Fired for Gross Misconduct - where to go now?

radyellow

Hi,

I was a Head of Faculty at a Catholic Sixth Form College. I was there approximately 7 months and was fired out of the blue for gross misconduct. In my letter it was stated that this was because I had not acted “within the mission and ethos of the college”. I was in contact with my union but unfortunately the rep that was assigned to me was negligent and did not send letters to the diocese or the college to defend me – he was adamant he had done this but when I requested the data under the freedom of information act, it was evident that these things had not been done. To cut a long story short, there was very little evidence for my case but I was refused an appeal, the College wanted rid of me before the 12 months were up so they did not have adhere to any legal disciplinary procedures. The union let me down and I have since had an apology from them, they have also offered to send letters to the diocese but this was months after the event. I do not wish to pursue anything with the college or the union as I have run out of energy, this gave me a nervous breakdown and I am very lucky I have come out the other side. I have since been working as a supply teacher and I made my employer aware of what happened. They knew the College and the Principal and did not speak highly of either, the College coincidently had done this before and the union was also aware of this.

I am now hoping to seek full-time employment again, ideally in another country and I just do not know what to do on my CV. Do I leave them on there and hope I never have to talk about it? I doubt foreign employers will believe my situation not knowing the college etc. Or do I fudge my CV and take them off it all together? I have a previous employer and my supply agency for referees but do want to do anything illegal that could jeopardize my future. Would it be better to complete a MA, and then sufficient time would have lapsed between events?

I am very nervous about lying; I have never had to do this in my life.

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Gazing_On_Sunsets

For more specific advice in the teaching world, perhaps ask this question on the TES website? There is an overseas teaching advice forum there.

dickydonkin

Come on Anhilator where are you? - lets have the hat trick of clowns!

Radyellow I think you seriously need some legal advice, although as you did state you were only there for seven months, based on what you have posted, unless there has been an element of discrimination or your termination of contract was deemed as 'automatically unfair', your options for legal redress may be limited, although it would seem that procedure wise, there seems to be some shortcomings.

As for 'fudging' your CV, I would suggest that is an unwise strategy - particularly in the 'line of work' you appear to be involved in - 'Thou Shalt Not Lie' and 'Practice What You Preach' comes to mind - your following quote is testament (sorry for the pun) to that assertion.

I have since been working as a supply teacher and I made my employer aware of what happened.

I do appreciate however, that although being a Catholic College, that Theology is not/may not be the only subject on the curriculum.

You need clarification as to what actions were not 'within the mission and ethos of the college' so these can be refuted if necessary to clear your name. Thankfully, you have a new job and should you move on at a later date, they should provide a suitable reference if required.

Try to put this down to a bad experience - although it has obviously caused you grief.

As an aside, I wish these forums were moderated to get rid of the idiots who trawl threads just to insult, offend and offer no constructive advice! I am convinced they are bullied at home and vent their frustrations on these forums!

Addition: Well done MSE abuse for removing offensive posts - now what about banning persistent offenders?

ceridwen

dpassmore wrote: »

You need clarification as to what actions were not 'within the mission and ethos of the college' so these can be refuted if necessary to clear your name. Thankfully, you have a new job and should you move on at a later date, they should provide a suitable reference if required.

!

I would agree with that.

I guess that it was something that would be regarded as very trivial/no problem at all in some other context? It would be just as well if you could quote off what these actions were supposed to be (if asked to) - in order to prove to any prospective employer who asks that said actions wouldnt be a problem in any reasonable persons book.

(I presume you werent the "star turn" in some local strip club or something - yes..I am joking there:)).

I guess it was probably something totally innocuous - like some teenage pupil asking you about contraception and you answered her accurately (errr....not something that would go down well with any Catholics that took their lead from the Pope on such matters...) - rather than anything that we would regard as in the slightest way wrong.

Hope things work out for you.

ceridwen

Izzy - I rather think that comment would count as another one to add to the ones that have already been removed from this thread by MSE Abuse.

....now back on topic....

dickydonkin

Izzy. wrote: »

Here we go again. Ceridwen you really know how to put the ass in the word assumption.

I fail to see in ceridwen's post where anything is being assumed.

What we are trying to determine from the OP's post is to what his organisations defininition is of Gross Misconduct - which was the reason for dismissal - that has not been forthcoming as yet.

Many of us on these threads are well aware of what such terminology relates to in 'normal' day to day working environments.

As there is potentially religious connotations in this situation, it seems ceridwen was giving a hypothetical example of where it could be construed as gross misconduct in THAT particular situation.

Anyone asking me at work about my opinions of contraception would certainly not breach any code of conduct and certainly in my workplace, such discussion would be innocuous - but may not be in a Catholic College and may be tantamount to bringing the college into disrepute which may potentially be deemed as gross misconduct.

DVardysShadow

Izzy. wrote: »

Here we go again. Ceridwen you really know how to put the ass in the word assumption.

Nope. If there is an ass here, it ain't Ceridwen. I read this

I guess it was probably something totally innocuous - like some teenage pupil asking you about contraception and you answered her accurately (errr....not something that would go down well with any Catholics that took their lead from the Pope on such matters...) - rather than anything that we would regard as in the slightest way wrong.

quite plainly as a very good 'for instance' of an action which a teacher could quite normally do in most schools, but would be mortal misconduct to a catholic employer.

Anihilator

The OP's post mentions wanting him gone before the 12 months. I assume this means he was less than a year in post which means barring discrimination they can do what they did.

The only get out would have been if there was a form of religous discrimination.

That said the OP doesnt want to pursue it. Ultimately you should not try and hide a year off a CV as if they catch it then your screwed. If you do go abroad I suppose you could try and claim you were travelling for a year. The other side of it is if your honest then its whether they believe you and take a risk. With it being teaching though its far harder to hide a year and argument like this. Another complication may be depending on the allegation then authorities etc might have been involvd and a mark is now waiting to show up on CRB's.

ceridwen

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Nope. If there is an ass here, it ain't Ceridwen. I read this
quite plainly as a very good 'for instance' of an action which a teacher could quite normally do in most schools, but would be mortal misconduct to a catholic employer.

Thank you.

That is precisely what I meant. I was giving a possible example of what would constitute "mortal misconduct" in that work environment - that would pass totally without comment in the vast majority of work environments.

lulu650

Will your case be forwarded to the GTC radyellow? It can take at least 18 months before your case will be held and they decide the outcome of your teaching career

Or are you registered with the Institute of Learning.

radyellow

Just to answer a few questions to make it easier for people to advise. The issue has not been raised with GTC or the IFL. The justification the College gave for my dismissal were misdemeanours, none of my actions were illegal and therefore no information was passed onto my CRB. The information they collected made me a poor manager, not a danger to children – just thought I best clear this up. The letter reads of 'hear say', and many of the discussions that were 'overheard' did not actually happen and were fabricated. The worst offence being that I swore, this never happened.

From what people have said I need to leave it all on my CV and get some distance in employment so I can move on. In a way I am glad, I find it difficult to lie and the prospect of doing this at interview was daunting.

In regards to taking this case legally, I can not afford to. I am frustrated with the way I have been treated but I have only two choices with the money I have saved. Throw money away on solicitors with no promise of winning as I have no employment rights to unfair dismissal etc (because I was only there 7 months) or I use that money to complete a MA. The latter is looking more positive, and after I have completed it I can emigrate. I will be very glad when enough time passes to work the College off my CV, it was my worst employment decision I ever made.