May a worker be sacked for refusing to leave a spouse or partner convicted of unrelated criminal conduct to which the dismissed worker was not a party? That was precisely the issue in Pendleton v Derbyshire County Council & Anor (Religion or Belief Discrimination) [2016] UKEAT 0238 15 2903.
In short, Mrs Pendleton’s husband was headteacher of a local school. He was convicted of making indecent images of children and voyeurism and sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment. Though she had an exemplary disciplinary record and record of service, Mrs Pendleton was dismissed from her teaching post at another local school after she elected to remain with her husband after his conviction, even though no-one suggested that she had known of his activities prior to his arrest in January 2013.