BA/MOD sued for discrimation against single mother

Burnt

MoD to compensate female soldier for discrimination

A tribunal is considering how much the MoD must pay a female soldier after she won her case
against the Army for sexual and racial discrimination. Tilern DeBique, 28, was disciplined after not
appearing on parade because she had to look after her daughter. She was told the Army was
"unsuitable for a single mother who couldn't sort out her childcare arrangements".

The corporal could be paid up to £100,000 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated
damages. The judge who ruled on the MoD's appeal called it an unusual case, because Cpl DeBique
was a Foreign and Commonwealth soldier serving in the British Army, as well as being a single
mother.

Her daughter was initially cared for by her family in St Vincent. She then brought her child back to
England, and asked if a relative could come to the UK to help with childcare - but was told
immigration rules did not allow it.

Late for parade
The corporal missed work when her child was ill, and was late for parade, resulting in disciplinary
action. Her commanding officer told Cpl Debique she was expected to be available for duty at any time.

The MoD said Cpl Debique was offered an alternative job, but left.
The tribunal criticised the Army for not helping to make childcare arrangements. The MoD says
serving personnel who are parents are responsible for childcare arrangements so that they can fulfil
all their Army duties.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the military will be studying the case to see what
they have to do better under the law with regard to single parents. The Army will have to look very
carefully at what they are asking single parents to do, she added.

The compensation hearing continues.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8616866.stm

FYI

the_syco

Burnt wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8616866.stm

FYI

I wonder what the soldier intends to do with the child when the soldier has to go overseas into a hostile environment?

concussion

Hmmm...

Morlar

The article doesn't seem to outline how this soldier was racially discriminated against.

"Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens have access to the same levels of Army welfare support as their British counterparts."

Unless it's this part :

Her daughter was initially cared for by her family in St Vincent. She then brought her child to England, and asked if a relative could come to the UK to help with childcare - but was told immigration rules did not allow it.

______

This part made me scratch my head in puzzlement

Tilern DeBique, 28, was disciplined after not appearing on parade because she had to look after her daughter.

The corporal could be paid up to £100,000 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated damages.

airvan

No wonder a lot of Brits are wondering what their country is coming to. What next, a battlefield creche?

BigDuffman

There is somethign amiss with this entire situation. 100,000 over being disciplined for not going on parade.....that does not add up.

Who brings an action against the MOD for a (deserved) rap on the knuckles. Where was the racism? Either ridiculous reporting or theres more than meets the eye to this story.

She reached the rank of Cpl. in the BA so she obviously made it through long enough to develop a thick skin so a small slur unless she is financially motivated cant see the logic in it.

On the plus side I'd love to see RSMs running a creche or a DPM barney suit.

iceage

Quiet news day at the BBC I see. MoD probably got sticky with her about her inability to be in the right place at the right time, and she cutely retaliated with current employment legislation. :rolleyes:

Load of bollix. Question.. Where the kids dad and why isn't he looking after the it?

Zambia

I think the BA was fair enough by offering her another position.

For various jobs we all need a really good home support. Without it life is really tough but that is not the employers fault.

iceage

Agreed, seems they did try to accommadate her and she still couldn't sort herself after several verbal warnings.

But £100,000.00 FFS. Her Solicitors are having a laugh.

Manic Moran

The US equivalent was a single mother this year who missed movement to Afghanistan. In fairness, she did have a plan for her kid, it fell through at the last minute.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/ap/army-discharging-single-mom-who-refused-deployment-84154092.html

SAVANNAH, GA. — A single-mom soldier who says she refused to deploy to Afghanistan because she had no family able to care for her young son will be discharged from the military instead of facing a court-martial, the Army said Thursday

However:

The decision still carries consequences for Hutchinson. She is being demoted in rank to private and will lose benefits afforded to military service members and veterans, Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said.

Larson said the Army had evidence that Hutchinson, regardless of her family situation, would have resisted deploying "by any means." He said commanders decided a court-martial would be too disruptive to the Army, requiring soldiers now in Afghanistan to return to the U.S. to testify.

"This case wasn't about a soldier having to choose between her duty to the nation and her family," Larson said. "There is evidence both from Pvt. Hutchinson and her fellow soldiers to indicate she had no intentions of deploying.

