A High Court judge has ruled that evangelical Christian Enoch Burke was lawfully suspended from his teaching position at Wilson's Hospital secondary school.
Mr Justice Owens' was giving his decision in the action between the school and Mr Burke over its decision to commence disciplinary proceedings against and suspend the teacher on full pay in August 2022. There were serious concerns expressed about how Mr Burke might act towards the student in question as well as the student body, and he had a case to answer to the school's board, the judge said.
"Locked out" employees, the judge said, are not entitled to "sit in," and cannot return until an employer accepts resumption of the worker's services as part of an employment relationship. Mr Burke, who denied any wrongdoing, and had brought a counterclaim claiming that the disciplinary proceedings against him after he voiced his objections to a direction by the school to refer to a student at the school by a different name and pronoun, are unlawful and in breach of his rights.