Dundee University principal reveals legal fight after finance chief’s exit after eight days.

Chris Reilly is said to be suing the institution after it stated he resigned by “mutual agreement”.

Dundee University is facing probable legal action from a finance chief who left after only eight days on the job.

During an appearance before the Holyrood Education Committee on Wednesday, Principal Professor Nigel Seaton revealed that he was unable to discuss Chris Reilly’s departure. “We are now dealing with a legal situation. As a result, I am unable to comment at this time,” he informed MSPs.

The Courier previously reported that Mr Reilly, a seasoned accountant with over 30 years of experience, departed on his first full day on the job.

‘I can’t say anything now’

Insiders say he was instantly alarmed by the present management’s decisions and lost faith in their leadership.

However, the institution initially said Mr Reilly left by “mutual agreement” with the principal.

The Courier knows that Mr Reilly vehemently opposes this. On Wednesday, Professor Seaton told the committee that both he and the university believe Mr Reilly left by mutual accord.

University agree not to say finance chief quit by ‘mutual agreement’

However, The Courier can reveal that outgoing HR director Elise Gallagher wrote to Mr.

Reilly on July 3 that the institution “will not use the phrase’mutual agreement’ in any future references to your departure”.

The dispute, which is currently being handled by both parties’ legal teams, revolves on the specifics of Mr Reilly’s departure in July of this year. He met with the principal on June 29 to discuss his concerns.

But the previous weekend, he had emailed Professor Seaton, expressing his concerns about the leadership. This includes the principal’s refusal to use outside advisers PwC to assist with the ensuing recovery plan.

In an email acquired by The Courier, he stated: “I believe it would be foolish and reckless to proceed without the assistance of PwC.” He goes on to state that any discussion on this would have an impact on “whether I consider the personal risk to be too high and give notice to terminate my employment”.

Professor Seaton and interim finance director Lee Hamill declined to address specific questions about what went wrong with Mr Reilly based on legal advice.

Principal ‘proven right’ over external advice

When questioned about utilising external counsel to design the recovery strategy, Prof Seaton stated he had been “proven right”.

Committee convener Douglas Ross stated, “You were opposed to employing PwC, despite Helen Simpson’s proposal at the time, which was supported by the incoming finance director. “You felt your view was better informed than their view?” The instructor replied:

“My approach would general be that if we’ve got the ability to do it, we should do it ourselves.” He continued, “I thought that the top team and finance colleague were capable of doing. As it turned out, we had the ability to execute it.”

However, Mr Ross disagreed, pointing out that no proposal had yet been accepted.

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