A close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Beckett was off sick for almost 18 months before he resigned from Unite in January 2023.
His lawyer told the tribunal Mr Beckett had not been well enough to participate in a disciplinary hearing and the union’s disciplinary charges were “baseless”.
The employment judge rejected this, and also found Mr Beckett had not been demoted as he had claimed.
The judge did, however, say there were “significant deficiencies” in Unite’s “investigation and disciplinary processes”.
Judge Nicolle wrote: “It would have been extremely surprising in the Tribunal’s view had [Unite] allowed its Head of Legal to return to active employment in circumstances where there were ongoing police investigations into very serious matters to include bribery, money laundering and offences under proceeds of criminality legislation.”
Ms Graham, who succeeded Len McCluskey as Unite general secretary in 2021, did not give evidence to the tribunal.
The BBC has contacted Unite the Union for comment.
Source:
www.bbc.com
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