A dinner lady who was sacked for mentioning a bullying incident to a child's parents has won her unfair dismissal case.
Carol Hill, 60, witnessed seven-year-old Chloe David being tied to a fence and whipped with a skipping rope by four children at Great Tey primary school near Colchester in Essex.
Assuming the school had reported the incident to the child's parents, Mrs Hill later mentioned it to them. Chloe's parents had been informed by the school that their daughter had suffered the rope burns on her wrist and whip marks on her legs in a 'minor accident', with no mention of the bullying.
Headteacher Debbie Crabb initially suspended Mrs Hill, who was then sacked three months later, accused of breaching confidentiality and bringing the school into disrepute.
Yesterday's employment tribunal ruled Mrs Hill was unfairly dismissed. There will be a further hearing to decide whether she should be reinstated in her job, and how much compensation she should receive.
The relieved mum-of-two told reporters she had 'cried and couldn't stop' after winning the case.
She added that she hoped to return to her old job: ''I have been cleared, so I will happily walk back in. It's not like my path crossed with the headteacher's all that much anyway.'
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