Last month it emerged she had been suspended from her role, which it was reported pays around £145,000 a year, amid an investigation into her conduct.
It can now be made public that the inquiry was launched after the grievance was made by the entire HES executive leadership team (ELT), which is the group of senior public servants responsible for the day to day running of the agency.
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The grievance was raised by Richard Hardy, national secretary of the trade union Prospect Scotland, on behalf of the ELT members on May 8 this year in a letter to HES board member Andrew Davis.
A copy of the letter, marked private and confidential, has been obtained by The Herald.
The grievance was made by Lindsey Ross, Director of People, Dr David Mitchell, Director of Cultural Assets, Craig Marshall, Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Craig Mearns, Director of Operations, Elizabeth McCrone, Director of Heritage, Alison Turnbull, Director of External Relations and Partnerships and Stephen Duncan, Director of Marketing and Engagement.
“The members I represent in this collective grievance are acting to bring to your attention their serious concerns,” Mr Hardy told Mr Davis in his letter.
“At the time the CEO was appointed, all the individuals represented in this grievance welcomed her appointment and looked forward to working as part of her leadership team to both maintain and improve HES’ performance and reputation.”
The grievance sets out the directors’ list of concerns and are explained in the three and half page letter.
For legal reasons, The Herald is unable to publish the details of the issues raised in the document.
The Herald has been told an independent investigation process is continuing.
Asked for a response to the collective grievance, Ms Brown told The Herald she was “confident” her “management approach” would be vindicated in the investigation.
“I am looking forward to participating in the overdue investigation into the grievance as I am confident that my management approach will be vindicated. As the steward of a publicly funded organisation my priority remains to uphold and promote the highest standards of behaviour especially at the senior level,” she said.
MSPs on the Holyrood’s culture committee were told inthe course of two recent meetings that Ms Brown had returned to work in her role “as accountable officer” to sign off the organisation’s accounts but had not resumed her full duties as chief executive.
HES is given £74 million a year to look after and promote more than 300 historic buildings and sites including Edinburgh and St Andrews’ castles, Linlithgow Palace and the neolithic Skara Brae settlement on Orkney.
The Skara Brae settlement on Orkney is looked after by HES (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
But in recent months the organisation has been hit by a wave of negative press reports.
Angus Robertson, the culture secretary, has faced questions in Holyrood over his government’s handling of the crisis after he told the Scottish Parliament’s culture committee he had not attended any HES board meetings despite former chair Dr Hugh Hall repeatedly requesting to civil servants for him to do so.
Dr Hall, who was appointed in 2022, stood down from his role in September this year. He was succeeded by Sir Mark Jones as the new chair later that month.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson (Image: Scottish Parliament)
Meanwhile, Auditor General for Scotland Stephen Boyle confirmed last month that he intends to publish a Section 22 report into HES.
Such reports are prepared into specific concerns arising from audits of public bodies, with Mr Boyle telling MSPs he is “concerned” HES had operated without an accountable officer for an extended period and “aspects of wider leadership instability is impacting on its culture and operation”.
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A spokeswoman for HES said last night: “For confidentiality reasons, we are unable to comment on any individual personnel matters or any issues that may or may not be subject to ongoing internal processes.
“Multiple formal investigations are currently underway, and it is essential that these are allowed to proceed through the appropriate channels rather than being prejudged in the public domain.
“As a public body, we have established procedures for reviewing concerns, and where appropriate, these are addressed in accordance with our governance and HR policies.
“We are engaging constructively with Audit Scotland as part of the forthcoming Section 22 review, which provides an independent and formal route for examining issues relating to governance, culture, and accountability. Any relevant matters will be considered as part of that process.
“We are also extremely concerned that confidential information appears to have been disclosed publicly on numerous occasions. This represents a serious breach of data protection and confidentiality, and we are taking steps on this in line with our legal and regulatory obligations.”
Last month Ms Brown broke her silence following reports she had been suspended amid the investigation.
She commented on the social media networking site LinkedIn: “Sometimes we need a wee reminder,” she posted to a picture of water which carried the words “the story depends on who is telling it”.
Responding to her post, members of the academic and the cultural heritage community rallied to her support.
Professor Murray Pittock, the pro-vice Principal of Glasgow University replied at the time: “Yes indeed Kat. I think we know each other well enough for me to agree with that sentiment.”
Michael Hay, a cultural heritage consultant, responded: “At length, the truth will out …’
Approached by The Herald, Mr Hardy, national secretary of Prospect Scotland, declined to comment.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is critical and in the interests of all parties that the independent investigations currently underway at HES are allowed to conclude in a fair and reasonable way.
“As outlined to Parliament, HES’ new Chair Sir Mark Jones has the Culture Secretary’s total support to take any actions necessary following the outcome of these investigations. This includes the recent appointment of two new interim Board members and recruitment for an interim Chief Operating Officer.
“Scottish Government officials are working closely with HES to ensure the organisation has capacity to deal with the challenges it currently faces while frontline staff continue to deliver the essential and valued work HES performs in communities across the country.”
