A male teaching assistant whose female headteacher said he looked ‘fit’ in Speedos has won a claim for harassment and unfair dismissal.
Mr Papashvili worked at Belvue School in Ealing in west London and was dismissed in 2020 after lying about his summer absence to take a summer holiday in Croatia.
The school had closed to most students from March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, and a rota was created for staff attendance at the school. Irrespective of this rota, the headteacher had advised that all staff would be required on site in the final week of term in July.
Papashvili asked the head, Mrs O’Shea, if he could take his holidays early so he could visit his parents in Georgia for his birthday, but this was declined as he had previously failed to return on time from another period of special leave.
Later on the day of the request, the head discovered that Papashvili had gone to the pub for “leaving drinks” with colleagues, announcing that he was going on a European tour with his girlfriend the next day.
Sexual harassment
Upon hearing this, the head requested to see him with a trade union representative the next week, but Papashvili phoned the school to say he could not attend because he was suffering from Covid symptoms and would be self-isolating.
He was then off sick at the start of the next term, with sick notes saying he had “work-related stress”. He did not attend an investigatory meeting in October 2020, and submitted further evidence that he was suffering from stress and “did not have the capacity to be involved with anything work-related”.
In November, he was sent a letter detailing allegations of gross misconduct and that he was to attend a disciplinary meeting the following week.
The accusations centred around “misrepresented reason for absence” in that he had embarked on a European trip rather than a visit to his parents, and that he had “abused the trust of the leadership team by giving false information relating to the reasons for absence”.
It was shortly after this letter that Papashvili submitted a complaint regarding sexual harassment by the headteacher.
He detailed an incident in 2010 when he had been the subject of unwanted sexual advances by O’Shea, and that she had wanted him to take her to meet his parents. He also claimed that he had been held back from professional development. The tribunal heard accusations that she had sexually harassed Papashvili on seven occasions between 2017 and 2019.
After his disciplinary, he was told that his dismissal would be effective from 4 December 2020, although this was mistakenly not sent out until 15 December, making this the effective date of dismissal.
He appealed the disciplinary outcome claiming the investigation had not been fair, raising the discrepancy in dates and that he was owed wages, and that he had provided a landlord statement to show he was at home on the dates in question.
On this point, the tribunal found in his favour, claiming that the school had already “drawn a conclusion” about his behaviour and that it was “clear Mr Papashvili was never going to get a fair determination of his complaint”.
On the allegations of sexual harassment, Employment Judge Tobin said O’Shea’s comments were unacceptable, even if they were meant as a joke, and this claim was also successful.
“Both language and attitudes to colleagues change over time and comments that might have been prevalent and acceptable in a workplace 30 or 40 years ago are no longer justifiable or tolerated,” he said in his judgment.
“Similar comments made by a senior man, particularly if older, are generally regarded as unacceptable if directed towards a junior or younger female and perhaps, belatedly, such comments made by a female headteacher towards a younger teaching assistant should now similarly be regarded as unacceptable.”
However, the tribunal observed that Papashvili had been “dishonest” on multiple occasions, and his compensation award of £9,309 was reduced significantly due to his own conduct.
In deciding remedy, the tribunal revoked an anonymity order meaning that O’Shea and the school could previously not be identified.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Education sector HR roles on Personnel Today
Browse more HR jobs in education
