One of Scotland’s top police officers is being taken to an employment tribunal by a senior civilian worker, the Mail can reveal.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs, who has responsibility for upholding professionalism, is alleged to have made a remark which the person found upsetting.

The alleged incident is said to have happened last year in front of other people at Tulliallan, the force’s corporate headquarters in Fife.

Mr Speirs, who earns £230,580 a year, is said to have put his arm around the member of staff, with a source claiming he apologised for any offence that may have been caused.

However, the civilian worker complained about his behaviour and later went off sick – though it is understood they are now back at work.

A preliminary tribunal hearing has been set for Glasgow in June.

The respondents - the subjects of the tribunal - are officially listed as Mr Speirs and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

The Mail understands the initial grievance was sent to the SPA, the civilian oversight body for the force, which deals with complaints about top officers.

The complaint was sent to the SPA which assessed it and later notified Police Scotland that it did not meet the threshold for further investigation.

The source said the allegation was that the person was ‘upset’ and Mr Speirs ‘put his arm around [them] and said he was sorry – his intention was to comfort or reassure’.

He added: ‘The expectation was that this would be the end of the matter but [they] then lodged a complaint.’

A second insider said: ‘An inappropriate or derisory remark was allegedly made which was felt to be patronising, in front of other people.

‘This caused upset and unfortunately the [person] concerned went off sick though they are now back at work and they’re going to tribunal.’

The source added: ‘It does raise issues about the SPA’s level of scrutiny – that it bounced the matter back to the force to deal with rather than making their own inquiries.’

A third source said: ‘Mr Speirs is essentially the man in charge of handling complaints within the force in his professionalism brief.

‘So it has been sent back to the force – and normally he would be the person who would deal with these issues.’

It is understood Chief Constable Jo Farrell, as Mr Speirs’ line manager, was involved in resolving the situation.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Speirs was Assistant Chief Constable for professionalism and assurance, joining the executive team in 2017.

He started his career with now-defunct Strathclyde Police in 1988 and has performed command roles within local policing.

He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in March 2024, having served as temporary DCC since July 2023.

Public sector Unison, which represents the senior civilian worker, failed to respond to requests for comment.

Asked for Mr Speirs’s comments on the allegations, a Police Scotland spokesman said any inquiries about executive officers should be directed to the SPA.

An SPA spokesman said: ‘The Authority does not comment on individual complaint and conduct matters.’