodgate” of personal injury claims from those 40 other workers in Weymouth and potentially more from other offices.