£60k payout | Teacher who refused school transfer due to menopause symptoms was unfairly sacked

A teacher was sacked after refusing to move schools over fears it would exacerbate her menopause symptoms, an employment tribunal heard. 

Allison Shearer has been awarded more than £60,000 in compensation after losing her job in 2023.

Her dismissal came after headteacher Neil Govan tried to transfer her from Clydesdale Support Base, where she had worked since 2015, to Kear Secondary School, which was run by the same educational outfit, Kear Campus.

Ms Shearer, who has been a teacher since 1987 and taught English, became “extremely anxious”  at the thought of switching to Kear Secondary School. The tribunal heard concerns that there were “high levels of violence and injuries to teaching staff”, and Ms Shearer was concerned that her menopausal symptoms would worsen as a result of working there.