An employment tribunal ruling that a high-profile Norfolk Brexit supporter had been unfairly dismissed from his role with the Fire Brigades Union has been overturned on appeal.
Firefighter Paul Embery, 48, was sacked from the union’s executive council in 2019 after giving a speech at a Leave Means Leave rally in Westminster where other speakers included Nigel Farage and Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice.
Norwich Employment Tribunal ruled in 2021 he had been unfairly dismissed by the Remain backing union, though it found he was not sacked for supporting Brexit itself.
Mr Embery, a prominent left-leaning political activist, was employed by the London Fire Brigade but conducted union duties as a full-time regional official.
In its appeal, the FBU successfully argued that as an elected lay official he could not have been dismissed unfairly because he was not a union employee.
READ MORE: Firefighters' strikes postponed in Norfolk and Suffolk
The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled the original panel had not taken sufficient account of Mr Embery’s remuneration in determining who employed him.
While his union travel expenses had been “unusually high” because he commuted from Norfolk to London, other payments were “purely for out-of-pocket expenses”, it said.
In a statement, Mr Embery, who has lived in south Norfolk since 2009, claimed the appeal had been successful “solely on a technical argument over my employment status”.
He said: “Ultimately, this latest judgement does not alter the fact that this entire affair - which was motivated by the leadership's desire to muzzle a dissenting voice - has been a massive and unnecessary four-year distraction to the union, costing members an estimated £100,000 in legal and other fees.”
FBU national officer Mark Rowe said: “We hope that this judgement puts an end to the legal dispute over Paul Embery’s time as an official of the union.
“Mr Embery was barred from holding office under democratically established rules and processes. This decision was upheld by a vote of delegates representing firefighters from across the UK at a democratic conference.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here