An employment tribunal has upheld the right of Immanuel College to fire a teacher for overfamiliarity with students and inappropriate conversations on a messaging platform.
Sarah Perlberg, head of French and an assistant head with a pastoral care remit, claimed she had been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by the Orthodox independent school in Bushey.
She was dismissed in spring 2024 after 15 years at the school.
Perlberg argued it would have been reasonable to remove her from her pastoral duties but the school should have allowed her to carry on teaching French.
But after a three-day hearing at Watford Employment Tribunal, the judge found in favour of the college.
In response, Immanuel head Dan Endlar said the college “prides itself in expert pastoral care delivered through strong working relationships between pupils and our compassionate staff.
“Rightly, there are statutory safeguarding responsibilities which place boundaries on these interactions, which we follow closely and without exception, as we have done in this case to protect our students.”
In 2020, Perlberg was runner-up in the PaJeS/Jewish News School Awards in the category of going “beyond the classroom” for her work in leading school trips abroad. The tribunal heard that she enjoyed an “excellent reputation” in the school for her results as a French teacher.
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