A recent case London Borough of Lambeth v Agoreyo came to the conclusion that the school’s decision to suspend a teacher prior to investigation did not amount to a breach of trust based on the fact that there was reasonable cause due to the allegations made.
In this case the teacher was suspected of using unreasonable force three times against two children in her Year 1 class who were classed as having challenging behaviour. The teacher was accused of ‘dragging’ a child out of the classroom and ‘carrying’ a child out of the classroom. Two instances had already been investigated by the headteacher and upon the third instance she was suspended.
When the teacher was suspended she immediately resigned and said that the suspension was unreasonable and not necessary in order for an investigation to be carried out. She claimed that it amounted to breach of trust and confidence between her and the school.
The courts all had varying decisions. The High Court had said it was a knee jerk reaction to suspend and that it had been the default position to suspend rather than exploring all other options and therefore that the breach of trust was implied. However, the Court of Appeal upheld the original decision. Their reasoning was that there was reasonable cause. They confirmed that the relationship that exists between an employer and employee requires both parties to act in a manner that is not likely to cause damage to the relationship and confidence unless reasonable cause exists. They said that each case would depend on the individual circumstances and should be considered on its own merit.
In this particular case, several allegations of serious misconduct in relation to safeguarding young children was valid, reasonable and proper cause. There was also not a breach of trust because they had reasonable cause. The court did advise though that each case should be considered independently and that suspension should not be a first port of call.
In terms of assessing a case the courts would likely consider:
- The seriousness of the allegations;
- The impact that the employee’s continued presence may have on an investigation; and
- The risk of harm to students and other staff.
Our approach would be that in the case of any issue that may have the potential for suspension, all options should be considered and fully documented before taking the decision to suspend and you should always get advice from your HR Consultant as soon as an issue is apparent. Once an allegation has been referred to the LADO and the school is in a position to investigate the matter, the employer should speak to the employee about what has occurred and ask them for a response as part of the allegations management and managing investigations process. Suspension should be as the ACAS Code of Practice states, as short as possible, and employers should confirm that it is not a disciplinary action but time to explore all information.
If you have any questions about suspensions or how to handle allegations or need a bank of document templates please contact one of the team on 01924 827869.
