A Fife teacher who was unfairly sacked after his bosses went on a “fishing exercise” when he was accused of an assault has won an £11,000 employment tribunal.
David Love was sacked from his job at Duloch Primary School by Fife Council in June 2023.
He had initially been suspended from work after he was arrested and charged with assaulting a teenager – not related to his job – in October 2022.
However, this case was dropped by prosecutors in December that year.
Mr Love argued his dismissal was both “procedurally and substantively unfair” at the tribunal in Edinburgh and sought reinstatement as a primary teacher.
An employment judge has now ordered Fife Council to reinstate Mr Love and pay him compensation for loss of earnings.
Fife Council went on ‘fishing exercise’ after Duloch Primary teacher suspended
Mr Love, who has been a primary school teacher since 2005, was suspended from his £47,556 per year job on October 6 2022 after informing Duloch Primary head teacher – Lorna Spence – of the police probe.
The tribunal heard that while suspended, Mr Love attended a Christmas night out with fellow teachers.
Following this, a council employee who was the investigating officer for Mr Love’s case, named only in the papers as Ms Masterson, engaged in a “fishing exercise” to find out if colleagues held any concerns about him.
During this, she spoke to five members of staff who had attended the Christmas event, some of whom passed on claims they had been told by a third party.
Tribunal judge Amanda Jones said in her ruling that Ms Masterson “did not take reasonable steps to investigate the allegation against the claimant”.
Council approach in teacher probe ‘fundamentally unfair’
The ruling said: “She did not contact the procurator fiscal to see whether any
information could be provided by them.
“She did not contact the police at that stage to determine whether any information could be provided in relation to the allegation specifically.”
Instead, the Fife Council official “focused her investigation on what had been said by and to staff at the Christmas night out and conducted a fishing expedition to identify any concerns the claimant’s colleagues might have in relation to him”.
The judge said this approach was “fundamentally unfair”.
More allegations against Fife teacher
Later in the investigation, Shelagh McLean – the head of education and children’s services at Fife Council – wrote to Mr Love claiming “further information” had come to light as part of the probe.
The allegations included that:
- On October 25 2022, a teenager had reported him to the police in relation to a historical allegation of assault
- On unknown dates in June/July 2012, he was alleged to have assaulted another adult
- On an unknown date in 2014, he was alleged to have threatened young children outside his home with a knife
An interview then took place between investigating officer Ms Masterson and Mr Love, in which he was asked about these claims without any further information in advance.
The tribunal found Mr Love was not aware that the historical allegation had been made against him.
In a letter to head teacher Mrs Spence, Mr Love said his accusers were “trying to ruin him”.
He also said the school had been informed about the 2012 assault allegation at the time.
Judge Ms Jones found the council’s probe had been “fundamentally flawed” by focusing on “issues which were not the subject of allegations against (Mr Love), such as his relationship with staff in the school”.
She said the claims put to him were “inaccurate, exaggerated and misleading”.
Ms McLean wrote to Mr Love on June 30 to sack him for gross misconduct.
Despite knowing he had not been convicted of the October 2022 assault, she wrote: “I consider that your description of this incident constitutes an assault as you inflicted physical harm or unwanted physical contact.”
Her letter to Mr Love added: “I have found that as a result of the assault, you are unsuitable to carry out the duties of your post, notwithstanding the lack of conviction.”
The tribunal judge said it was “surprising” Fife Council had appointed Ms Masterson as the investigator in a potentially career-ending case given she had only just completed her training in the role.
The judge was also surprised Ms McLean had put herself forward as nominated officer to deal with the case given her involvement in suspending Mr Love and drafting additional allegations against him.
Fife Council’s lack of care ‘astonishing’
The judge wrote: “In the view of the tribunal, it resulted in (Shelagh McLean) forming a negative view of (Mr Love) at an early stage which became fixed and… she did not, therefore, approach the disciplinary hearing with an open mind.”
Judge Ms Jones also said it was “astonishing” Fife Council had taken so little care over the framing of the allegations, which “contributed to the confusion in what (Mr Love) was actually accused of doing and when”.
The tribunal concluded the allegations had been signed off by Ms McLean without fact-checking because she had “already formed a view of the claimant’s guilt”.
The judge also raised concerns about why the investigation had not begun until three months after the assault allegation.
The tribunal found Mr Love was unfairly dismissed and ordered Fife Council to pay him £11,694 – the difference in lost pay between his school job and another role he picked up after his dismissal.
The tribunal also ordered the council to reinstate Mr Love to the role of primary school teacher from the start of this week (August 19) – saying it was satisfied the local authority could find a job for him at one of its schools.
However, Mr Love is subject of a temporary restriction order from the General Teaching Council for Scotland, pending the conclusion of a probe by the watchdog into his fitness to teach.
It has not been confirmed whether Mr Love has returned to his job.
Fife Council declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
Eileen Rowand, executive director for finance and corporate services, said: “As a responsible employer, we don’t discuss the individual circumstances of any current or former employees.”
Mr Love declined to comment when contacted by The Courier.
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