Machrihanish Dunes in Scotland is being taken to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal and sexual harassment.

Machrihanish Dunes on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, is known for its beautiful links course and spectacular views.

But now it has made it into the press for a very different reason...

Machrihanish Dunes in court

A former Machrihanish Dunes staff member has claimed he was 'spanked several times a day' by a female colleague who also talked constantly about sex acts.

The man, known as Mr X is suing the resort for unfair dismissal and sexual harassment.

A tribunal heard how he started working with the woman, Ms Y, in August 2016.

Mr X said: “The groping/spanking and sexual harassment occurred several times a day for months, everyone involved in the laundry are witnesses, every question and conversation Ms Y led bar a few were about sexual acts."

A string of emails between Mr X and his manager at Machrihanish Dunes, were used as evidence to prove that he complained about the woman in September 2018.

“I left my details on the report which were never used, as far as I know no statements were taken from co-workers/staff in the laundry regarding these complaints," he said.

His allegations were passed to an external HR firm, and not pursued any further. His manager simply told him: “it's your word against hers… there wasn’t much we could do”.

The man was then removed from the firm’s payroll several months later.

'Not properly investigated'

Employment judge Mary Kearns stated: “It appeared that the complaint was not properly investigated, and no outcome seemed to have been given to the claimant [at the time of the hearing].”

General Manager of Machrihanish, Andrew Hogan, told a court hearing that the claiment had never complained about sexual harassment.

The club also stated that he has resigned of his own accord after refusing to attend a shift in the laundry rooms.

However, the tribunal found that the date of dismissal was December 2018 when the company stopped paying his wages.

The case will now proceed to a further hearing.

Under employment legislation, a worker has two years in which to make a claim for unfair dismissal from the date they leave the company.

And, as a worker only has three months in which to make a a sexual harassment claim, both complaints may be too late.