The Blue Cross has refused to comment on allegations, made in the national press, that it paid out £180,000 in “compromise agreements” to at least six members of staff.
The Daily Mail has reported that at least six senior members of staff at the animal charity signed gagging orders and received pay-offs on leaving the charity, while the charity’s former chief executive, Kim Hamilton, was in charge.
Whistleblowers have alleged that at least six former senior staff, including three directors, left the charity after signing the compromise agreements, totalling £180,000 in pay-offs. The agreements prevent the staff from revealing their reasons for departure, or they risk losing the money.
A spokesperson at the charity said she could not explicitly confirm nor deny that six people signed such agreements.
In a statement on its website, Blue Cross’ chair, Zair Berry, said: “The trustees of Blue Cross ensure that Blue Cross funds are always focused on helping pets and we are hugely proud of all our teams and the work they do.
“Like in any organisation sometimes it is appropriate to ask people to leave under a compromise agreement. These protect the privacy of those involved. This course of action is never taken lightly and only considered when it’s in the best interests of Blue Cross. Any allegations to the contrary are utterly unfounded.
“With our new interim CEO we are taking a fresh look at our operations and will be listening very hard to our teams and supporters. We will take any appropriate action that is deemed necessary.”
Kim Hamilton left her position as chief executive of Blue Cross last month after “speculative and inappropriate allegations” were made by the Daily Mail over a payment to the charity’s former director of funding, Mike Crossley.
A note in Blue Cross’ most recent annual accounts states: “One employee who is no longer employed by Blue Cross received £174,233 during the course of the year.”
According to the Blue Cross, Crossley left the charity in 2012 for purely performance-related reasons.
The charity also slammed the paper’s coverage of the suicide of a former member of staff, Melanie Brown, who, it has been alleged, was romantically linked with both Hamilton and Crossley. There is no suggestion that her alleged relationships were in any way linked to her suicide.
Berry said: “We are extremely disappointed the Daily Mail has based their article on unsubstantiated rumour. We are also deeply saddened that they continue to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mel Brown, a much loved colleague and friend, which remains the subject of a coroner’s investigation. Our thoughts continue to be with her family and friends.
“We are lucky to have truly dedicated people here at Blue Cross and through these challenging times we continue to focus on our vital work helping pets in need.”
Charity Commission issued advice
A spokeswoman from the Charity Commission said: "We are aware of the issues raised in recent media reports about the charity Blue Cross. We contacted the charity for information about the situation described in the reports, and upon receiving and assessing this information, we issued regulatory advice to the trustees.
"We also asked them to review their decision-making processes and procedures, in particular in relation to employment matters, and have requested a summary of this."
Regarding Blue Cross' use of confidentiality clauses, she said the trustees are responsible for the management of their charity and they do have a duty to protect and manage the charity's affairs, including its reputation.
She said there will be circumstances where trustees may properly decide that a confidentiality agreement is in the best interests of a charity, adding: "We would however expect any such agreements to exclude protected disclosures so that former employees remain protected where they wish to raise genuine concerns in the public interest."
