A teacher who was wrongly dismissed from his school after being accused of sexually touching students “for fun” will be awarded almost £45,000 in compensation.
“In a potentially career-ending case, the investigation must be as complete as possible. It was far from that. “The school accepted the youngest students’ statements without challenge or inquiry and dismissed them, ignored them or avoided finding evidence to the contrary,” employment judge Martha Street said on Monday, according to The Telegraph.
Jonathan Hawker, who taught mathematics and computer science at a girls’ school in Plymouth, southwest England, was dismissed for serious misconduct in February 2022 after being suspended in June 2021 for allegedly massaging the thighs and shoulders of certain students.
One of them, 13 or 14 years old, is said to have testified that she “felt really uncomfortable” when the teacher “massaged her shoulders and stroked her arm,” the panel responsible for the testimony heard. A decision, according to the British newspaper.
However, a month after the teacher’s suspension, two senior students reportedly said they heard the group of young accusers bragging about trying to get the teacher fired “because it was fun,” according to The Telegraph”.
Nevertheless, the panel responsible for making decisions during his disciplinary hearing chose to terminate the teacher’s contract based on “wholly inadequate” conclusions, the court ruled this week.
At the same time, a police investigation ended with charges against the teacher being dropped a month after he was fired, without him being able to appeal the school’s decision.
Without ruling on the teacher’s guilt, the court ruled that the school’s investigation had been botched and awarded him compensation equal to his annual salary, or £44,868 – almost $75,000 – in damages.
“If he is innocent and a playground attack can end his career and destroy his reputation, his school does not provide a safe working environment for its employees, particularly its male employees,” the court would have estimated.