The owners of a troubled Hawick care home have accused South of Scotland MSP Paul Wheelhouse of making defamatory comments after he claimed staff were owed up to £600, writes Kenny Paterson.
And Park Homes have threatened legal action should the Scottish Minister for Environment and Climate Change repeat the accusations.
Mr Wheelhouse said in a statement last week that he had discovered a contract change announced in April had left up to 40 staff out of pocket, and said senior management had cancelled a proposed meeting to discuss the saga.
But Jason Sykes of Park Homes said it was aware of only four of around 55 staff having issues with the way their wages are calculated.
He added: “The management is willing and able to meet Mr Wheelhouse at a mutually convenient time and we regret that he has felt it necessary to release a potentially defamatory and factually incorrect statement which is ill considered and without merit.”
The SNP politician said last week: “It is an upsetting and dispiriting situation for the staff to find themselves in, where their employer is appearing to fail to honour their commitments to their employees.”