Teacher facing assault charges delays unfair dismissal matter

A private school teacher due to stand trial for the alleged assault of children asked that his unfair dismissal application be put on hold.

Jamie Richards was granted a stay of the Fair Work proceedings against All Saints Greek Orthodox Grammar (ASGOG) pending the outcome of a criminal trial for the alleged common assault of three children at the school and other events in November 2023.

According to his lawyer, Richards entered a plea of not guilty.

Richards was terminated in May, six months after charges were laid, his Working with Children’s Check (WCC) was barred, and the NSW Education Standards Authority suspended his accreditation.

He told Fair Work that if his unfair dismissal application is determined before the trial can take place next April, it will put him in the “incredibly unfair position” of arguing his case “without the critical underlying facts that led to his dismissal being determined”.

If he is found not guilty at the criminal trial, Richards submitted that it was likely his WCC would be reinstated and the reasons ASGOG relied on to terminate him earlier this year would no longer apply.

ASGOG disputed this, telling Fair Work the assumption a not guilty finding would result in the reinstatement of the WCC “was not only heroic but incorrect” because it remains “entirely conceivable” the Office of the Children’s Guardian would uphold the bar.

The Sydney private school added his argument did not consider the apprehended personal violence order for the three children.

If he was found not guilty, ASGOG said, it would still “need to determine for itself whether dismissal was appropriate and, if not, whether reinstatement was practicable having regard to a range of matters, including the nature of evidence given in the criminal [trial]”.

While deputy president Thomas Roberts accepted the outcome of the unfair dismissal proceedings would “ultimately depend on a range of factors other than the outcome of the criminal proceedings”, he considered it would be fair to postpone the unfair dismissal matter.

If it went ahead, Roberts said evidence given during the Fair Work matter may be used against him in the criminal proceedings.

“I also think it likely that there would be a substantial and direct overlap in the factual material that would be relevant to the determination of both matters,” Roberts said.

The stay was granted until April next year or, if the criminal matter is resolved earlier, at a date to be agreed between the parties.