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Primary School Teacher Sacked for Refusing to Take Covid Tests and Wear a Face Mask Loses Discrimination Legal Battle

by Will Jones
28 October 2023 3:00 PM

A primary school teacher who claimed she was discriminated against by her school after being told to take Covid tests and wear a face mask during the pandemic has lost her legal battle. The Mail has the story.

Ijeomi Onyebalu refused to comply with the school’s policies of testing twice a week and covering her face – reasoning that it was a “personal choice” that didn’t require any justification.

Despite pleas from the headteacher for her to “pull together” with other members of staff for the safety of students, “uncooperative” Ms. Onyebalu once again refused, an employment tribunal has heard.

Judge Benjimin Burgher dismissed Ms. Onyebalu’s claims of unlawful discrimination and concluded she had “disregarded anyone but herself” in her decision not to take Covid tests or wear a mask.

The tribunal, held in east London, heard Ms. Onyebalu started working at Gascoigne Primary School, in Barking, London, in November 2015.

The primary school had decided to follow Government guidance by suggesting face masks be worn and staff take tests twice a week upon their return in March 2021.

Teachers were notified in December 2020 about these measures and told while testing was “voluntary”, they were “expected” to do it.

Between June 2020 and March 2021, Ms. Onyebalu attended school without testing, wearing a mask or a face covering and failed to provide a specific reason for not complying.

In September 2020, she wrote to headteacher Joanne Preston stating she was “exempt” from wearing a mask but that it was a “personal choice” that didn’t require justification.

In February 2021, Ms. Preston wrote to her saying “all colleagues should pull together and place our children and their education at the forefront”.

After insisting she wouldn’t conform to the school’s policy, Ms. Onyebalu was told not to return to work on March 8th.

In September 2021, she was invited to a disciplinary meeting for refusing to participate in asymptomatic testing or wear a mask and was subsequently handed a final written warning for 18 months.

In November, Ms Onyebalu resigned and took her claims of unlawful victimisation to the employment tribunal where they were dismissed. 

Worth reading in full.

Tags: COVID-19DiscriminationMandatory testingMask MandateSchoolTeaching

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40 Comments
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huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
1 year ago

I am absolutely baffled with this decision but perhaps that’s the intention.

Declaring oneself to be exempt from mask wearing was in itself sufficient. Testing was “expected” but voluntary and this teacher rightly said thanks but no thanks and then was issued with a final written warning. Why? On the face of it she had done nothing wrong but simply exercised personal choices.

Given what we know now and notwithstanding what we knew at the time the “offences” were committed ie that masks don’t work and the tests are fraudulent, the tribunal decision smacks of wilful and egregious malice.

This simply does not add up.

Last edited 1 year ago by huxleypiggles
344
-1
AynRandyAndy
AynRandyAndy
1 year ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Arithmetic is racist in today’s progressive, go-ahead, educational establishments.

Last edited 1 year ago by AynRandyAndy
67
0
wokeman
wokeman
1 year ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Don’t be baffled the judiciary is totally bent.

175
0
Epi
Epi
1 year ago
Reply to  wokeman

Exactly another sign that the judiciary is bought and paid for by the deep state.

32
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 year ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Yes it’s criminal, the law is an ass-hat and this lady has found out the hard way. What she should have done though, and I didn’t click on the article to read it fully, is do her due diligence around all of the evidence that clearly shows these tests are inaccurate and unnecessary, how ineffective masks are, the myth around ‘asymptomatic transmission’, and all of the rest of the stuff we’ve talked about ad nauseam on here. Maybe if she’d gone in armed with all of the evidence it would have worked in her favour and bolstered her chances of winning her case, because she would actually have had facts backed with data on her side.
I think if she just stated ”personal choice” that was insufficient rationale because you really want to give them proper evidence so they can shove that in their pipes and smoke it. Then the onus would be on them to provide the scientific rationale as to why a perfectly healthy person needs to perform regular useless tests and cover their face every day, like a performing monkey or a brainless drone.
I don’t think teachers in Sweden were testing or wearing masks and I don’t think they were dropping like flies.

95
0
Bettina
Bettina
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

I think she would have been whistling in the wind regardless. The IQ of these apparatchiks in Employment Tribunals is pretty low. They just toe the party line. Look at Baroness (joke) Hallett in the Covid Inquiry farce.

