You think “human resources” means “human,” “respect,” “support”? Think again. At Cummins Darlington Engine Plant (DEP), HR isn’t about people – it’s about control. And the mastermind pulling the strings, at least during my time there, is/was none other than Nicola Teasdale.
A Nursery for Compliance
Step into DEP’s HR office and you’re greeted by a sea of fresh graduates – bright eyes, blank CVs, not a wrinkle of workplace cynicism in sight. They’re polite. They’re eager. They ask exactly the right questions. They nod at exactly the right moments. They never challenge. That’s not luck. It’s Teasdale’s design.
Why hire experienced HR pros with integrity and spine, when you can fill your walls with pliable graduates who’ll do as they’re told? A seasoned operator might sniff out doctored minutes. A veteran case‑manager might refuse to rewrite history to absolve the bosses. A proper pro might stand up to bullying, gaslighting, or outright illegality.
But a grad? They’ll do what their line‑manager says, click “approve,” and move on to the next spreadsheet. Trouble? What trouble?
The McCaughtrie Grievance: Proof in the Pudding
Remember the McCaughtrie incident – the incident that could only be filed under “bullying” or “negligent” (read here – Cummins Confidential : Neil McCaughtrie – Bully or Grossly Negligent? (Or “Sweep Under Carpet”?)) ? I filed a formal grievance, expecting HR to investigate. Instead, I got a masterclass in corporate alchemy:
- Edited Minutes: I reviewed the meeting notes – only to find key proclamations recorded as the exact OPPPOSITE of what I’d said. The bit where my sworn testimony actually supported my complaint? Gone.
- Rubber‑Stamp Appeal: When I appealed, Teasdale herself leapt in, not as a neutral arbiter but as a rottweiler – snarling through her covid mask at my evidence, barking procedural hoops, and knowing I was in a precarious position to continue to fight, having served less than 2 years service and having little legal protection.
That wasn’t a glitch. It was the gravy train. Teasdale ensured the deck was stacked, the cards marked, and the outcome pre‑ordained: no wrongdoing.
Teasdale’s Toolkit of Control
- The Graduate Buffer: Fresh faces, fresh loyalties. No history, no backbone, no questions. They’re the perfect shock‑absorbers for management misdeeds.
- The Edited Archive: Meeting minutes get trimmed, emails go missing, factual evidence is “lost” in the system. HR acts like a digital black hole—swallowing anything that might embarrass the top brass.
- The Rottweiler Appeal: When push comes to shove, Teasdale fights tooth and nail. Her reputation for intimidation keeps even the boldest employees second‑guessing a challenge.
A Culture of Fear, Not Support
The result? DEP’s “HR” is a black box of fear:
- Whistleblowers: They’re “talked down”, or if they stand their ground, they meet the rottweiler.
- Grievances: They die behind locked doors.
- Mental‑health cases: They’re fast‑tracked to exit interviews, not offered genuine support.
Front‑line employees learn quick: don’t bring problems to HR. It’s a one‑way ticket to stress, legal threats, and career limbo.
Peeling Back the Curtain
This isn’t just anecdote – it’s a pattern. Nicola Teasdale built a fortress around Cummins’ worst impulses, and staffed it with novices who’d never dream of questioning her. My McCaughtrie grievance was the smoking gun: proof that HR’s purpose at DEP is to protect the company, not the worker.
So next time you see a graduate badge and wonder, “Where’s the wisdom?”—remember: they’re the human shields in Teasdale’s battle plan. And as long as she’s in charge, HR at DEP will remain a puppet show, with the puppets too scared to pull back the curtain.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project