A social worker who won a harassment claim against her employer and a professional regulator over the way she was treated after sharing her gender-critical beliefs has been awarded more than £58,000 in compensation.
Rachel Meade, who worked for Westminster City Council, was suspended and subjected to a prolonged disciplinary process after a dossier of posts shared on her Facebook page was sent to regulator Social Work England, which placed her under a fitness-to-practise investigation.
The Facebook posts included a link to a petition stipulating that women should have the right to maintain sex-based protections as set out in the Equality Act, including female-only spaces such as changing rooms and hospital wards, as well as a post from a sex-based rights campaign group and a petition said that male athletes should not compete in female sports.
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Earlier this year the London Central employment tribunal ruled that her Facebook posts and other communications “fell within her protected rights for freedom of thought and freedom to manifest her beliefs as protected under Articles 9 and 10 [of the Human Rights Act]”.
Its judgment cited recent case law in around gender-critical belief, including the cases brought by Maya Forstater and Allison Bailey.
Following a remedy hearing in February, the tribunal has now ordered Westminster City Council and Social Work England to pay Meade a total of £58,344.11 in compensation for injury to feelings and aggravated damages.
In addition to interest, this sum includes a £40,000 award for injury to feelings and £5,000 for aggravated damages, which both parties are jointly liable for, as well as a £5,000 sum for exemplary damages levied on Social Work England.
The tribunal said that Meade was under significant duress to accept a sanction which would appear on Social Work England’s website, and found that the regulator’s actions against her had constituted a serious abuse of its power as a regulatory body.
The judgment says that exemplary damages are “designed to punish conduct that is oppressive, arbitrary or unconstitutional” and said “awards of exemplary damages are reserved for the most serious abuses of governmental power.”
It is understood that this is the first time a regulator has been ordered to pay exemplary damages because of how it carried out its regulatory function.
The judge has also ordered Westminster City Council and Social Work England to ensure that all managers, HR staff, triage staff, investigation staff and case examiners receive training on freedom of expression and protected belief – including the implications of the Forstater judgment – within six months.
Meade said: “It’s a huge relief that it’s finally over and that the ET awarded a significant amount of compensation to reflect the serious nature of the harassment I experienced at the hands of my professional regulator and employer just for expressing legitimate beliefs and concerns.
“It remains concerning for our profession that as an organisation Social Work England cannot apologise or publicly acknowledge their mistaken stance to date. They urgently need to implement the findings of the CASS review into best practice.”
Meade’s solicitor Shazia Khan, of Cole Khan Solicitors, said: “The judgment is a damning indictment of Social Work England and Westminster City Council’s prolonged and oppressive treatment of my client.
“An award of exemplary damages against a regulator for the manner in which it has carried out its function is unprecedented. This should serve as a resounding warning to all regulators that they must not let their processes be weaponised by activists who seek to punish and silence legitimate debate.”
Social Work England chief executive Colum Conway said it was considering the outcome of the judgment.
“We are committed to learning from this case. As the regulator for the social work profession in England, we exist to protect the public, as set out in legislation. As such, we will continue to consider every concern we receive about a social worker,” he said.
“We recognise that this has been a particularly difficult case for those involved, conducted against a backdrop of debate on many issues within society in relation to freedom of expression. Our professional standards reflect the diversity of social work practice and the positive impact it has on people’s lives, families and communities. We will continue our work in this area and clearly articulate the reasons when there are reasonable grounds to investigate a social worker’s fitness to practise.”
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Westminster City Council has been approached for comment.
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