A senior firefighter who was disciplined after a female colleague was subject to a ‘longstanding campaign’ of offensive comments by bosses has lost an unfair dismissal case.
Simon Bailey, who was previously praised for his bravery, was issued a written warning in July 2023 by a tribunal after he oversaw an ‘openly sexist’ workplace environment which included failing to challenge staff who used the term ‘fireman‘ instead of ‘firefighter’.
The 27-year veteran of Avon and Somerset Fire Service was disciplined after his colleague Sasha Acheson complained about the behaviour of her peers in 2021.
The former England Women’s rugby player claimed she was ‘belittled’ and targeted by her superiors Crew Manager Dean Davies and Mr Bailey, who was Watch Manager at her station.
Avon Fire and Rescue admitted to ‘persistent sexual derogatory and offensive comments’ towards or about women – which created an ‘openly and over sexist and discriminatory workplace environment’.
Part of her complaint included the term ‘fireman’ being ‘used frequently’ by her co-workers at the station, despite the terminology being ‘outdated’.
Ms Acheson, who is gay, won claims of sex discrimination, constructive dismissal, sex harassment, victimisation and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation. She would receive a payout of more than £52,000.
She claimed that when she took her concerns to her manager he was ‘shell-shocked’ by her complaint and ‘mildly aggressive’ in tone. Mr Bailey was given a final written warning in July 2023, but was not demoted.
Mr Bailey, who had previously received a letter of commendation from his bosses, said he had been left feeling ‘humiliated’ by the proceedings.
After taking time off work on sick leave, he resigned from his role as Watch Manager in September 2023 and launched an unfair dismissal case against the service claiming constructive dismissal.
But he has now lost his claim, after an employment tribunal ruled his bosses had been ‘reasonable’ to reprimand him for his lack of action following Ms Acheson’s complaint.
Simon Bailey (pictured), 58, was handed a warning after failing to challenge colleagues for using the term ‘fireman’
The disciplinary probe came after a female firefighter Sasha Acheson (pictured) claimed she experienced sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation at the same station
Ms Acheson complained about the behaviour of her colleagues in July 2021, with part of the issue being their continued use of the word ‘fireman’.
She claimed she challenged peers when it was used ‘with a smile’ or a ‘groan’, and on one occasion, a firefighter responded: ‘I will stop saying fireman when they stop specifically recruiting only firewomen’.
She added that a crew manager had ‘treated her like a probie [someone on probation], not respected her, belittled her and put her down’.
In a separate incident, Ms Acheson alleged women were called ‘snakes with tits’ by staff.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service would later admit male colleagues ‘openly and frequently made openly sexist comments with managers joining in and even starting the banter’.
In May 2021, CM Davies told colleagues he and Ms Acheson had watched porn together, had a ‘bonding moment’ and so were at ‘next level’ whilst moving ‘uncomfortably close’ by putting his arm around her – inferring an intimate relationship.
The Bristol tribunal ruled this was ‘clearly sexual harassment’.
In July 2021, when discussing a new female recruit, CM Davies asked ‘is she fit?’.
It was heard bosses were heard discussing a female firefighter said ‘yeah she’s been in the gym, she should have been in the kitchen working up a sweat instead’ – which the tribunal found ‘simply reflects straightforwardly [the] sexist assumption that a woman’s place was in the kitchen’.
During an investigative interview, Mr Bailey said that the term fireman was used ‘quite commonly, rightly or wrongly’.
‘I’m old-fashioned. I don’t use it, but I don’t see a problem. It’s pretty obvious to me that that term should not be used anymore,’ he said.
He admitted that he never challenged anyone for saying fireman rather than firefighter – but claimed he might have joked ‘you can’t say that’.
He said the language at the station ‘[was] not squeaky clean all the time’, but he believed it to be ‘respectful’.
Simon Bailey pictured with Sasha Acheson in their fire service uniforms at a charity event
When asked about comments, one of his colleagues said: ‘[They are] not malicious. There is banter with everyone.
‘When there are girls there – someone might make a joke, who is doing the dishes?’
A probe into the incident later found Mr Bailey should have challenged his crew members about using the term ‘fireman’ instead of ‘firefighter’.
In December 2021, Ms Acheson went on sick leave and did not return until her employment tribunal ended in May 2022.
She won her sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation case, and received a payout of over ÂŁ52,000.
Mr Bailey later received a written warning for failing to confront his colleagues, and suffered a downward mental spiral as a result. He eventually left the force.
Mr Bailey worked for Avon Fire & Rescue Service between October 1996 until his resignation in September 2023.
He was promoted to Crew Manager in 2007, and by 2013 he had been promoted to Watch Manager B – a senior position which assists in the management of the station.
Part of this role meant he managed conduct and performance problems within the station.
During Ms Acheson’s tribunal, he accepted ‘in hindsight’ the use of the term had the ‘potential to cause offence’.
‘I have spent 25 years in AF&RS, and I joined just after the transition from fireman to firefighter had taken place. Yet, since joining, the term ‘fireman’ has been endemic,’ he said.
‘It is embedded, not only in the fire service, but in society generally.’
Ms Acheson (pictured playing for England Women in 2014) won ÂŁ52,000 in compensation after it was found her crew manager had made offensive comments to her
In July 2023, he was given a 12-month final written warning but not demoted following a disciplinary hearing.
After the warning, he took time off sick as he felt he had been ‘humiliated’ by the proceedings and resigned in September 2023.
He later took the case to an employment tribunal in February 2024 in Bristol, where it was judged that he had not been unfairly dismissed.
Employment Judge Richard Woodhead found the sanction the hero firefighter had been given was ‘reasonable’.
Employment Judge Richard Woodhead said: ‘[Mr Bailey] did not challenge the use of this term when he heard it.
‘I do not consider it a serious matter that the term ‘Fireman’ continued to be used on occasion on [Mr Bailey’s] watch.
‘As some of those interviewed said, it might be used by accident. I can see nothing problematic about the term being used to refer to a male firefighter.
‘It was not sustainable for [Mr Bailey] to have asserted that he did not hear demeaning comments or that language used on his watch was respectful when it is clear that jokes that were demeaning and stereotyped women were made on the Watch for which he was responsible.
‘It is not probable that, when he conceded that there were jokey comments that were not squeaky clean, [Mr Bailey] was not referring to the jokes that played on old fashioned stereotypes based on sex, as recorded in Mrs Martin’s report and as reported by members of his watch.
‘[Mr Bailey] clearly knew that there was such a culture.
‘It is clear to me that, in imposing the sanction that it did on [Mr Bailey], the Fire Service did not act in a way calculated to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence with [Mr Bailey].’