NTM

iceage

Seems that Cpl Debique walked though, as in on her ticket, signed off. Then took an action against the MoD.

Local-womanizer

iceage wrote: »

Seems that Cpl Debique walked though, as in on her ticket, signed off. Then took an action against the MoD.

That will be taken as constructive dismissal I'd say. An over-reaction by the Army,I mean it was an unforseen event,the child taking ill.

As for the compensation,it is high,but its not uncommon for people to be looking for these sums of money. I'd say she would just receive her lost earnings,its pretty hard to rule whether injury to feelings resulted from the Army's actions!

The court won't consider the situation with the father either,at the end of the day that is her current situation. She will get something I'd say.

Zambia

iceage wrote: »

Agreed, seems they did try to accommadate her and she still couldn't sort herself after several verbal warnings.
.

Here is the huge between the lines thing.

In every job I have ever done if a person is a solid worker and hits hard times.The company rally's and helps out that person. The only times I have seen the big stick come out is for consistant and crap quality of work.

They are also the hardest to get rid of because they spend more time looking up their rights at work , than doing their actual work.

iceage

Its a joke, anyone with two eyes can see it, A loophole has been exploited and they're (her solicitor) laughing all the way to the bank.

Manics case earlier indicates a more robust approach from the US forces legal dept. If there is reason to believe that, said individual is taking the preverbial piss well then...consequenses will follow. If there are mitigating circumstances well then all that can be done, will be done to facilitate to a point.

Tough but I have to say fair.

concussion

Transcription of the Judgment. Some interesting points brought up.

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/uk/cases/UKEAT/2009/0048_09_1210.html&query=Debique&method=boolean

iceage

Hmmm, seems 100K isn't enough though she wants more.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265738/Single-mother-line-100-000-MoD-payout-offered-posting-childcare-quit.html#comments

Try to drag yourtselfs away from the Catherine Zeta-Jones pics though guys.;)

Morlar

That is nuts. I prefer the american way of handling this kind of shakedown.

The picture emerged as it was revealed that Miss DeBique is claiming a staggering £500,000 compensation for the end of her Army career.

The 28-year-old won her landmark employment tribunal case after arguing that she was forced to choose between a military career and caring for her daughter Tahlia, now four.

She also won a claim of race discrimination because Army chiefs did not let her bring her half-sister from the Caribbean, where Miss DeBique was recruited, to look after her child.

Her victory left senior officers facing the nightmare task of having to consider soldiers' childcare problems before giving them orders.

But yesterday the former lance-corporal admitted rejecting a five-year posting to a base which had facilities to look after her daughter. Miss DeBique admitted turning down a five-year posting to Blandford Army Camp in Dorset, which would have provided the care she had needed for her little girl.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265738/Single-mother-line-100-000-MoD-payout-offered-posting-childcare-quit.html#comments#ixzz0l4MxHeQ2

It wasn't me!

How is it race discrimation? I wouldn't expect to have my family members brought along anywhere to take care of a sprog. That just doesn't follow.

Local-womanizer

I have had a quick scan through the case,I will look over it in detail later on.

Its a strange one really. She is a serving British Solider from the Commonwealth,yet she is not allowed to have a family member assist her as they are non-nationals! Thats never going to sit well with a Judge to be fair.

Not only that,of the small section I have read the Army totally ignored fair procedures! She was called to a "meeting" which in fact turned out to be a disaplinary hearing. Every person is entitled to be given adequate notice of such hearings. Its natural justice.

But, it only seems as if it cetain people that have discriminated against her,namely Maj Sykes, saying the army is not suitible for single mothers who cant sort out child-care arrangements.

I cant understand the conclsion,the Army did try to make provisions for her,albeit it meant a different posting,which is common in military life. They should have,however,sought to change the immigration policy or got an exemption,then they would'ent be in this mess.

airvan

In every job I have ever done if a person is a solid worker and hits hard times.The company rally's and helps out that person. The only times I have seen the big stick come out is for consistant and crap quality of work.

That I think is where the problem lies. Invariably in these situations we only see the tip of the iceberg. While it's entirely possible she was a solid worker who did her best to match the army's needs with her own needs. It's entirely likely she has been a thorn in her superior's side for some time.

