The manager of a Perth hotel where three people and a dog died in a fire says she is taking legal action against the owner.
Karen Kennedy, general manager at the New County Hotel for nearly five years, plans to take Rashid Hussain to an employment tribunal.
Sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, from Aberdeen and 38-year-old Keith Russell, originally from Edinburgh, died in the January 2 blaze, along with Donna’s dog Joey.
‘Whistleblowing claim’ against Perth hotel owner
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed and a probe into the blaze is continuing, a month on.
Karen previously told The Courier how she had pushed for safety improvements at the New County Hotel, saying: “I will have to live with this every day for the rest of my life.”
Now the 49-year-old has instructed a lawyer to raise a “whistleblowing claim” against Mr Hussain.
The case will be based on claims a lack of action over her health and safety concerns at the hotel has had a detrimental impact on her.
While the action will seek financial compensation, Karen insists it is not about the money.
She told The Courier: “I tried for years to flag up my concerns over what I saw as major health and safety issues at the hotel.
“I’m not interested in financial gain from this. I want the truth to come out.
“If I am awarded anything it will be given to charity.”
Independent consultants, the fire service and Perth and Kinross Council had all raised health and safety concerns just weeks before the incident.
Karen added: “I want all the detailed evidence about what actions I tried to take to rectify health and safety issues at the fire to come out publicly.”
‘Significant evidence of attempts to address safety issues’
Ryan Russell, an employment specialist working for Dundee-based MML Law, confirmed he has taken on Karen’s case.
He said: “My client has a significant amount of evidence of her attempts to address the widespread health and safety issues.
“The owner of the business has not communicated with the employees since the fire and has not responded to our correspondence.
“Whistleblowing claims can be lodged against individuals as well as the company and it is our instructions to pursue Mr Hussain personally in relation to these claims.”
More details about the claim are expected to be confirmed in the coming months.
Mr Hussain has not responded to repeated request for comment from The Courier.