77
0
BurlingtonBertie
BurlingtonBertie
1 year ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

As both testing & mask wearing are NPIs ie a medical intervention one has the right under article 6 of the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics & Human Rights to decline a medical intervention without any negative consequences or loss.

Medical interventions also require valid informed consent. For consent to be valid there must be no coercion or pressure to accept the intervention. She was unable to give valid informed consent & rightly chose not to be bullied into submitting to medical interventions.

Maybe taking this approach on the consent angle & a breach of her human rights would have been more fruitful than claiming victimisation which is subjective?

84
0
wokeman
wokeman
1 year ago

A COVID dissident is as likely to get justice in the UK in 2023 as a Jew was in a property dispute in Germany in 1937, or a White famer trying to retain their property rights in Mugabe’s Zim. The message from the state is clear, even when totally supported by evidence and the law the judge in any case will not rule favourably. The UK is now a banana republic without the bananas.

249
-1
FerdIII
FerdIII
1 year ago
Reply to  wokeman

Indeed as someone who was and is unstabbinated and never wore, and never will wear a face anus wrap, I made yellow stars from clothe and affixed them to my clothing. Nothing like being the new Jew.

Fake tests – if you don’t take them you are criminalised.

Anus wraps on your ugly face – they are unhealthy and stop nothing, but if you don’t wrap up you are a mortal threat to the idiots who are 5 x stabbinated. Yeah that makes flocking sense to me. Magic flying viruses and all that bullshit.

134
-1
wokeman
wokeman
1 year ago
Reply to  FerdIII

Very funny post 😂

38
-2
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 year ago

Judge Benjimin Burgher needs to be put on trial.

156
-2
wokeman
wokeman
1 year ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

He’ll get a gong of some sort for this decision.

63
-1
FerdIII
FerdIII
1 year ago
Reply to  wokeman

Or become a Dame or a Sir (depends on his daily pronoun choice).

61
-1
Jon Smith
Jon Smith
1 year ago

They couldn’t possibly set a precedence with a successful case because of the next “pandemic” that we “will” be having..

59
0
Cameron
Cameron
1 year ago

Looks like she might have benefitted from having a lawyer in this case

80
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago

The testing was pointless as were the masks. The only purpose of both was to maintain a sense of ‘danger’. This means the overall intention was not based on any known science, but on controlling and manipulating people. This is not medicine and is not OK and will never be OK.

129
0
Baldrick
Baldrick
1 year ago

Assuming she wasn’t teaching surgery (unlikely in a primary School), then why would she need to wear a mask? That is the purpose of things like surgical masks- to protect the surgeon from blood splatter.

90
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Baldrick

I still have a packet of unused masks and as well as the Chinese writing and red star it has several descriptions and instructions including (with my emphasis):

“The face covering is suitable for adults and is not recommended for children.

“The is not personal protection equipment (PPE) or a medical device (MD) under EU law.”

67
0
Baldrick
Baldrick
1 year ago
Reply to  sskinner

To stop a virus you need something gasmask like with hepa filters on. Even then no 100% gurantee. Even better – a space suit with a air feed as they use in virology institutes. But even that doesn’t seem to work that well by the sound of it.

45
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Baldrick

Have you seen any of Stephen Petty’s videos on the non effectiveness of masks? In case you haven’t here is one where he presents to a Senate hearing over a year ago. Has this been picked up by any journalist?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dnkbKoj4A&t=701s
Stephen Petty – On the effectiveness of masks

31
0
Baldrick
Baldrick
1 year ago
Reply to  sskinner

Worth watching the whole lot. Shame you can’t see the print-out of the slides.

15
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Baldrick

I came across this although Google seems to put it way down the list of other items on this topic.

Face Mask Weave.jpg
32
0
Bettina
Bettina
1 year ago
Reply to  sskinner

Thanks for that image – photo now on my phone for the inevitable ‘discussion’ with friends when masks are once again required.

11
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Bettina

Here is the image of the packaging with the relevant wording and notice the slip inside with CCP red star. All that money paid out to China for masks that the WHO asserted were necessary. We also paid out vast sums of public money for people not to work while many complained that the NHS was starved of funding. I had several fruitless arguments with individuals that seemed to think switching off the economy was necessary to save the NHS.

