I was sat in a school hall on a dark and damp November evening, waiting to take my children home from football training, when the email arrived sacking me with immediate effect. Almost three years later, with the help of UNISON, case law has been changed, I’ve had an ‘out-of-court’ settlement and I can finally tell my story.
I wasn’t working for P & O or another company notorious for bad employment practices. I had a permanent job, head of membership and policy, for the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), I thought a reputable third sector organisation. My mistake was to ask permission to stand as a candidate in the snap general election that Boris Johnson called for December 2019.
For many, the election call was out of the blue and there was a rush to find candidates. When I asked the SFHA chief executive if I could stand in my home constituency of Argyll and Bute, I was told to choose between my job and being a candidate. This wasn’t a safe seat, there was a very small chance I’d win, and the family relied on my income. I had little choice and withdrew my name from the selection process. That should have been the end of the matter, but Sally Thomas, the SFHA chief executive, had already taken legal advice on how to get rid of me.
This was deeply unfair. I had spent six challenging months at SFHA. I worked hard building the policy team, developing plans and trying to improve practices, and representing our members, the many housing associations across Scotland. I had received positive feedback and praise for the quality of my work. In my dealings with the chief executive, I had been open, honest and supportive. Unfortunately, in my view, this wasn’t reciprocated.
I was still in a probationary period and I imagine Thomas clicked that she had completely failed to follow her own procedures, so she employed the first of three lots of legal advisers and sought advice on how to dismiss me for asking to be a candidate. It was pretty clear to me that Thomas had woefully failed to follow her internal procedures but, nevertheless, within five weeks, I was dismissed and told over email I wasn’t allowed back to work, to collect my things, or say goodbye to colleagues.
I’ve been a trade union member for over 20 years and since my first job. I’ve been on the marches and provided active solidarity to other trade unionists standing up for themselves over that period, but this was the first time I needed help. Losing my job overnight, feeling powerless to stop it and shocked by the injustice, was like being punched in the stomach.
I didn’t know how to challenge the way I had been treated. In the UK, you normally need two years continuous service before you can challenge an unfair dismissal in a tribunal. But with help from UNISON and Thompsons, we lodged a case under the Equality Act. These types of claims can be brought by dismissed employees with any length of service.
One of my arguments was that I had been dismissed because of my philosophical belief that “those with the relevant skills, ability and passion should participate in the democratic process”, and that this was discrimination. Basically, in a democracy, how can it be right that employers get first pick of who can – and who cannot – stand for election, and only after that do we get to choose who to vote for?
Three tribunal appearances and three long years later, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has determined that my belief in participatory democracy is protected by equality laws. This goes beyond protecting us from employers that may treat you unfairly or dismiss you for asking to be a candidate in an election. It protects us from employers that want to restrict much broader political activity outside work as well, whether that’s campaigning, or simply being involved in a political party.
The point of law was won and rather than have the full facts of the case heard at another tribunal, SFHA wanted to settle out-of-court. They offered £10,000* and repeatedly pressed for a gagging clause, but I would not settle on those terms. I suspect that knowing another hearing wasn’t going to be pretty for them, they eventually dropped the requirement and I can now tell my story.
You may be reading this thinking, as I did, that this could never happen to you. Perhaps you work for a charity or a third sector organisation, with a strong set of organisational principles or values. Maybe you have a senior role, as I did, and proximity to the chief executive makes you feel important and needed, far from sackable. The reality is that the UK has some of the weakest employment law in Europe, and there are huge costs to pursue a case through the courts.
A fantastic values statement in the organisational manual is no protection from a bad boss at all. Your friends at work may be sympathetic when things go wrong, but a bad employer can make everyone afraid to speak up and scared for their own job security. In my case, UNISON provided me with the means to challenge an injustice after it happened. Nevertheless, I still got sacked. My advice is not only to join a union but make sure you have local reps, one of you, in each workplace. Don’t let all the responsibility fall on one person’s shoulders, share the work between you. Get trained, get organised. That, I think, is how trade unions work best, building strength in the workplace is how we are better able to stop shoddy employers carrying out injustices in the first place. It doesn’t always work, but it is our best bet.
* The financial settlement from the case has been donated in full to Living Rent, Refuweegee, and UNISON’s There for You fund to help UNISON’s members who need financial support.
Read more
https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23050654.i-sacked-wanted-become-scottish-labour-mp/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/judgment-allows-civil-servants-to-stand-as-mp-c7w22jhxn
Polly Jones 