Halesowen lecturer was wrongfully sacked after 'fabricated' claims he asked pupil out - tribunal

Kirk Wood, a lecturer in esports at Halesowen College in Dudley, was dismissed for gross misconduct in March last year after a 19-year-old student accused him of asking her out - one of a string of allegations levelled against Mr Wood which employment judge Robert Childe labelled "illogical, outlandish, contradictory and inconsistent".

In his written judgment, the judge concluded that Mr Wood had been wrongfully dismissed and ordered that the further and higher education college pay him £3,431 in compensation.

According to the judgment, the 19-year-old student made the allegations together with her boyfriend, in which they also accused Mr Wood of asking her whether she was sexually active with her boyfriend, of primarily speaking to female members of the class, of being passive-aggressive and sarcastic towards the pair when he found out they were dating and of consistently bringing up his sex and dating life.

The allegations, which the tribunal judge found to be "fabricated", were made via email in February 2023.

"I have accepted the claimant's submission that the allegations are illogical, outlandish, contradictory and inconsistent," Judge Childe said.

He also found that evidence provided by the students "was not tested" by the college but "simply taken at face value".

The tribunal heard that prior to those accusations, the female student disclosed information to Mr Wood, which led to the teacher recording a safeguarding concern on the college system.

Judge Childe said: "I find that it is more likely than not that (she) was unhappy that the claimant had raised safeguarding concerns about her, which the respondent (the college) had subsequently taken up with her family.

"I add to this the fact that (she) was known to be a student with challenging attitudes and behaviours and conclude that it is likely (she) was a student who would raise the allegations falsely as revenge for what she perceived to be the claimant interfering in her home life and also because he had not followed her instructions in class.

"(She) would have known that the allegations were potentially career-ending for the claimant as a teacher."

The judge also found there was motivation for her boyfriend not to tell the truth as the pair were together "and it is more likely than not that he was persuaded by her to go along with her story".

Two other students also supported the truth of the allegations and the judge concluded that they were part of the 19-year-old girl's friendship group and "got together to fabricate the allegations" to support her.

Judge Childe found the allegations were made up and therefore concluded Mr Wood "did not conduct himself in a manner which amounted to gross misconduct and justified summary dismissal".

According to the judgment, Mr Wood requested that four witnesses who supported his case be interviewed as part of the college's investigatory and disciplinary process, and also asked that relevant notes he recorded on the college's systems about the 19-year-old girl be provided.

But the tribunal found Halesowen College did not interview the witnesses or provide Mr Wood's requested information before dismissing him.

In March 2023, Mr Wood - who began teaching at Halesowen College in August 2022 - was "summarily dismissed" for gross misconduct.

He launched an appeal against the decision which was not upheld by the college.

At West Midlands Employment Tribunal, Mr Wood successfully claimed wrongful dismissal in relation to dismissal with no notice where it is not justifiable and in relation to dismissal in breach of a contractual disciplinary procedure.