In Ms Jen Nelson v Renfrewshire Council Ms Nelson, a former support for learning teacher at the school, lodged a complaint against her boss after an incident in 2021 in which she alleged the head teacher had pointed at her and said, “if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face”, adding “what we were discussing was confidential”.
The teacher first launched an internal grievance with Renfrewshire Council. The stage one process, however, found in favour of the head teacher, despite first hand witnesses confirming Ms Nelson’s account.
At stage two of the complaint, the initial investigator said: “I don’t believe the head teacher would have said those things”.
But at the employment tribunal, held in Glasgow in May, Judge Whitcombe said that statement confirmed bias in stage one of the grievance process. Stage two was deemed “inadequate”.
Ms Nelson took her case to tribunal after her complaint failed at stages one and two.
The court upheld several of Ms Nelson’s accusations.
While accepting the behaviour displayed by Ms Bowie was “a one-off”, “out of character” and not part of a wider pattern of behaviour, Judge Whitcombe said: “The tone of voice was angry, and the head teacher was pointing at the claimant…I therefore find the essential allegation proved.
“The claimant’s case in her grievance was that the head teacher’s conduct had been threatening, insensitive and aggressive. I find that it met all three aspects of that definition.”
Ms Bowie did not give evidence at the tribunal and the council did not call any witnesses to contradict the evidence of Ms Nelson and her witnesses.
Ms Nelson had resigned from her post in November 2022 following the failure of the stage two complaint, having lost faith in the process. She said there had been a “serious material breach” of contract and claimed for constructive dismissal.
However, the tribunal heard that because she had failed to proceed to stage three of the council’s complaints process that her bid for constructive dismissal was not valid.
Judge Whitcombe said Ms Nelson should have afforded her employer the opportunity to reestablish trust. He added: “The claimant was let down by processes intended to ensure that disputes are resolved at an early stage without needing to bring an employment tribunal claim.
“However, at the date of her resignation those internal processes had not been exhausted and the potential of the remaining stages was enough to mean that the relationship of trust and confidence had not been damaged sufficiently seriously to found a claim for constructive dismissal.”
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