A COUNCIL officer who was sacked after she was accused of allocating a house to her brother has taken her case to an industrial tribunal.

Rukshama Desai has taken Blackburn with Darwen Council to an industrial tribunal at Manchester after losing her job at the town hall.

After a two-day hearing, an employment tribunal adjourned the unfair dismissal and race discrimination case.

It was alleged at the tribunal that Mrs Desai, of Dartford Close, Blackburn, had asked a colleague to deal with the housing allocation, but had not said it was for her brother.

But Mrs Desai, who worked as a neighbourhood officer, is claiming she had told her colleague the allocation was for a relative. It was alleged that Mrs Desai phoned work to say that she would be off sick.

She then went on to say she had forgotten to deal with a housing allocation offer and asked a colleague to do it for her.

It was claimed that Mrs Desai did not say the housing allocation was for her brother and that she had not followed the necessary authorisation procedure.

Tribunal chairman John Beaumont was told that before making such an offer of accommodation, authorisation was needed from a director of housing.

But he also heard that Mrs Desai claimed she did say the allocation was for a relative when she telephoned.

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