Enniscorthy principal reinstated by tribunal

A school principal who resigned after an "orchestrated campaign" against her by staff is to be reinstated, following a decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

It found that Ms Rita Fitzgerald was constructively dismissed in "astonishing" circumstances last year from her job as principal of St Mary's CBS in Enniscorthy.

It said the manager of the school had subjected her to a type of "domestic terrorism" that should not be permitted within the workplace.

Ms Fitzgerald had been suspended by the school following a series of investigations, which the tribunal found to be defective, into alleged problems at the school.

These had their origin, the tribunal found, in a decision by the principal in 1998 to reprimand two teachers who she discovered were "double-jobbing" by working in another school when they had free classes.

Her action, which was correct, resulted in a revolt by virtually the whole teaching staff, the tribunal said.

The teachers subsequently alleged in writing that there was a serious crisis at the school and listed complaints concerning the principal's treatment of staff as well as other issues.

The complaints were "general in nature" and lacked the specificity that would enable a person to respond, the tribunal found.

"The conflict at the school certainly seems to have erupted around the time the two offending teachers had been chastised for working elsewhere," it said.

"The teachers took particular umbrage at being chastised by the principal. This umbrage, fuelled by dislike and hostility, exploded into a full-scale attack on the principal."

After the teachers' grievances were brought to the attention of the school's board of management, Ms Fitzgerald outlined to the board some of the difficulties she had faced.

One teacher who had signed memos against her had had 48 absences out of 167 days, she said. When she attempted to tackle such issues, staff threatened to withdraw voluntary duties and extracurricular activities.

"This not only highlights the lack of a proper management structure in secondary schools, but [also highlights] the severe difficulties in trying to do one's job as principal," she wrote in a letter to the board.

"The creative Dickens, who created the character of Mr Wackford Squeers, the Yorkshire schoolmaster in Nicholas Nickleby, could not have countenanced such mutinous behaviour against the principal," it said.

A subsequent series of investigations into Ms Fitzgerald's management, instigated by the school, had lacked fair and proper procedures, the tribunal said.