£140k payout | Teacher told she had 'let colleagues & students down' for taking sick leave

A teacher who was told she had “let [her] colleagues down and [her] students down” after taking time off for a back condition has won a disability discrimination case. 

Miss Annika Robinson, who taught design and technology at Southgate School - part of the Middlesex Learning Trust - was found to have been subjected to unfavourable treatment and harassment arising from disability, after the school failed to renew her contract and mishandled her sickness absence.

Tribunal finds harassment over ‘let students down’ remark

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The Watford Employment Tribunal heard that during an attendance management meeting on 18 June 2021, senior deputy headteacher Paul Ferrie told Miss Robinson she had “let [her] colleagues down and [her] students down” by being off sick.

The tribunal found this remark constituted harassment related to disability under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. It also upheld a related complaint over the way the meeting was conducted, noting that six members of staff attended on behalf of the Trust.