A former senior staff member at the John Muir Trust has published a detailed report setting out a series of financial problems, staff disgruntlement and alleged management and governance failures at the charity.

Alan McCombes, the former public affairs manager at the charity, compiled the 38,000-word report after requesting voluntary redundancy this year, as the conservation charity prepared to make job cuts across the organisation.

Last month, Third Sector learned that JMT was set to cut 19 jobs after recording a £1.9m deficit last year. At the time, JMT said 12 staff members would be leaving the charity, while others have taken up alternative positions within the trust. 

McCombes, who had been at the charity since 2012, lays out a number of concerns relating to the charity in his report, including the redundancies, the charity’s financial deficit, staff morale, alleged governance failures and the investigation into allegations made against the charity’s chief executive.

David Balharry, the charity’s chief executive, was suspended for five months last year over allegations of misconduct. 

Balharry was later reinstated to his post after an independent investigation. The charity said in a statement that he had been “fully exonerated” and pledged to “better protect staff from false allegations”.

But McCombes’ report alleges that the investigation, which was run by an independent investigator and a sub-group of trustees, was “tainted by bias against the complainants and compromised by the controlling influence of the chair over the whole process, despite a clear conflict of interest”.

The report says the investigation was “further undermined because staff did not feel safe giving evidence” due to fear of reprisals by the chief executive. It says: “No protection was forthcoming from the board to allay these fears.”

It adds that access to the investigator’s reports and conclusions was confined to a few trustees who were selected by the chair, and argues that all of the documentation should have been available to trustees with appropriate redactions to protect confidentiality.

The report also alleges that the public and internal communications of the investigation were controlled by the chair and the chief executive, who were both named in the initial complaints.

When approached about these allegations, a spokesperson for JMT said: “A robust grievance process in line with the trust’s policies was followed in relation to grievances against the chief executive, and the board took external professional advice throughout. 

“Decisions were taken by the full trustee board, and they unanimously exonerated the chief executive, who was subject to the same process as any other member of staff.”

McCombes’ report also explores the charity’s financial deficit and subsequent redundancies. 

It alleges that when the charity’s board approved a £2m budget deficit for the 2023 financial year, they also “rushed through a £2m purchase of a small 18-hectare strip of land and 10 holiday lodges”.

The report says the trustees took this decision “despite expert internal and external advice warning of the risks”.

McCombes’ report alleges that the charity’s financial difficulties were “further magnified” by “reckless spending”, including “excessive” salary increases for the chief executive and other senior managers. 

The report says that a handful of senior employees, including the chief executive, are earning salaries higher than those of Scottish government ministers. 

According to the charity’s latest accounts, in 2023 it had two staff members earning between £110,000 and £120,000, one earning between £70,000 and £80,000 and one earning between £60,000 and £70,000.

McCombes’ report adds that the charity’s annual financial report for 2022, presented to the AGM in November 2023, stated that the trust had “strong financial reserves and a robust fundraising strategy”.

But in March 2024, the charity’s staff were informed that the trust was facing a £600,000 deficit and that major cuts in staffing and operations would be needed.

The report alleges that the charity’s redundancies were approved by the board of directors “without any dialogue with staff”,  adding: “The redundancy process turned into a debacle when 18 key members of staff who had been deemed essential walked out to find new jobs, while a further 13 staff were forced out by compulsory redundancy.”

McCombes’ report also alleges the charity has been suffering from “plunging staff morale”, pointing to the findings of the charity’s annual staff surveys. Between spring 2021 and spring 2022, the percentage of staff who said they would recommend JMT as a place to work dropped from 97 per cent to just 30 per cent.

The report says that in the first half of this year, 18 staff resigned while another 13 were made redundant. Since the start of 2022, 19 of the 20 employees who were managed directly by the chief executive had resigned, it adds.

“There will always be some turnover in any organisation, but what the trust has experienced in the past two years is a brain drain on an epic scale,” the report says. It says that this “represents a devastating loss of experience, skills, knowledge and connections”.

The report adds that there has been an “unacceptably high number of employees” who have had to take time off over the past few years as a result of depression, anxiety and stress.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “The John Muir Trust is transparent in its operations, and we welcome scrutiny in all aspects of our work. Following a difficult period the board commissioned two reviews into events of the past 18 months. 

“These reviews contain recommendations and lessons learned that have either been implemented or are in the process. A summary of the first review is on our website, the results of the second review will be available soon. 

“The trust is now on a stronger financial footing, and we have a dedicated team of professionals working efficiently to deliver the trust strategy to protect wild places for the benefit of present and future generations.”