In the case of Thomas v Berwick Academy, Gerald Thomas, a PE and maths teacher, contacted education watchdog Ofsted to make protected disclosures about disputed claims that “misbehaving” children were hidden on squash courts during a full inspection at Berwick Academy.
After he posted critical comments about the outgoing headteacher and leadership team on a local newspaper’s Facebook page, he was sacked for gross misconduct at a disciplinary hearing before losing his appeal.
An employment tribunal heard PE teacher Mr Thomas had been “at loggerheads” with Mrs Widdowson, the troubled secondary’s head, for some time, as he said she “eroded the stability, performance and structure of the school using a very dubious, manipulative and cynical approach”.
The employment tribunal decided that Mr Thomas was unfairly and wrongly dismissed after concluding that the initial investigation was “deeply flawed on many grounds” and that “any breach of lawful and reasonable instructions” in making the Facebook posts “was not an indication of his disloyalty”.
Although the school said the Facebook posts did not amount to whistleblowing, the tribunal judge ruled that they did – and said they were the “principal reason for the initial dismissal”.
He was awarded £4,002 for breach of contract, £42,827 for unfair dismissal and a further £3,293 for untaken annual leave.
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