If you've ever worked in any job you will be familiar with these people. The barrack room lawyer, the lazy sod who knows their rights. The person who does as little as possible, if often late and rings in sick often. Famiilar?

When they do get fired they often resort to court. It's typical I'm afraid.

SIRREX

In the Irish Army she would have been able to take a day of "Force Majour" leave. This was brought in when it became part of EU law. Basically, if you are looking after a family member, or are in "Loco Parentis" of anyone else, and are unable to attend work due to an unforeseen occurrence (sickness etc), you can take a maximum of 2 days at a time and 3 days maximum in, I think, 2 years

iceage

If she was in the Irish Army she would have been on Turbridy by now, had a kiss n tell best seller on the shelves as to how she was was verbally abused, received sexual advances and stripped of her femininity. :rolleyes:

Morlar

iceage wrote: »

If she was in the Irish Army she would have been on Turbridy by now, had a kiss n tell best seller on the shelves as to how she was was verbally abused, received sexual advances and stripped of her femininity. :rolleyes:

She'd have been tripping up over the bleeding hearts throwing themselves at her feet.

Seems she didn't get the £1,000,000.00 she was after and got £17,000.00 instead :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8625446.stm


Single-mother soldier gets thousands from MoD

Tilern DeBique was disciplined after being late for parade

A single-mother soldier who won a discrimination case against the Ministry of Defence has been awarded £17,016 by an employment tribunal.

Tilern DeBique, 28, from Tooting, south London, was disciplined after not appearing on parade because she had to look after her daughter.

The tribunal agreed that Cpl DeBique, who has since left the Army, had suffered race and sex discrimination.

The MoD said it "noted the award made" and wished Ms DeBique the best.

She was not awarded any compensation for loss of earnings because the tribunal felt she had not done enough to find a new job since leaving the Army.

Treated differently

The MoD had argued personnel were responsible for organising childcare.

But panel chairman Jeremy Gordon said Ms DeBique had not been treated "on a level playing field" with the other soldiers.

The former corporal, who is from the Caribbean island of St Vincent, had reportedly been seeking £1m compensation.

The tribunal had heard that Cpl DeBique, who joined 10 Signal Regiment in March 2001, had expressed an interest in other military positions before leaving the Army in 2008, including two in Afghanistan.
Tilern DeBique
Ms DeBique is currently unemployed

A judge who ruled on a separate MoD appeal called it an unusual case, because Cpl DeBique was a Foreign and Commonwealth soldier serving in the British army, as well as being a single mother.

Her daughter was initially cared for by her family on the Caribbean island of St Vincent. She then brought her child to England, and asked if a relative could come to the UK to help with childcare - but was told immigration rules did not allow it.

The corporal missed work when her child was ill, and was late for parade, resulting in disciplinary action in 2007.

The tribunal criticised the Army for not helping to make childcare arrangements.

At an earlier hearing, the tribunal heard that Ms DeBique had been told by a senior officer that the British Army was "a war-fighting machine unsuitable for a single mother who couldn't sort out her childcare arrangements".

Mr Gordon called the immigration rules that stopped Ms DeBique's sister from permanently moving to the UK to help with childcare "discriminatory".

He said if an exception had been made, she would have been able to keep her job. He said the rules also negatively affected other foreign and Commonwealth soldiers.


She had lost faith in the Army and also lost hope in the system
Jeremy Gordon

"We found that such an exception would have put foreign and Commonwealth soldiers, and particularly the complainant, on a level playing field with soldiers with families who have the right of abode in the UK."

The hearing learned that Ms DeBique had found it difficult to leave the Army and had to see a psychiatrist and take anti-depressants.

Mr Gordon said: "To the complainant, it appeared from the way she was being dealt with that the Army no longer wanted her in service."

But he said she had made a "mistake" by turning down an alternative role at her regiment's base in Blandford, Dorset, where childcare facilities were available.

He said: "She had lost faith in the Army and also lost hope in the system."

The tribunal heard that Ms DeBique, who refused to speak to the media after the hearing, was currently unemployed.

After the compensation amount was announced, a MoD spokesman said: "We have noted the award made by the employment tribunal and we wish Tilern Debique the best for the future."