A TOWN council is waiting to discover how much it must pay out following the latest in a series of costly employment tribunals.

Val Rogers, 49, from Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, won her constructive dismissal case against Thornaby Town Council after claiming political bickering created a difficult working atmosphere and that she suffered harassment at the hands of some councillors.

Now working as an administrator with a new employer, Mrs Rogers expects to find out how much compensation she has been awarded in the next few weeks.

She said: "It was never about the money, I just wanted to make my point.

"I wanted retribution for what I'd been put through, and I think I got that."

Mrs Rogers worked for the town council from June 2004 to January this year. She told an employment tribunal in Thornaby, last week, that she was forced to leave her job as town clerk because of stress and overwork.

The council said a meeting was arranged to discuss Mrs Rogers' complaints on January 12, but she went off sick on January 4 and then resigned on January 17, so they could not address her concerns.

Councillor Tina Large, the town council's chairwoman, said: "At the moment, we are waiting for the report to come back from the employment tribunal.

"It will then go to a full council meeting and we will make a statement after that."

It is the third time the town council has been sued by a former employee in recent years.

Mrs Rogers took over the job from former town clerk Leanne Plant, who successfully sued the council for unfair dismissal in 2005.

She was later given a damages settlement of £12,500.

And in May this year, Angela Welsh also successfully claimed unfair dismissal and indirect sexual discrimination following the loss of her temporary position as assistant town clerk. She was awarded £2,552.

A spokeswoman for Employment Tribunal Services has confirmed that another case against the town council was pending.

She was unable to give any further details because of data protection rules.