So recently I got fired for not wanting to work with a paedophile and apparently I was being discriminatory. So here’s a little background and what happened (I’ll try to keep it brief)…
I had been working for this company for about 3/4 years. They work all over the country (United Kingdom) at different venues and events. But I was mainly based at one particular football stadium and rarely worked elsewhere. I was a casual worker but a supervisor who would get regular work.
Recently, a contracted employee of theirs was the subject of an article due to him appearing in court. This article revealed at Crown Court back in 2017 he was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and the notification requirements of the sex offenders' register. This conviction was for possessing indecent images of children. So since I begun without knowing I was working with a paedophile. As soon as the article was released they were notified by some employees and he was swiftly suspended pending investigation. However a few weeks later he was reinstated and that was the day I was fired…
So what happened on the day I was fired? I walked into the office as I normally do to collect my paperwork and speak to my manager about other things. Before I left I told my manager I did not want to work closely or directly with this individual even if it meant I lost hours of work (bear in mind a lot of people express their desire to not work with others so it’s nothing new). She asked why and is there a particular reason. I told her she’s seen the article and due to his previous conviction. To which I was given a scripted reason as to why he was allowed to work for them. The conversation ended with her telling me that she’ll try to accommodate that for any of her events and venue but ultimately if he was needed then my preference could not be accommodated, which is understandable and I accepted. That was that, I’d let her know my preference and went about doing my job. A couple hours later I was called to the office by her manager and that’s where it all ended for me. I was told what I had said was discrimination and they had zero tolerance for it. He said I had no evidence for my claims, I did not know the whole story and that was the end of the line for me. He said more but that was the main bits. I believe I was used as an example to others not to say anything about the situation. It was a relief to me and I wasn’t upset as I wanted to leave for awhile. Don’t get me wrong I’m a bit salty it ended the way it did. The funny thing is after I was fired people started asking questions from the football club and eventually found out about the article which led to a investigation being opened. A couple weeks later the company was told by the football club that they didn’t want the individual working on their site ever again. I got some joy from hearing this news.
My question to you is, do you think that was discriminatory behaviour?