Paul Embery: Pro-Brexit fire union official unfairly sacked, tribunal finds

A firefighter was unfairly dismissed from his union job after speaking at a pro-Brexit rally in Westminster, an employment tribunal has found.

Paul Embery was also barred from being a Fire Brigades Union (FBU) official for two years after appearing at the Leave Means Leave rally in March 2019.

Norwich Employment Tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed after a "witch hunt" with a pre-determined outcome.

But it found Mr Embery was not dismissed for supporting Brexit itself.

The FBU said it was disappointed with the findings and that it was assessing its options.

Mr Embery, a prominent left-leaning political activist and writer, was employed by the London Fire Brigade but released to conduct union duties as a full-time regional official in the capital between 2008 and 2019.

Over a three-day hearing in February the union argued Mr Embery displayed gross misconduct in his role.

This was because, it claimed, he did not exempt FBU officials from criticism during his speech at the rally and went against the union's anti-Brexit policy.

Mr Embery called for Brexit to go ahead, without a deal if necessary, during the 29 March event, which was held on the day the UK was due to leave the European Union.

'Stay relevant'

The tribunal heard there had been regular disagreements between Mr Embery and FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack over the issue of Brexit. Mr Embery was warned of reprisals and at one point accused of siding with the far right.

The conflict appeared to come to a head as Mr Embery planned to attend the Leave Means Leave rally in Parliament Square.

Before the rally, the tribunal heard Mr Embery was told by FBU President Ian Murray that he should not attend as a speaker and that to do so could breach the union's policy against Brexit, which passed in 2016.

Mr Murray was also said to have suggested it could contravene a statement prohibiting FBU officials from campaigning with political opponents during the referendum campaign.

Mr Embery believed Mr Murray was wrong, and that the policy had lapsed once the referendum was held, the tribunal was told.

The activist was introduced at the rally as an organiser of Trade Unions Against the European Union and used a speech to describe a battle to defend the principle of democracy, after a majority voted to leave the EU in June 2016.

Mr Embery said in the speech that the "message to the leaders of my movement is, if you want to stay relevant, then it's about time you put yourself on the side of the people over the establishment and big business, and you better do that damn quickly".

Other speakers at the rally included Nigel Farage, Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice and then Labour MP Kate Hoey.

Nigel Farage and then Labour MP Kate Hoey also appeared at the Leave Means Leave rally

Two weeks later, the FBU launched an internal investigation which found Mr Embery had gone against the union's anti-Brexit policy and appeared alongside individuals "with whom there should be no shared platform".

The investigation found Mr Embery had acted in a way that was "prejudicial to the interests of the union" and had failed to make a specific exception for the FBU when, it said, he criticised those in the movement who continued to oppose Brexit.

The tribunal heard that, as a result, Mr Embery was removed from office for gross misconduct and was subsequently barred from standing as a union official for two years.

In a written judgement, Employment Judge Robin Postle said Mr Embery's removal from office amounted to unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

He said the finding of gross misconduct "was not a reasonable response that a reasonable employer would or should make on the history of the claimant's campaigning with the open knowledge of the union".

The tribunal agreed with Mr Embery that the 2016 anti-Brexit policy did not apply at the time of the rally in 2019 because the referendum effectively made it irrelevant.

It also said that the transcript of Mr Embery's speech showed there was no mention of his role within the FBU.

The judgement added: "Where is the gross misconduct? How could any fair minded member come to a reasonable belief on the facts that the claimant had committed any form of misconduct?"

'Fishing exercise'

The judge said it appeared "right from the start... there was an agenda" to remove Mr Embery from his FBU role.

Part of the union's investigation looked like a "witch hunt, a fishing exercise" with its outcome "pre-determined", he added.

The FBU, which was represented at the tribunal by Oliver Segal QC, had also argued Mr Embery was not an employee of the FBU but was on full-time release from his job as a firefighter to the union as an elected representative.

Mr Embery, who represented himself, said that for 11 years between 2008 and 2019, being a full-time union official, working at least 42 hours a week, was the only job he had known. He began his career as a firefighter in London in 1997.

The tribunal found Mr Embery "worked full time for the union in return for substantial remuneration" of around £7,000 on top of his normal firefighter's salary, which the union reimbursed.

While the tribunal agreed Mr Embery's pro-Brexit stance was "well advanced, argued and long held" and a protected philosophical belief in national independence under the Equality Act 2010, it found it was not the reason for his dismissal.

In a statement, Mr Embery described the judgement as "emphatic".

He said: "While I am glad that, after two years, justice has finally been served, I take no pleasure in the outcome. It was an honour to serve as an FBU official for 20 years, and I remain to this day a proud member of the union."

An FBU spokesperson said: "We are disappointed with the findings and we do not agree with the decision. However, we have only recently received it and are still considering the matter. We are assessing our options for next steps."