Unfairly dismissed college staff member wins tribunal

£30K PAYOUT FOR LONG-SERVING EMPLOYEE WHO LOST HIS JOB IN TRUST RESTRUCTURE

- By STUART ARNOLD Local Democracy Reporter

A LONG-SERVING college staff member who lost his job after an education trust restructuring has won a £30,000 payout.

Paul Richter took his case to an employment tribunal following his redundancy from Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, part of the Atomix Educational Trust, which was formerly known as the Tees Valley Collaborative Trust.

An employment judge subsequently upheld a claim of unfair dismissal with the trust ordered to pay £30,723 in compensation.

Mr Richter had worked at Prior Pursglove for 26 years, latterly as a liaison manager before his eventual dismissal last September.

His role involved providing support and guidance to students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), while he also managed other staff and provided teaching cover when needed.

He said bosses had failed to understand basic HR policies. Mr Richter said: “This was not a misjudgement or a technicality, it was incompetence from the top down.”

He claimed staff morale had been in “freefall” after changes were implemented at the trust that he felt were unwarranted.

Trust chief executive officer Dr Nichole Munro implemented a restructuring aiming to make the trust more competitive and successful which involved separating teaching and support services functions, placing Mr Richter’s role at risk of redundancy. He then applied for a new role being created, that of deputy head in a SEND team named 'Endeavour'.