A senior lecturer at the University of Derby, Russell Cherrington, has lost his appeal against his dismissal after an employment tribunal upheld the university’s decision to sack him over language described as “misogynistic”, “transphobic” and “divisive”.
Cherrington, who taught film studies at the university, had challenged his dismissal, arguing that his comments were protected under his right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
According to GB News on Thursday, the case arose after four students complained about his conduct while teaching on the university’s Film and High End TV programme.
According to the tribunal, the complaints came to light after the course recorded poor results in the National Student Survey.
The lecturer was suspended on December 18, 2023, before an investigation in 2024 found several instances of what was described as “gross misconduct.”
The employment tribunal found that Cherrington was misogynistic because he “only, or almost exclusively, referred to women in the class as ‘females’.”
It also found that he used “misogynistic” language while assessing a student’s music video by describing the lead actress as “not attractive enough for the role.”
Cherrington did not deny referring to female students as “females”, saying he used the term because he did not know their names. He also said he did not believe describing the actress as not being attractive enough for the role was harmful.
The tribunal further heard that Cherrington did not deny telling a student: “If you had worn that nail polish back in the day, you would have been called a p**f.”
He was also accused of using “transphobic” language by referring to “a student who was transitioning as a ‘troublesome trans kid’.”
Cherrington denied making that remark, but told the tribunal he had used the example of a transitioning student to illustrate that he would support any student regardless of background.
The lecturer also rejected allegations that he was “ableist” after he allegedly said universities were “becoming a care home for people with disabilities.”
Despite what the tribunal described as a “previously unblemished disciplinary record”, Cherrington was dismissed in April 2024 over what the university found to be “inappropriate and unprofessional language.”
At the disciplinary hearing, Cherrington submitted a list of eight students whom he said could “speak to his teaching and how he treated students.” However, they were not contacted because the professor leading the disciplinary panel “did not consider that he should weigh what might have been positive accounts of the appellant against the allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional language.”
After unsuccessfully challenging his dismissal before an employment tribunal in May, Cherrington appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, arguing that his “academic freedom of expression” had been infringed.
Employment Appeal Tribunal Judge Mr Justice Cavanagh dismissed the appeal, ruling that the European Convention on Human Rights does not “as a matter of course” have to be considered in every unfair dismissal case.
Rejecting Cherrington’s free speech arguments, the judge said: “The ET [employment tribunal] considered whether the appellant’s dismissal was in breach of the university’s freedom of speech obligations and decided that it was not.
“The ET was plainly well aware that the university had a duty to promote and protect freedom of speech for university employees.
“The appeal is dismissed.”
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