Sex 'used for staff promotions'

Tom McNeil was accused of bullying and sexual harassment

A female council worker who allegedly had an affair with her boss was warned she would have to sleep with people to get promoted, a tribunal has heard.

The woman was giving evidence at the employment tribunal of former Aberdeen City Council employee Tom McNeil.

Mr McNeil claims he was forced to quit his job after reporting workers having sex in an office.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was given the warning at the start of her career.

She said: "I was told if you wanted to get on you have to sleep with people."

She said that when a manager made the comments on a night out, he had glanced at Mr McNeil intimating that was who she would have to sleep with.

He would regularly comment on female staff members' body parts Female witness

The woman also claimed that Mr McNeil was a bully and a sexual harasser and had touched her breast.

She said: "McNeil was drunk and he reached over and grabbed my breast from behind whilst I was working on his computer.

"I lifted up my arms and pushed him away and told him to get off."

She said the behaviour was never reported because people were too afraid of Mr McNeil.

She claimed he had bragged that he would never be punished for sexual harassment because that was the culture in the council's leisure department.

Own merit

She said: "He would regularly comment on female staff members' body parts."

She also claimed that married Mr McNeil had been involved in a relationship with a female staff member of his team.

The tribunal heard earlier that Mr McNeil claimed the woman was promoted to a senior position only based on an alleged sexual relationship with Brian Woodcock, a director at the council at the time.

However she denied that was the case. She said she had achieved her position on her own merit.

The hearing continues.