Face Mask with highlights.jpg
3
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Bettina

Out of interest even the N95 masks have a weave that is larger than the size of the Wuhan Flu virus. In the video above Stephen Petty explains that it is very difficult to control airborne viruses and the knowledge about how it’s done has been around for over 70 years. Watch from 14:00 onwards.

6
0
DevonBlueBoy
DevonBlueBoy
1 year ago
Reply to  sskinner

Nice one 👍

7
0
Nearhorburian
Nearhorburian
1 year ago

Can she appeal on the grounds that she’s black and the judge isn’t?

40
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
1 year ago

I don’t suppose this lady will read these comments, but in case she does, I can only express my gratitude and admiration that she stuck to her guns in the face of losing her job.

63
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
1 year ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

Nice one tof.

2
0
mariawarmth
mariawarmth
1 year ago

This is a terrible authoritarian ruling by this judge.
I was not as brave as this lady and whilst refusing to wear a mask on the basis that our SEN youngsters need to see our face!! Because i said it was essential for their social emotional communication development and human visual support.
Due to the fear induced on the children I had to wear a visa because they believed we were diseased! this is a crime against young people, judge that!!!
Staff were concerned when I was not vaccinated but I did not tell many and definitely not children because some were terrified of covid.
This judge in my view with his ruling is potentially now completely complicit to these crimes against our young.
But I wonder, is this on purpose to lay the rules ahead of the case for the headteacher who was the only one to say NO for his school. Are the judiciary up to no good… you bet they are.
I hope she appeals and good luck to the headteacher.

50
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 year ago

Crikey, was anyone in London today? This is only a ‘small’ section of the protest so there must have been hundreds of thousands in attendance going by this footage. What a time to be a British Jew, eh? Knowing this is who you’re rubbing shoulders with on the Tube. 🙁

https://twitter.com/hahussain/status/1718326169232117946

25
-6
Nearhorburian
Nearhorburian
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

Why are they referred to as “British Jews” rather than “Jewish Britons”?

12
-1
Tyrbiter
Tyrbiter
1 year ago
Reply to  Nearhorburian

Presumably because of the race vs religion dichotomy.

0
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

Well this Saudi guy doesn’t mince his words, and he tells us exactly why no Arab countries will let Palestinians in. *Spoiler*- He flipping hates Palestinians. ( 3mins )

https://twitter.com/Imamofpeace/status/1718357352515023181

12
-1
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

When the Hamas started their recent atrocities I began getting YouTubes of Hamas footage in Arabic. It was horrific and so I translated a few of the comments which all seemed to be celebratory. Here is one which shows the type of frightening mindset that is sadly typical.
“What the West does not understand is that we Muslims are not afraid of death in war, and we consider it a testimony and the reason for our entry into Paradise, and this is what made a small group of resistance destabilize a large army. Israelis, Americans, and Europeans fear death in a very, very terrifying way, and it is their nightmare. So they will find resistance waiting for them. The death of one Israeli or American soldier is considered the death of a thousand soldiers. Greetings to Palestine, the heroes from Morocco. As for us, the world is worth nothing, and the evidence is the Egyptian soldier and policeman who killed the Israelis and the soldier’s martyrdom. The evidence is that the Palestinians enter among the Israeli tanks without fear. If I had found a way to join the resistance and fight for the sake of God, I would have gone with all joy and happiness.”

What do the following selections have in common?
9/11
The Bataclan
Charlie Hebdo
Nice
Madrid
Berlin
London Bridge (twice)
Westminster Bridge
7/7
Hartlepool
Rotherham
Samuel Paty

1
0
Bettina
Bettina
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

I was across the road near Westminster Abbey, parked by Vincent Square most of yesterday – didn’t see any demonstrators. They must have been very concentrated in one small area.

4
0
Bettina
Bettina
1 year ago

Just read some of the comments under that DM article – so depressing to see the sheeple baa-ing in print and getting hundreds of upticks.

13
0
RTSC
RTSC
1 year ago

If something is “expected but voluntary” then, by definition, it isn’t compulsory and shouldn’t be enforced.

The Headteacher seems to have a problem understanding English.

18
0
sskinner
sskinner
1 year ago

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within”  ― Ariel Durant

4
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
1 year ago

I agree with the teacher. The whole episode of hoax virus has been proven. The law is an ass.

5
0

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