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Fri March 29 2024

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Balfour Beatty pays whistleblower £137,000 compensation

20 Jan 16 Construction manager Nigel McArthur, from Devon, is now looking for a fresh start in the industry, a year after leaving Balfour Beatty feeling bullied and hounded out for his honesty.

Nigel McArthur
Nigel McArthur

Balfour Beatty admitted liability for unfairly dismissing him and paid £137,000 two weeks before the case was due to be heard at a tribunal.

The affair centres on an £18.5m contract awarded to Balfour Beatty by the Welsh government to construct a building in Cardiff. Pre-construction manager Mr McArthur, 56, noticed that the subcontractor costs that Balfour Beatty declared to the Welsh government had been inflated and that the true costs were hidden to maximise profit. When he pointed out the discrepancy to his bosses, he was silenced.

Mr McArthur told the Exeter Express & Echo,which has a full report of the case here: "This was the first time in my entire working career and 10 years at Balfour Beatty that anything like this had ever occurred… That's why I resigned. I was told by a senior figure that if these matters were ever made public those involved 'would never work again.”

He said of Balfour Beatty: "I believe I had done the right thing. It was my belief that I never doubted that what I discovered was a deliberate attempt to defraud the Welsh government. I believe the company covered it up and that was the most disappointing thing. There should have been a proper independent investigation.”

Balfour Beatty admitted liability for the constructive dismissal case but not to any criminal offences.

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MPU
MPU

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