A school receptionist who sued her employer for religious discrimination after a row over her Christian faith has reached an out-of-court settlement.
Jennie Cain, who was suspended by Landscore Primary School, in Crediton, Devon, for nearly four months last year before receiving a written warning, lodged a complaint with Exeter employment tribunal.
The case was due to be heard at the end of last month, but the school, council and Cain came to a financial agreement on Tuesday, according to the Daily Telegraph.
While details of the settlement are confidential, both parties said they had “agreed to disagree as to whether she had been discriminated” against on religious grounds, the newspaper reports.
Cain had claimed that her daughter Jasmine, who attends Landscore, had come home in tears after being reprimanded by a teacher for talking to another pupil about Jesus, Heaven and God.
Cain then wrote an e-mail that she claimed was private to 10 close friends from her church to ask for prayers for her daughter and the school.
The e-mail was passed to Gary Read, the headmaster of Landscore, who told Cain she was being investigated for alleged serious professional misconduct.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Read said that the school was tolerant of all faiths but could not go into detail about the prayer e-mail as it “contained an untrue allegation about the school”.
Cain was investigated by an internal panel and found guilty of serious misconduct. She appealed against the decision but lost and received a written warning before returning to work last June.
