Yorkshire ready to justify sackings, with reports of ex-employees' victory premature

GEORGE DOBELL: A group of six of former employees took legal action citing a lack of due process over their dismissals. Two are also understood to be claiming they were discriminated against on the grounds of being white

Yorkshire have maintained the sacking of former staff was "necessary and justified" despite an employment judge concluding the case could progress to the next stage of the tribunal process.

The staff were dismissed in December in the wake of the racism scandal brought to light by Azeem Rafiq in 2020. A group of six of them, including former head coach and captain Andrew Gale, subsequently took legal action citing a lack of due process and severance pay.

Two of them, the club's former bowling coach Richard Pyrah and strength and conditioning coach Ian Fisher, are also understood to be claiming they were discriminated against on the grounds of being white.

Others involved in proceedings include former second-team coach Ian Dews, academy chief Richard Damms and strength and conditioning lead Peter Sim. Though filed separately, the cases have been heard together.

An employment tribunal has now found their complaints were "fair and well founded" on the basis that there was no notice period and no warning. As a result, a full tribunal hearing has now been scheduled in Leeds between October 31 and November 11.

It is understood, however, that Yorkshire remain adamant that the dismissals were reasonable and intend to continue to fight the case.

^{Yorkshire are involved in an employment tribunal with several former employees [Getty Images]}

"The club acknowledges the judgment that no disciplinary process was followed, which it has accepted in order to minimise the tribunal time taken up by these cases," a statement released by Yorkshire to The Cricketer reads. "At this preliminary stage, the tribunal has not made any judgment on the reasons for dismissal and the club's firm view is that the dismissals were necessary and justified."

In the meantime, the former staff have requested judicial mediation which could start as early as next week. The aim of such mediation is generally to reach a financial settlement with the club in return for ending their legal action.

The timing of that mediation could be crucial. Some of those who were sacked by the club are certain to be charged by the ECB's Cricket Disciplinary Committee (CDC) as a result of their investigation into events at Yorkshire in recent years.

The decision of the CDC over who to charge has been long delayed. The latest delay comes amid claims that, should the charge sheet be published ahead of the third Test of the current LV= Insurance series against New Zealand, which starts in Leeds on June 23, it could lead to civil unrest. Other delays have been caused by illness, legal challenges and perhaps the most demanding investigation in which the CDC has ever been involved.

It was never disputed that the club had sacked the staff without process; the real argument will revolve around their reasons for doing so. In any such situation, an employer has the option to offer a warning, training, change management or issue termination proceedings. In extreme cases, however, the employer may feel the actions of the employee are so heinous that immediate dismissal is the only appropriate course of action. It is this that Yorkshire will state at the employment tribunal.

While it is routinely claimed that 16 members of staff were sacked, the majority of those who left were employed by a third-party contractor and therefore have no grounds for complaint against the club. The contractor is expected to bring their own case against Yorkshire.  

It is understood that Yorkshire offered each of those sacked some compensation – in most cases understood to amount to their notice period (usually three months' salary) – as full and final compensation. Some of those sacked accepted the agreement and are understood to have signed non-disclosure agreements as a consequence.

^{The club and the claimants are set for mediation [Getty Images]}

Reports circulating in some areas of the media suggesting Gale has "won" his case and suggesting vast settlements sums have already been awarded to other former members of staff are understood to be wide of the mark. In some cases, they would appear to continue a pattern of misinformation and disinformation, potentially designed to undermine the credibility of the current Yorkshire management.

Gale spent his entire first-class playing career with Yorkshire, winning the County Championship title with the club in 2014 and 2015. But he was absent from the trophy celebrations for the first of those triumphs while serving a two-game ban (which would later be extended to four) for racially abusing Ashwell Prince during a Roses match against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Rafiq's witness statement and DCMS testimony included damning allegations regarding Gale's conduct during their respective playing careers at Yorkshire. Gale would, Azeem alleged, call him a "p**i" and "raffa the kaffir" and described feeling "humiliated" by him once he transitioned from captain to coach in 2016. He accused Gale and brother-in-law Tim Bresnan of being a "double-act", and of using racist language and belittling him in front of teammates.

In November, Gale was suspended by Yorkshire following the emergence of an antisemitic hate slur on Twitter, posted in 2010, triggering an investigation. A subsequent statement claimed Gale was "completely unaware" the term "y*d", sent to Paul Dews, who at the time was head of media at Leeds United Football Club, could be deemed offensive. There was also some confusion as to when the posting was deleted.