In the case of Dimbylow v Create Learning Trust, the Employment Tribunal had to consider whether dismissing a teacher for conduct outside of her employment was outside the band of reasonable responses.
Facts
Outside of being a teacher, the claimant was a trustee of a children’s charity alongside their husband. A Charity Commission (CC) investigation was launched into the charity, and it was found that there were several issues with its operation that involved the claimant. It was found by the CC that they were responsible for “serious mismanagement and/or misconduct in the administration of the charity.”
On discovering this, the respondent launched an investigation into the claimant’s conduct. Following this, a disciplinary hearing was arranged. The allegations put to the claimant were that they were in breach of the Teachers Standards, which required teachers to demonstrate high standards of personal and professional conduct and to act with honesty and integrity, both inside and outside of the classroom.
A further allegation was that the claimant’s conduct, which caused the publication of the CC inquiry report, brought the respondent into disrepute. The allegations were found to be proven.
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Additionally, the claimant alleged that they had raised various public interest disclosures around different issues including the misallocation of funding and had suffered several detriments as a result.
The claimant raised claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and detriment due to public interest disclosures.
Employment Tribunal (ET)
Turning first to the question of unfair and wrongful dismissal, the ET had to consider if the school acted outside of the band of reasonable responses in investing the issues and dismissing the claimant.
The ET made its position clear. If a school found out that a teacher had potentially benefited directly or indirectly form a charity and was subject to a CC investigation, it would be legitimate for an investigation to follow into that conduct. As this behaviour had the potential to destroy the relationship between the teacher and the school, a dismissal could be the result of such an investigation.
Finding that a reasonable investigation had been conducted, the ET held the respondent had reasonable grounds to believe in the misconduct of the claimant and had formed an honest belief in that misconduct. The ET said that “the public needs to have trust in teachers and in the way that they conduct themselves” and the respondent had sufficient evidence to conclude there had been a fundamental breach of contract by the claimant. As a result, it was found that the claimant was dismissed for the potentially fair reason of conduct and the unfair dismissal claim failed. The wrongful dismissal claim also failed.
The ET found that whilst a protected disclosure had been made on one matter, the claimant suffered no detriment because of it.
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