In the case of Ms M-G v Arbor Academy Trust a primary school headteacher has been awarded £100,000 after being dismissed and accused of assault for tapping her own toddler’s hand.
Ms M-G wanted her three-year-old son to stop playing with a bottle of hand sanitiser. During this incident, which occurred in front of the teacher responsible for child safety, she made contact with her son. An employment tribunal heard that the safety officer filed a complaint, leading to the headteacher’s suspension and police involvement.
The police determined that Ms M-G ‘s actions constituted “reasonable chastisement” by a parent. Despite this, the 46-year-old was dismissed for gross misconduct. As head of Northwold Primary School in Hackney, part of Arbor Academy Trust, she took her case to an employment court, resulting in significant compensation. The court ruled there was no evidence of “physical chastisement or assault” and declared her dismissal unfair, awarding her £102,328.
Employment Judge Julia Jones stated, “I find it likely that she bent down to his level to speak to him about why he should not be playing with hand sanitiser. When he turned away, she tapped him with two fingers on the back of his hand to get his attention.”
Despite her dismissal in May 2022 for gross misconduct, the tribunal ruled in her favour: “It is this Tribunal’s judgement that [the Trust] had sufficient evidence that she was trying to prevent injury to her child and address his behaviour. There was no evidence that she had committed physical chastisement or an assault.”
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