Teacher wins landmark case over discriminatory working practices

AFORMER teacher has won a £75,000 pay-out after the school she worked at prevented her from returning part-time after maternity leave.

Emily Hanbury, 30, was head of lower school at Combe Pafford in Torquay when she became pregnant in 2016.

Seen as one of the most promising teachers at the school – which specialises in looking after children with moderate learning difficulties – and a potential future head, Ms Hanbury hoped to be able to return the job part-time after having her baby.

But despite Combe Pafford’s written policy of considering flexible working requests, the board of governors denied Ms Hanbury’s request to work either three days a week, in a job share or in a different role.

A four-day tribunal at Exeter County Court backed Ms Hanbury’s claims of indirect sex discrimination, unfair constructive dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages.

A pay-out of £75,000 was agreed out of court between the teacher and the Department for Education following the landmark case.

Ms Hanbury, a Cambridge University graduate, said: “There were four teachers at the time who left their employment due to pregnancy or flexible working requests.

“Myself and another were judged as consistently outstanding teachers. It was this that spurred me on to take the case to the employment tribunal, wishing to make a difference for women and men after me wishing to request flexible working and retain their careers.”

The tribunal found the school’s governors and head teacher Michael Lock wanted to act in the best interests of the pupils but were wrong to deny Ms Hanbury’s request for flexible working.

There was then a series of pregnancies close together at the school with other teachers asking to work part-time.

It said in summary: “This case has no winners. The claimant is a committed teacher who is plainly devastated at the loss of the job she loved. The governors appear sincere people who are only governors because they care about what the school does and who tried to do their best to see whether the claimant could be accommodated. The essence of the tribunal’s decision is that despite the claimant being totally flexible in her request in every conceivable way, the head teacher was opposed to such requests in principle.”

Ms Hanbury, who has since quit the teaching profession to work for a children’s charity, said that she was concerned the school has not learned its lessons from the case.

“It is incredibly sad that a narrow-minded sexist view prevailed at the time rather than thinking creatively about flexible working,” she said. “This is also very sad in light of the national teacher shortages.

“It is also sad to learn that even after the judgement, the school continues to turn down flexible working requests and to hear that staff are still encouraged not to ask on the basis that they will be turned down.”

Combe Pafford School has been asked to comment.