A north-east social worker who sent an inappropriate message to a service user and showed “no insight or regret” has been told rethink his actions.
Gordon Keddie was told he must consider the power attached to his role, and learn not to be discriminatory towards women, after being found guilty of misconduct at a hearing held by the Scottish Social Services Council.
Mr Keddie registered as a social worker in 2009 and was first employed by Aberdeen City Council in 2010 but was later dismissed.
The first incident he was charged with involved a user of the council’s services, who he sent a text to in June 2011 saying “I heard someone was skinny dipping Stonehaven. Was that you by any chance?”
The other incident related to a colleague, involving several incidents of inappropriate comments including telling her he liked to “watch her.”
In his defence during the two-day hearing, Mr Keddie said “skinny dipping” is not a phrase he would generally use, but could not rule out having said it.
He also denied making the inappropriate remark to his colleague but could not explain why she would lie
The SSSC considered letting Mr Keddie off with a warning, which would have meant no record of the incidents would be attached to his name in the register, but ruled his lack of remorse meant his punishment should be more serious.
A warning has been placed on his record for nine months, and Mr Keddie was also ordered to submit a “reflective analysis” – of no less than 3,000 words – to show he had developed “awareness of the importance of communicating in a professional manner”.
The ruling added the essay must include awareness of the “importance of not abusing power or communicating in a manner that may be discriminatory towards women”.
In their ruling, the panel said: “He (Mr Keddie) has expressed no regret or apology.
“The misconduct had an impact on a fellow worker.
“It had the potential to cause harm to a service user and also took place at work.”
The panel acknowledged that there had been some mitigating factors, such as the time since the misconduct occurred – with the last incident dating back to November 2011.
They also said he had cooperated with the council, and that there was no evidence of harm to service users.