JK Rowling sues former employee for £24,000

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From the BBC:

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has launched a £24,000 legal claim against a former employee for allegedly using her money to go on shopping sprees.

Ms Rowling, 53, claims Amanda Donaldson broke strict working rules by using her funds to buy cosmetics and gifts.

Ms Donaldson worked as a personal assistant for the writer between February 2014 and April 2017, before being sacked for gross misconduct.

. . . .

Legal papers lodged at Airdrie Sheriff Court allege Ms Donaldson wrongly benefited to a value of £23,696.32 by spending on a business credit card and taking Harry Potter merchandise.

. . . .

It is claimed Ms Donaldson had responsibility for funds and was provided with a credit card for buying items in connection with business and personal affairs only.

She had to submit statements and receipts once a month to the accountants and also had access to a safe containing foreign money.

But discrepancies were picked up in February last year on statements revealing a high volume of personal spending by Ms Donaldson.

She had a meeting with an accountant to discuss use of the card and was suspended.

Ms Rowling has alleged Ms Donaldson made a series of unauthorised payments, including:

  • £823 at Bibi Bakery
  • £1,482 at luxury candle company Jo Malone
  • £3,629 in cosmetic firm Molton Brown
  • £2,139 in card shop Paper Tiger
  • £1,636 in Starbucks.

Ms Rowling also claims Ms Donaldson, who controlled memorabilia requests from fans, used her position to steal a Harry Potter motorised Hogwarts Express worth £467.56, a Harry Potter Wizard Collection worth £2231.76 and a Harry Potter Tales of Beedle The Bard Set worth £395.

. . . .

It is alleged Ms Donaldson bought two cats worth £1,200.

Link to the rest at the BBC

4 thoughts on “JK Rowling sues former employee for £24,000”

  1. I feel her pain.

    When I worked for the Highway Department I discovered that I was terrible at hiring people, for my group or being on a committee to hire for somebody else. I am more comfortable with ambiguity than most people so I did not see a possible problem employee. It was only later that I hit that WTF? moment when the person was clearly a few fries short of a Happy Meal, and I was having to do most of the work cleaning up after the fact.

    I finally let committees choose my people for me, and each was a joy to work with.

    When the time comes to hire people I will use an outside agency, because other people are better at recognizing “problem people” than I am.

    • I have the same problem. I’m a terrible judge of character and have paid the price for that more than a few times. I could never hold a position where I was responsible for hiring people.

  2. Ms Rowling got off easy, just think of how much more Ms Donaldson would have cleaned her out for if she’d been her agent! 😉

    But, yeah, hurts to not be able to trust those around you.

  3. Sounds like someone was at least watching the books. If not, the amount would have been so much more. Over the last few years there have been so many examples where it went on for even longer for even more money. Ouch.

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