News | Education

Nursery teacher banned from speaking Polish at work awarded £7,000

 
Tim Stewart
23 October 2013

A nursery school teacher who was banned from speaking Polish at work has won a £7,000 payout for harassment.

Barbara Jurga, 56, complained that deputy head Lisa Howes branded her native tongue “one of those weird languages”.

Married mother-of-four Mrs Jurga said some of the children in her class were Polish, for whom English was a second language.

She said their parents spoke to her in Polish and asked her to help their children by using the language when necessary. But Ms Howes banned her from speaking any Polish — even to colleagues when on her break.

Mrs Jurga complained in vain to Nuala and Neil Todd, owners of Lavendale Montessori nursery school in Woodside Park, north London.

When Mrs Jurga quit and brought a tribunal claim, retired Metropolitan Police senior detective Mr Todd sent her “intimidating” letters.

A panel at Watford employment tribunal found the school guilty of race discrimination, harassment and victimisation. The school agreed to pay Mrs Jurga £7,000 in compensation for injury to feelings.

Mrs Jurga, of Burnt Oak, is originally from Poznan, Poland. She settled in the UK in 1991 and joined the school in 2009.

She complained to the Todds in 2011 that Ms Howes had instructed her: “No Polish language to be spoken in the nursery.”

Ms Howes told the tribunal she considered it “rude and exclusionary” for staff to speak to each other in Polish during breaks.

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But Mrs Jurga insisted it was a “fundamental right” of staff to use their preferred language in their free time away from the classroom.

After her complaints were ignored, Mrs Jurga resigned in May 2012 and brought a race discrimination claim. Mr Todd, 60, then wrote to her saying staff would attend the tribunal and prove her allegations to be “false and vindictive”.

Mr Todd told the tribunal: “I wrote it because it became ever more clear what Mrs Jurga was after, namely to get a few pounds at the cost of the nursery by abusing the tribunal system.”

In a second letter, in November 2012, Mr Todd objected to Mrs Jurga contacting witnesses who might support her case.

The panel ruled it was “entirely reasonable” for Mrs Jurga to object to being banned from speaking Polish in appropriate circumstances. Ruling on Mr Todd’s letters, the panel found: “It has to be remembered when considering this that Mr Todd is not unfamiliar with the legal process.Anyone can approach a witness. It is likely, we suspect, that Mr Todd knew this too.”

It ruled that his “totally disproportionate” attempt to put her off her legal action amounted to victimisation.

Mrs Jurga, who now works at another nursery school, said: “I feel that finally justice has been done.” The school declined to comment on the judgment.