Thanks for signing the petition to ask Aberdeenshire Council to retain the HSCP  Employability Service (ACES)                                                                                                                                                                                                                    As an update, it can be reported that the petition organiser, who is on annual leave from their job with Aberdeenshire Council, recently received a phone call on their personal mobile, informing them that Aberdeenshire Council has launched an investigation into the petitioner. 

At the same time the AHSCP Chief Officer has refused to investigate a legitimate employment grievance raised by the petitioner into how the matter has been conducted.

The Chief Officer has unilaterally, and without any investigation - and indeed in contravention to the Council's agreed Employees Grievance Procedure, declared that the grievance is "not legitimate" and has refused to investigate the grievance claiming that the employee should use a consultation process.  (The Chief Officer should be fully aware that such a consultation process is not available to the petitioner as they are serving their notice period.)   

It is unclear who ordered the employee probe, or its exact nature, but this could be interpreted as a form of intimidation by an employer against their employee for seeking to uphold their legal rights under the Council's formal Grievance Procedure. Such a move should be rightly condemned.  

It is therefore even more important that we keep sharing the petition and getting more people to understand about the importance of retaining this vital service that Aberdeenshire Council's HSCP bosses want to quietly axe.    

Thank you for supporting the retention of a support service that seeks to provide employability services to among Aberdeenshire's most marginalised citizens.

Peter K