Unfair dismissal claims were made against the railway conductor, who said that pubs would reopen after lockdown because he could not live in an “alcohol free caliphate” to beat Covid.
Jeremy Sleath was 63 years old and self-described a’secularist’. He was fired after he posted on Facebook that he believed Britain should not follow the Islamic State’s prohibition of alcohol.
This week, a tribunal found that West Midlands Trains had not followed proper procedures when firing him because of gross misconduct following a racism complaint.
Geraldine Flood, an employment judge, dismissed the claims of Flood that his freedom to speak was violated. She called her post “reckless”.
Jeremy Sleath, 63 was a self-declared secular atheist’ and was fired after a post he posted on Facebook in July 2020, in which he claimed that Britain should not follow the Islamic State’s prohibition against drinking. He wrote: ‘Thank f*** our pubs open up today. “We can’t let our life be like a Muslim, alcohol-free caliphate to defeat Covid-19.
An arbitrator ruled that West Midlands Trains had not followed proper procedure in firing Mr. West Midlands Trains for gross misconduct following a racist complaint. (file pic: West Midlands Railway train, Birmingham).
She acknowledged the harsh decision to dismiss him, but she claimed it was reasonable for her to conclude that his job was racist.
She stated that she took action regarding the post (including firing the claimant), to ensure its employees were safe.
She ruled that he had been unfairly fired because of the way the railroad handled the appeals process.
In July 2020, Mr Sleath made the comment via his Facebook account.
He wrote: ‘Thank f*** our pubs open up today.
“We must not allow our life to become something like a Muslim, alcohol-free caliphate in order to defeat Covid-19.
Mr. Sleath from Leamington Spa in Warwickshire told Birmingham’s employment tribunal that his secular, pluralist, atheist views’ are as significant as any’religious beliefs.
Later, he explained that he intended to write IS rather than caliphate.
The tribunal found that he had tagged the RMT union’s local branch in his post. This could have been a connection to his job.
Mr. Sleath from Leamington Spa in Warwickshire told Birmingham’s employment tribunal that his secular, pluralist, atheist views’ are as significant as any’religious beliefs.
The Birmingham tribunal said any compensation – to be determined at a later hearing – should be reduced by 60 per cent to reflect Mr Sleath’s ‘culpability in his own dismissal’.