Mr M Hughes v And Beeston Hall School Trust Ltd Held by CVP on 22, 23, 26 and 27 April, and in Chambers 14 to 16 July 2021 — 2021

Mr M Hughes was employed as deputy headteacher at Beeston Hall School. He alleged that his dismissal on 1 April 2019 was automatically unfair under s.152 TULR(C)A 1992 because it was for his NASUWT membership and/or union activities. The respondent said the dismissal was because the deputy head role was not working out, with concerns about visibility, deputising, communication, boarding input, report writing and teamwork.

The tribunal found that the respondent knew Mr Hughes was a NASUWT member by 5 December 2018, and that it knew no later than 12 March 2019 that he was acting for NASUWT members at the school. It accepted that he arranged and attended union meetings and later spoke on behalf of members, but it found that the respondent had already been considering dismissal for performance and relationship reasons. The tribunal found that the decision to dismiss had been made by 5 February 2019, before the later March union activity.

The tribunal held that Mr Hughes had not proved that union membership or union activities were the reason, or principal reason, for dismissal. It accepted that union activity formed part of the background and was in the respondent's thought processes, but not at the forefront of the decision. The tribunal instead found that the principal reasons were the breakdown in the working relationship between the Headmaster and the claimant and concerns about his performance in the deputy head role. The appeal panel later upheld the dismissal on the same basis. The claim was dismissed and no remedy was awarded.