What a 15-month legal battle taught me about recruitment…

In summer 2021 I had a call from an SBL telling me about an allegation re one of my temp candidates.  There was an allegation involving one of my temp candidates.

I won’t go into the details, but after a thorough investigation, I made a tough decision: I couldn’t offer her any more work.

It felt like an unfortunate but necessary call. We caught the issue before anything serious happened, and everyone moved on.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

What followed blindsided me.

Months later, I found myself facing an employment tribunal. The same temp was taking me to court for racial and religious discrimination.

I was completely floored. How had this happened? I’d followed the guidelines to the letter, yet here I was, swimming in legal documents, trying to understand the overwhelming complexity of it all.

Days were spent poring over endless paperwork, trying to figure out how to respond. I couldn’t shake the nagging question: Why me? I’d done everything right. Would the school lose confidence in me? How far could this go?

Worst of all, I felt like I was in trouble for something I hadn’t done.

This dragged on for 15 painful months—legal letters flying back and forth, my solicitor asking for every scrap of documentation, all while I was trying to keep my business afloat.

It consumed me. I resisted the urge to Google “racial discrimination court case outcomes,” but it was always lurking in the back of my mind.

Even as I write this, I can feel that weight again—like a heavy pressure on my chest.

The tribunal was scheduled for three days in London, smack in the middle of my busiest time of the year. Attend or settle out of court for £6,000.

She had no evidence. No legal representation. She didn’t even explain her reasoning.

But she was relentless. Tenacious. And 100% committed to her goal.

In the end, my insurance company settled, paying her £2,000. The school likely paid the same. It was cheaper than going to court.

Do I regret even knowing of her existence? Yep.

But I also begrudgingly respect her. She picked a path and pursued it all the way to the finish line.

There’s something to be said for that kind of focus and persistence.

And it reminds me of a story of determination with a much happier ending.

Out of the blue, I received a message from an SBL who told me:

“We bought into your recruitment strategy, and it's really working well to recruit to our support roles. We managed to recruit an excellent Exams Officer with transferable skills.”

This SBL was savvy. She’d reached out about recruiting for an Exams Officer position, but rather than pay my £5,100 fee, she invested £497 in my Proactively Appoint-Ed recruitment strategy and learned how to do it herself.

That’s £497 versus £5,100. Nicely done.

Proactively Appoint-Ed is a downloadable toolkit that guides you step-by-step through the entire recruitment process, showing you how to hire exceptional people quickly and efficiently—without the stress.

It was the foundation for the online course I’m launching in January.

Here’s the catch: Proactively Appoint-Ed is only available until 18th November 2024.

After that, it’s being retired as I shift focus to the new course. If you want a proven strategy to make your recruitment smoother and more effective, now’s the time to act.

And if you’re not quite ready to invest £1,997 in my full course Education Recruitment Made Easy, the Proactively Appoint-Ed toolkit is an absolute steal at £497.

It’s approx 3 supply days. Or 12% of my lowest permanent recruitment fee.

But unlike a temp, Proactively Appoint-Ed will pay for itself time and again, helping you avoid costly recruitment fees and the risk of hiring someone who isn’t quite right for the role.

From today, you’ve got less than five school weeks to grab it before it’s gone for good.

Ready to take control of your recruitment process?

You can buy the Proactively Appoint-Ed toolkit here:
Pro-actively Appointed Toolkit

It’s the strategy I use to help schools and MATs hire the talent they’ve been struggling to find.

And it’ll work for you too!