PROFESSORS WINS UNFAIR DISMISSAL CASE!

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

A 60 year old Professor, Dr Annette  Plaut who had worked at Exeter University in Britain has won her unfair dismissal case. 

The Tribunal found that she had been unfairly dismissed. They called for the University to award her 100,000 pounds in compensation.  The court declared it 'difficult to imagine the depth of humiliation, hurt, stress and worry for Plaut after she was suspended. Every aspect of her life and future was at risk and for no good reason ... The good things she had done over the years were given no weight.' 

However, the tribunal refused to order her reinstatement to her work on the grounds it was not feasible due to a hard line opposition within the Human Resources department as well as from some academics. They rejected the claims that she had been dismissed due to sexual and racial discrimination. But they backed up her claim that she had been victimized and suffered harassment. Exeter University declared it would challenge this verdict.

 

The Doctor, who had worked at the university for 29 years, had been issued with two warnings and then fired from her post in 2019. Under what pretext was Doctor Plaut dismissed? The university claimed she had offended two PhD students for shouting loudly at them and being boisterous and 'overbearing'. They stated "Over the years some colleagues and some students have found this somewhat overbearing despite telling her students and colleagues that 'she means nothing by it'. She had an argumentative and marmite character which alienated some people. The University were at pains to point out that her dismissal had nothing to do with the fact she was female and Jewish.

 

This is not how Doctor Plaut sees things. She believes "I have a natural loud voice. As such I have no ability to sense when I am speaking loudly".She claims that her loud voice is a perfectly natural and acceptable way to speak in the Middle East, in Eastern European Jewish circles and in New York and Germany. When she worked in New York and Germany her voice was not an issue. She claimed she was fired for being female and Jewish. She accused the University of being  'Institutionally unconsciously biased.' She stated that due to the stress of this case she has had to take medication to cut untold stress.

 

What are we to make of all this ? It sounds a bizarre case. The Doctor had worked at this University for 29 years ! One wonders why this wasn't an issue 29 ,20 or ten years ago? Why was she dismissed only a couple of years ago? One can hardly be forgiven for suspecting this conflict arose from some personal conflict rather than logical principles. The reasons for dismissal come across as 'too personal' as if suggesting some colleagues and students 'don't like her'. And should a teacher be fired for having a too argumentative style ? Is n't academic freedom based on arguments as well as discussion? Doctor Plaut claimed she is simply passionate about her subject.

 

Then they claim she speaks loudly sounding overbearing and boisterous. But should a teacher be fired for speaking loudly or shouting at students? This would mean that in Russian schools teachers would be fired en mass. And some teachers are actually fired on this 'pretext' when the real reason is 'personal'.  A Russian father who was a student of mine once told me he went to a primary school to meet a headmistress to complain about one school teacher who shouted at her daughter. He told the headmistress 'Could you ask the teacher to stop shouting loudly at my daughter as it upsets her?" The headmistress called the teacher to her office in front of the parents and asked "Can you promise not to shout at the pupils ?" The teacher answered "But it is not personal. I don't pick on this pupil. I shout at all my pupils ! " Whether this teacher was dismissed we will never know. In this case the head mistress felt sorry for the teacher so may have just left things as it was. But it does appear that people who talk loudly can often inadvertently alienate people. And they are unaware of this. For instance talking loudly in the Moscow Metro is frowned upon. I recall that when a colleague from San Francisco was speaking loudly the faces of the passengers were struck with horror. There was an unwritten rule that passengers should not speak loudly. When Jim Vail and I were once talking loudly in the kitchen in the morning at our mother in law's home in Moscow, a neighbor approached me to complain we were speaking too loudly.

 

It took me some time to get used to the fact that if an officer in the Army Cadets shouted loudly at you he meant no offence or aimed to humiliate you. I did not grasp this at first until my Aunt Betty told me "Those officers have no malice when they shout loudly. It is part of their job. When they are off duty they are very nice." That was the experience of my aunt and my own in the Army Cadet force. Most of the officers were kind  and helpful. It is therefore easy for someone with a loud voice to be misunderstood and misconstrued.

 

It is absurd that a teacher should be dismissed on spurious grounds like personal mannerisms such as her voice or even personal  delivery. Should a teacher be fired because some people simply don't like her or him? It seems a highly absurd reason but that is the reality that many teachers at university and schools face. Doctor Annette Plaut does not deserve such unpleasant treatment. Nobody does ! The court should have reinstated her to her post. By doing this the court would be sending a powerful message to school and universities that a teacher must not be dismissed for personal reasons such as  whether they are likable or not!  This petty office politics can not  be allowed to ruin the careers of passionate teachers. Doctor Annette Plaut deserves better!