London – A teacher at a Jewish nursery school in suburban London who said she was fired for living with her boyfriend won her case of religious and sexual discrimination.
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Zelda de Groen, 24, sued the Gan Menachem Nursery in Hendon after losing her job in July 2016. She had worked there for four years.
On Friday, the Watford Employment Tribunal said that de Groen’s experience with the school was “undoubtedly humiliating, degrading and offensive.” It dismissed the school’s claims that it was justified in firing her.
The tribunal will hold an additional hearing at an undetermined date to discuss compensation. In her lawsuit, de Groen had asked for more than $26,000.
The nursery for children under the age of 8 was described as “ultra-Orthodox” in court.
De Groen grew up in a haredi Orthodox home in Stamford Hill in London, but left “after many years of significant discontent.” She moved in with her boyfriend in April 2016. The couple married in July.
In May 2016, they were guests at a barbecue along with some school trustees and parents of pupils. During the event, it became known that the unmarried couple was living together. Some parents spoke to the school about their objections to de Groen’s living situation afterward, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
De Groen told the tribunal that school managers subjected her to a “humiliating” hourlong interview in which they said it was time for her to get married. She also described their tone as “threatening.”
“I was told that having kids outside of marriage is wrong and will not be tolerated. Their comments, and the personal nature of the meeting, were humiliating,” she also said.
De Groen told the tribunal that the nursery told her one solution to the issue would be for her to lie about her living situation.
Two days after the meeting, de Groen asked her managers for an apology but instead was given a letter notifying her of disciplinary proceedings. She was fired a month later.
Proud of those running the school for standing up for what’s right.
This is a scary precedent for all of us who have children in beis Yakov and yeshivas. We want our child’s teacher to be a role model as that’s part of our jewish education . These types of lawsuits are a real threat . All the more reason to vote republican so we have people that will respect our high values even if they lack values themselves
If she had her “significant discontent” about the Haredi lifestyles, why was she working in a frum school anyway?
The bum wants to have it both ways, and the liberals in “the Watford Employment Tribunal”, a kangaroo court, are happy to oblige.
shame the courts don’t understand the religious Jew and his/her understanding of education is not just what is taught, but how one acts in school and out.
She deserved to be fired and not to get any severance pay. She knew well what she was doing was not acceptable to the religious Jewish parents.
The school is wrong! This woman is not religious and should not have been fired? Do they require this of all their non Jewish teachers?No wonder she left being frum because “after many years of significant discontent.” This just proved her point
The school administrators are the biggest hypocrites, as are many on this site. In our own community, the tolerance of so-called “frum” pedophiles, sexual abusers, wife beaters, abusers of children, white collar theives, etc., goes unabated. In fact, every time one of those perverts is arrested and prosecuted, there are always those on this board, who cry out “anti-semitism”, and come to the aid of such wackos. Yet, they want to come down hard on this woman, who wasn’t bothering anyone. Her private life (which is not illegal), is nobody’s blasted business! Also, if she were a goy, the school would not have fired her.
Yeshivas in England take government funds, that’s the difference from American schools. So, the government can dictate certain laws. Since yeshivas in the U.S. don’t get government support, they have more independence.
LONDON ORTHODOX TEACHER FIRED,
Is this what you (VIN) calls orthodox?
While the school is a chabad run school it caters to many non religious parents. We aren’t talking a typical beis yaakov school. Majority of kids in this school aren’t frum and neither are the parents. To the commentator who said American yeshivos don’t get government funding. Show me one American yeshiva who doesn’t get government funding? While they aren’t fully funded because they are indeed a religious institution every yeshiva in the US takes and receives money from the government. I see no reason why this school should of fired her. Imagine a religious person teaching in a non frum school and they fired him/her because the person doesn’t celebrate secular holidays or go to church. Whatever the case is I am happy this women won.
To me she looks like a pretty decent role model and the principal must’ve felt the same way when she was hired. I know her family.
Let’s not forget “Dina Demalchisa Dina”.