29/03/2019

Teacher Awarded £3k In Unfair Dismissal Case

A former teacher has been awarded over £3,000 in compensation after a tribunal found she was unfairly dismissed from a grammar school in Northern Ireland.

Ciara Hambly took the case against Enniskillen Royal Grammar School after working there for over two years. She received a letter saying that the position she had been covering had come to an end, with the person in that position accepting voluntary redundancy.

The school was reducing the number of full-time teachers and Ms Hambly's employment was terminated on 30 June 2018.

The tribunal found that although she had expected her termination in June 2018, the school was still required to follow the statutory procedure for dismissal. The complainant was not given an interview or opportunity to appeal.

The tribunal called this "a serious procedural error" and said it was "extremely regrettable that the respondent failed to follow a widely known and obvious procedure."

Employers are being urged to take note of the tribunal decision after the grammar school failed to follow the established procedure.



(JG/CM)

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