A REPORT has concluded that a charity for the homeless was reasonable and thorough in the way it dealt with complaints from two workers through its whistleblowing process.

The review, carried out by retired Wiltshire County Council chief executive Keith Robinson, has been met with disappointment from the Threshold Housing Link employees.

James Derieg and Tony Niester went public back in June alleging a series of problems with governance, disciplinary procedures and conflicts of interest.

The pair were suspended over the claims and an earlier report which appeared in the Adver about money paid by the charity to HR consultant Christine Pratt.

Mr Robinson narrowed the scope of his inquiry to the way their grievances were handled by the trustees, rather than the substance of their complaints.

However, the report did make recommendations for changes to several policies which he concluded were unsatisfactory and should be reviewed and revised.

A friend of the workers said: “They were hoping for a wide-ranging review.

“In the end they had next to no input in what they feel was a foregone conclusion from the start.

“The review makes several recommendations but goes nowhere near far enough in addressing the key issues which they felt they couldn’t ignore.”

Mr Derieg, 49, and Mr Niester, 39, now face the sack at disciplinary hearings.

The chairman of the charity’s trustees, Trevor Davies, said: “We have co-operated fully with Mr Robinson’s investigations.

“We are very pleased with his conclusion that the process followed by the trustees to investigate the allegations made by two members of staff was reasonable and thorough, and that our judgments were reasonable.

“It vindicates the organisation, the trustees and our hard-working staff in the light of unwarranted and continued criticism.

“It provides confirmation that there has been prudent management of the current situation by the trustees.

“We very much hope that we will now be able to get on with the job of the charity, which is to provide an essential service to the vulnerable and homeless people of Swindon.”

Mr Robinson found that Threshold’s whistleblowing policy was incoherent in several places and had been carelessly adapted from another organisation.

He also recommended the charity update policies dealing with gifts and redundancy and suggested introducing guidance concerning relatives in senior positions and the procurement of goods and services.

Mr Robinson found: “The organisation has been slow to recognise the value of clear procedures to avoid potential conflicts of interest.”

Mr Davies said: “We thank Mr Robinson for his advice and are attending to our policies and his recommendations as a matter of urgency.

“We have employed a business director to review our policies.”

Mr Davies added that the disciplinaries, which had been postponed pending the review, would proceed as quickly as possible.