Woman in 'fight' at school staff party loses tribunal against sacking

A NURSERY class nurse saw her claim that she was unfairly dismissed from a primary school following an incident after a staff Christmas party rejected by a panel of employment judges this evening (Thursday).

Nicola Hearne was fired from Carlton Primary School in Grafton Road, Gospel Oak, for gross misconduct after she and another member of staff were involved in what was described as a "violent and serious" fight.

She argued that the school did not investigate the full details of the incident which different witnesses claimed involved hair-pulling, wrestling to the ground and a punch to the face. Ms Hearne suggested she would have been vindicated if headteacher Jacquie Phelan had collected accounts from more people.

Ms Hearne told the tribunal that she had been the victim and had only acted in self-defence following the lively staff party at the Holiday Inn hotel in Bloomsbury - partly funded by the governors in an attempt to boost staff morale - in December 2008.

Ms Hearne said she had suffered a black eye and a split lip during the clash which happened in the street while party-goers searched for ways to get home. The other woman, learning mentor Philippa Heath-Philpotts, blamed Ms Hearne for provoking the incident and said she threw just one punch, again only out of self defence. Ms Heath-Philpotts suffered a swelling to her face and a scratch to her arm, the tribunal was told.

Ms Hearne insisted she was never "out of control" and had not drunk excessive amounts of alcohol like other guests at the party had, although she said under provocation she had told Ms Heath-Philpotts to "bring it on". Ms Hearne told the tribunal this could not be described as "continual goading as has been suggested".

Later, she punched a wall in frustration but said: "It didn't harm anybody" and it was just a way "to release her anger". She later reported the incident to the police and Ms Phelan. No criminal case was pursued against either woman - Ms Heath-Philpotts also lodged a complaint with police - and both blamed the other for the incident.

School bosses and governors said different witness accounts made it hard to work out who started the dispute or who landed the first blow. Ms Heath-Philpotts lost her own tribunal against unfair dismissal last November. The incident had been kept under wraps until the claims were launched.

 

See Thursday's New Journal for more.