Backlash is seeking donations to support a case before an employment tribunal which may establish an important protection for BDSM practitioners.
We are providing legal support to a former senior council employee. They were dismissed for engaging in private BDSM activity that had no relevance to their work. The grounds for dismissal involved evidence of occasional attendance of private BDSM clubs, and the taking of photographic images of private scenes. No conditions of employment were breached.
If the case is successful, a BDSM practitioner will be vindicated after being dismissed unfairly from their job. Moreover, a powerful precedent will be set that could protect thousands of workers in a variety of occupations.
Background
In 2011, Backlash was approached by an individual who had been questioned by police about their sexual activities following a complaint from a former partner. The partner provided a number of personal images of private BDSM scenes (they did not match any likely definitions of extreme images). The CPS declined to take any further action, and no criminal activity has since been alleged by the police. The former partner’s statements have proved to be very unreliable and appear to have been the result of the relationship breaking down, rather than any single case of actual abuse or criminal behaviour.
However, the individual held a Notifiable Occupation Scheme job as s social worker at a council. Notifiable Occupation Scheme jobs include airline pilots & maintenance staff, the Armed Forces, Care Workers, Chiropodists, Civil Servants, Magistrates, NHS, nuclear industry staff & contractors, Paramedics, Pharmacists, Police, Royal Mail staff, Social Workers, Solicitors, Taxi Drivers, Teachers, and Vets.
As a result, their employer, a local council, was notified. Having established that the employee had attended some fetish clubs (including Club Antichrist), the council decided to dismiss them on the grounds that participation in BDSM was a breach of their code of conduct.
Support from General Social Care Council
Following their dismissal, the former council employee was referred to the social work regulatory body, the General Social Care Council, to examine whether they remain fit to engage in social work. This is the equivalent body of the General Teaching Council or the General Medical Council, which decide who is licensed to teach or practice medicine.
The GSCC has just adjudicated this case. It concluded:
“An ex partner made allegations of violence against you to the police concerning participation at a small private BDSM club, which the police decided to take no further action following advice received from the Crown Prosecution Service.
The General Social Care Council (GSCC) has reviewed the information received from you and also information received from your employer and decided to take no further action because the allegations do not meet the threshold for misconduct and as such do not call into question your suitability to practice as a Social Worker.
The GSCC has made this decision because it considered the information related to matters concerning your private life outside of work which the GSCC determined are not in the public interest to proceed with.
The GSCC has further not identified any evidence of any risk presented to service users.”
This adjudication is itself a very helpful outcome. It means that the former employee is free to seek further employment in social work and that their private life has no bearing on their capacity to practise. But the battle is far from over.
Wrongful dismissal
The positive decision by the GSCC implies that participation in BDSM, so long as it is done with due discretion, is fully compatible with social care work. This calls into question the council’s decision to dismiss their employee on the grounds of misconduct in the first place.
Since this represents an important principle, with key practical implications for UK BDSMers, Backlash has decided to support this case of unfair dismissal before an employment tribunal. We need your support to fight this case. The London Alternative Market has kindly already pledged £1,000 to help provide representation. But legal costs could be as much as £10,000 and this is a potentially rare opportunity to show that BDSM practitioners have employment rights too.
Backlash is the only organisation with a track record of fighting and winning legal cases that protect the civil liberties of BDSM practitioners, as well as other sexual minorities. In 2010, we rescued one person by having some poorly founded charges dropped, and another individual charged on the basis of poor evidence. In January 2011, we helped form the defence of another person, accused of possessing extreme images, who was acquitted at trial.