Axed high school swimming coach claims unfair dismissal

A swimming coach who was let go from his position after an extremely successful season has taken his former employer – the Anglican Church Grammar School – to the FWC for unfair dismissal.

Off the back of a 2024 season that included 15 gold, 10 silver, and nine bronze medals at the Queensland swimming championships, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) swimming coach Richard Sleight and assistant coach Liam Smith were let go.

The famed “Churchie” high school, located in East Brisbane, decided at the culmination of the 2024 season to outsource its swimming operations, as the local swim club, Rackley, has taken over the program for 2025.

Sleight, who began his coaching tenure with Churchie in late 2023, pushed the program to its best results ever at both the national and state levels. According to SwimSwam, three of Churchies’ swimmers earned national honours – representing Australia at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

“I loved my job at Churchie and was proud to lead an exceptional group of students and athletes to the school’s most successful swim program results,” said Sleight.

“The decision to outsource the program came out of the blue and is not supported by the vast majority of the swim team. The decision to remove me is devastating as elite swim coaching is a highly-skilled, small field.”

According to The Courier Mail, Sleight’s employment came shortly after turmoil struck the school and the swimming department. Before Sleight’s tenure, former coach Benjamin Allen was sacked after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl back in 2022.

The swimmers and parents who soon got to know Sleight praised him as “exactly what the club needed” at the time of his hiring. Gabrielle Pattison, mother of talented swimmer Thomas Pattison, argued that the decision “jeopardised the futures of swimmers with such high potential”.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves, knowing you’ve ruined such a beautiful thing … To think that we will never cheer as a Churchie crew again has brought many tears to my eyes. It feels like I am grieving the death of a family member,” said Pattison in an open letter acquired by The Courier Mail.

HR Leader spoke to Patrick Turner, a principal lawyer with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, who will be representing Sleight.

“Sleight is one of Australia’s leading swimming coaches for young athletes who was poached from St Peters Lutheran College in late 2023 and given a five-year contract. He experienced immediate success, leading Churchie’s strong performance at state and national swim titles in 2024,” Turner said.

It’s reported that through the FWC, Sleight seeks to be paid out for his five-year contract, which wasn’t due to expire until late 2028.

“The school did not consult with Sleight at all about the decision to make his role redundant or provide Sleight any meaningful opportunity to change its mind. Nor did Churchie attempt to redeploy Sleight,” Turner said.

“Churchie holds itself out as a community leader that instils empathy and respect in its students. Our client has not been treated consistently with those values at all. We have begun legal proceedings against the school and will be seeking justice for Sleight.”

HR Leader reached out to Churchie high school for a statement but was unable to receive a response.