An
employment tribunal has upheld the decision by Shropshire County Council to
dismiss a residential social worker after pornographic pictures of her appeared
in a magazine.
The
tribunal told the council that it would have been subject criticism had it not
dismissed the employee.
Fleur
Maidment was working in a children’s home when graphic photos and explicit
captions appeared in the adult magazine Escort.
Three
pictures appeared in an outdoor life section of the magazine and one in the
contacts section at the end.
Maidment
claimed that her boyfriend had sent in the photographs without her knowledge or
consent. She maintained that not only had he forged the consent form but
photocopied her driving license for identification purposes and used female
friends to deal with confirmation phone calls from the magazine.
Maidment
was recognised by children in the home where she worked after they saw the
pictures in the magazine.
John
Hodges, the solicitor at Shropshire County Council who dealt with the case,
said, “We are required to provide a higher standard of parenting than we might
expect from natural parents and we can only do so via our policies and
procedures and by our employees setting the highest standards of conduct and
being positive role models.
“Matters
from Miss Maidment’s private life unfortunately strayed into her professional
duties and rendered it untenable for her to continue in that position.”
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