The design school that handed Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s daughter a scholarship faces a legal claim by a former employee who was investigated by the school after the story broke.

A former employee of Whitehouse Institute of Design has filed an “adverse action” complaint in the Fair Work Commission.

In the firing line: Frances Abbott with her father.

The former employee faced an ­internal investigation after the media reported the school awarded a rare $60,636 “chairman’s scholarship” to Frances Abbott. The chairman of Whitehouse’s board of governors is a Liberal Party donor and friend of Mr Abbott, Les Taylor.

In response to questions from Fairfax Media, Whitehouse Institute of Design chief ­executive Ian Tudor said in a statement that: “the Whitehouse Institute is ­confident that the adverse action case is without merit and has no prospect of success. The former employee ­concerned was subject to an internal disciplinary review and resigned before that review was complete.”