Teacher who was caught sleeping at Princes William and Harry’s prep school was unfairly dismissed
A teacher who was caught sleeping at Princes William and Harry’s prep school was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal ruled.
Jason Smith, the head of religious education at Wetherby Preparatory School for Boys, insisted he dozed off because he had eaten a “big lunch” and told bosses he was not asleep and was instead a “deep thinker” who “closed his eyes in order to think”.
His 16-year career at Wetherby School was brought to an end after bosses said his absences and behaviour at school, including falling asleep, were having a “detrimental impact” on the £27,000-a-year establishment.
Mr Smith is now in line for compensation after successfully suing the prep school’s owners, Alpha Plus, for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal after an employment judge ruled he had been sacked “without being heard”.
The Notting Hill school, which describes itself as one of the most “sought-after prep schools” in London, educated the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex as well as Romeo and Cruz Beckham.
The tribunal in central London heard Mr Smith began working there in September 2006.
The teacher had a “glowing” record at the school and the results students achieved in his sets were “excellent”, the tribunal heard.
Mr Smith was described as being “passionate about the well-being of the boys” and a classroom observation of his students said their “enthusiasm was infectious” and the “learning atmosphere was excellent”.
“He has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the boys and is a caring, nurturing teacher who the boys respect,” one report said.
Anxiety and depression
In January 2020, the teacher suffered a “breakdown in his personal relationship” and was off sick intermittently for a total of 18 days in the first three months of the year.
He was referred to occupational health and the teacher was found to have an underlying condition of anxiety and depression, and suffered from poor sleep due to his mental health.
He was signed off work but returned to his job without notifying the school in September 2021, at which point he was not initially provided with a timetable or desk and no return-to-work meeting was held.
When asked by a colleague if he was OK, he said: “Yep, just slept badly and have no idea what I’m doing at the moment as regards to my job as I have no table, and feel like I have no purpose.”
‘Tearful at school’
Throughout that month, Mr Smith’s mood was “up and down” and the tribunal heard he was “tearful at school and complaining about his treatment by management in the staff room”.
The school said his mood was “volatile and emotional” and parents had complained about his treatment of the students, the tribunal heard.
The school said that on two occasions, he was found “asleep”.
An occupational health report advised that Mr Smith was “not fit for full hours or duties at present” and a phased return to work was recommended.
‘Only resting his eyes’
The teacher returned to work in January 2022 but the following month, it was reported by two members of staff that he had fallen asleep in class.
When this was put to him, he said this was not true and that he was “only resting his eyes”.
In March 2022, the teacher was invited to an investigation meeting where he was told that “falling asleep in class was unacceptable and this was not the only occasion”.
The tribunal said Mr Smith gave “various excuses”.
‘Deep thinker’
“He said he was a deep thinker and closed his eyes in order to think, and he was not leading the lesson. And he said he had a big lunch,” the tribunal said.
In the following days, staff members reported “concerns” over Mr Smith and said he was “being too harsh on the boys”.
An investigation report found Mr Smith had been asleep for approximately 10 minutes during a lesson in February 2022 and that he had previously fallen asleep on three occasions in that academic year in front of boys or staff.
It discussed his failure to follow absence protocol when he had failed to call in sick properly and said that “parents pay high fees and expect proper teacher cover”.
‘Detrimental impact on the school’
In July 2022, Mr Smith was sacked on “grounds of ill health”.
He was told that “despite the best efforts of all concerned, your continued absence is having a detrimental impact on the school and the children, and your behaviour when in school falls below the standard expected of an employee of Alpha Plus”.
But Employment Judge Tamara Lewis said Mr Smith was “dismissed without being heard”.
She said: “He had had no opportunity to comment on the investigation report.
“These matters arose in consequence of [Mr Smith’s] disability. His absence record was almost entirely due to his disability.
‘Low mood and anxiety’
“His failure to report absence in time or at all until chased up was due to his low mood and anxiety as well as the effects of his medication.
“The unpredictable temperament was a reference to mood swings and tearfulness caused by [his] disability and anxiety about how he was being treated at work as a result.
“Sleeping at work was also clearly due to the medication and sleep disruption caused by his anxiety.
“We understand that [Mr Smith] had no self-awareness that he was sleeping at work.”
Mr Smith’s claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination were upheld.
Other claims were dismissed.
A remedy hearing to decide his compensation will be held later this year.
