Ex-GM settles for £35,000 in compensation

The former general manager of the Keppel's Head hotel in Portsmouth, Hampshire, has received more than £35,000 in compensation from his former employers.

Dieter Schlieben, 63, was awarded the sum as compensation for lost earnings after his former employers offered to settle during the constructive dismissal hearing at Southampton employment tribunal on 5 November.

Schlieben, who left his job on 4 February after taking legal advice, said his problems began in July 2002 when the hotel was bought from Greene King by a local company.

Following a series of written warnings and the appointment of an "executive" general manager, Schlieben said his main duties were taken away from him and he was "reduced to a mere receptionist".

"We didn't get on well from the start," said Schlieben, who said he felt "emptiness and sadness" at ending his 49 years in the hotel industry on such a bad note.

Thannon Al Mahrouq, a director of the Keppel's Head, said the owners agreed to settle after hearing Schlieben's case because they realised they had got his salary details wrong.