Woman bullied by fellow teachers gets €35,000 in landmark case

A TEACHER forced to resign after being bullied by her colleagues for criticising the union, won a landmark ruling yesterday, when the Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled she was constructively dismissed.

The traumatised teacher, Patricia O’Shea from Ovens, Co Cork, said she encountered hostility from colleagues after criticising her union, ASTI, during a pay dispute two years ago. She was forced to resign her post at Mount Mercy College in Cork because of the harassment and bullying.

Mrs O’Shea, an English and music teacher who has since assumed a post at Bandon Grammar School, successfully sued the board of management of Mount Mercy under the Unfair Dismissals Act. The tribunal, in the first case involving a teacher being bullied by fellow teachers, ruled by a 2-1 majority decision that she was constructively dismissed. She was awarded damages of €35,000. Neither party commented on the findings.