A Brighton employment tribunal has ruled that the largest junior school in the country unfairly dismissed an IT technician on the grounds of her disability.
Carolyn Adamczyk was dismissed from her position as IT Technician at Ocklynge Junior School, Brighton, on 1 July 2005, purportedly by reason of redundancy.
But the tribunal found that the school governors were simultaneously looking to recruit for a position that was virtually identical to Mrs Adamczyk’s post.
The tribunal went on to find that Mrs Adamczyk had been removed from the school’s board of governors the previous year to facilitate her dismissal.
In addition, the tribunal found that there was a total failure on the part of the school to consult with Mrs Adamczyk before her dismissal and that no effort was made to seek or to offer Mrs Adamczyk alternative posts that were vacant at the time of her dismissal.
Compensation is to be determined at a future hearing but Mrs Adamczyk’s solicitor Asha Rivers, of Rowley Ashworth Solicitors, said: “The tribunal held that the dismissal was automatically unfair owing to breaches of the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures, which will result in an uplift in any compensation awarded.”
Mrs Adamczyk’s action was supported by the GMB union.
