'Emotional distress' | Rail worker's affair with senior boss sparked 'toxic' workplace atmosphere

A rail worker’s affair with a senior manager boiled over into a toxic workplace row and a £35,000 lawsuit from an employee who claimed he was victimised for being friends with one of the secret lovers.

Lorraine McGorm, a ScotRail staff member, was revealed to be having an affair with John McBrinn, the customer operations manager. Compounding this was the revelation that McGorm had been engaged to the son of another senior ScotRail boss, Joe O’Neill, at the time she started the relationship with McBrinn.

The case, heard at the All Scotland Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh, heard that the fallout rippled through the workplace once the affair became public knowledge, causing a heated dispute that led to allegations of bullying and a toxic work environment.

Paul Frame, a station supervisor from Carluke, Lanarkshire, found himself in the eye of the storm. Frame alleged that his supervisor, O’Neill, had victimised him due to his continued friendship with McGorm, despite the affair scandal.