Cathy Boardman v BIMM Ltd
Lecturer alleges unfair dismissal on the basis of sex and belief discrimination
Cathy Boardman, ex-lecturer in cultural studies at the BIMM Music Institute, alleges she was unfairly dismissed by her employer on the grounds of sex and belief discrimination.
During a lecture, Cathy asked students to consider their thoughts on contemporary drag; if it can be offensive or regarded as 'womanface' in comparison to early 20-century ‘blackface’ performance.
Despite no complaints being made, Cathy alleges she was informed by Principal Nick Donovan that there was a social media campaign targeting her - which included threats of violence. Cathy alleges Nick went on to tell her that BIMM would not support her.
Cathy continued to lecture until May 2022 when she was dismissed. The reasons BIMM gave were that she had inappropriately expressed her views in lectures, and that she had raised a concern about safeguarding with the deputy of the team, rather than the lead.
Crowdfunder - https://crowdjustice.com/case/support-lecturers-in-education/…
Status
We listened in to the preliminary hearing (PH) for this tribunal on 21 November 2022. Cathy was represented in the PH by barrister Naomi Cunningham. BIMM were represented by Jane Russell.
The following was agreed at the preliminary hearing: both parties will have a one day face-to-face judicial mediation the full hearing has been scheduled for [8] days in July 2024 to accommodate up to 10 witnesses. Witnesses bought by the claimant (Cathy) will include a student who BIMM claimed Cathy was a safeguarding risk to. Other witnesses will be the BIMM principal Nick Donovan.
UPDATE: On 28th September 2023, Cathy announced she had reached a settlement with her previous employer.
Live Tweeting
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Abbreviations
CB - Cathy Boardman
BIMM - British & Irish Modern Music Institute
PH - Preliminary hearing
NC - Naomi Cunningham, barrister for Cathy Boardman
JR - Jane Russell, barrister for BIMM
Press Coverage
Here are links to a selection of relevant press coverage about Cathy's case. These links are included without comment and are not endorsed by Tribunal Tweets. This is a sample of coverage only, with most recent first - it is not comprehensive. Please DM our main Twitter account to submit coverage from an established news outlet. Any paywalled article must be archived.
1 Nov
Music Teacher - Lecturer takes BIMM to tribunal over 'unfair dismissal'
15 Oct 2022
[Podcast] Julie Bindel's podcast & writing - Cathy Boardman: another inconvenient truth