Teacher wins £600,000 unfair dismissal battle

A disabled teacher sacked for gross misconduct after showing pupils aged 15 and 16 the 18-rated horror film Halloween is set to collect more than £600,000 in compensation.

Phil Grosset, who has cystic fibrosis, took legal action against City of York Council after claiming he was unfairly dismissed as head of English at Joseph Rowntree School four years ago.

He said he made an “error of judgment” showing the film because he was under a “high level of stress” as a consequence of his disability.

Employment tribunal judges said adjustments could have been made to reduce his work pressure.