Posted: Thursday 9 December 2010
The Icing On The Cake
Some cases just seem to take the biscuit, however in this case, it was the failure of a headteacher to eat a slice of birthday cake gifted to her by a colleague that contributed to the raising of disciplinary proceedings which resulted in her eventual dismissal.
A recent Telegraph Article brought this unusual case to my attention. As well as being guilty of causing offence by not eating the cake, it was further alleged that the headteacher has not been suitably sympathetic after the passing of a colleague's pet dog, had confiscated a kettle. In addition, in a classic lose lose situation complaints were made to the headteacher by the dinner ladies that they had been excluded from the Secret Santa list but when the headteacher investigated the situation she was accused of behaving in an intimidating manner towards a staff member who had compiled the list.
The headteacher was suspended by the school governors while investigations were conducted by the city council and she was eventually dismissed.
She raised an Employment Tribunal claim but the case settled for an undisclosed sum before the tribunal hearing commenced.
So what lessons can employers learn from this? I think, perhaps the most important lesson is that employers need to attempt to nip problems in the bud when complaints, particularly trivial ones, are made against a member of staff. I appreciate that this can be easier said than done but this case does sound like a situation where matters were allowed to escalate to the extent that working relationships were destroyed. Also, and in particular at this kind of year, never underestimate the sensitivities of the Secret Santa!
