FSU member Eleanor Frances was forced out of the civil service after whistleblowing about belief discrimination, breaches of impartiality on sex and gender issues, and daring to stand up for the privacy, dignity and safety of female staff.
Ms Frances, who joined the civil service in 2019, is taking her two former employers – the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – to an employment tribunal, claiming discrimination on the grounds of philosophical belief, sex and disability, along with victimisation, protected disclosure detriment and unfair constructive dismissal.
Now she needs your help.
As reported by the Telegraph, the FSU have launched a crowdfunder to help pay for Ms Frances to have legal representation at her tribunal, for which there was a preliminary hearing last month.
If you can, please pledge your support for this important legal case by clicking the link below.
Ms Frances believes she was left with no option than to quit the civil service last August after failing to get a response to complaints raised internally, and subsequently losing confidence in her department’s whistleblowing processes.
Civil servants are bound by a strict duty of impartiality. Yet Ms Frances saw first-hand during her five years in the profession that when government departments officially adopt internal policies on sex and gender, civil servants are effectively compelled to do the same.
Rather than look the other way and let this pass unchallenged, Eleanor raised concerns formally about what she saw as a series of significant breaches of civil service impartiality.
Her concerns included the emergence of a politicised ‘climate of fear’ around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policies, and the risk of negative professional consequences for civil servants who questioned the institutional position on issues such as sex and gender.
Ms Frances also claims that a Stonewall-influenced ‘gender identity and intersex’ policy that compelled civil servants to recognise male people as women was adopted without proper consultation. That matters, she says, because the policy’s use of politicised language and concepts – for example, defining “transphobia” as including the “denial/refusal to accept” someone’s gender identity – meant that civil servants were effectively compelled to recognise male people as women.
She also says that introduction of self-ID in government premises, allowing any male person to access female single-sex facilities, with the threat of disciplinary action against any woman who might object.
However, when Ms Frances raised these concerns internally, she says she was subjected to a sustained pattern of unfair treatment.
Baseless negative performance feedback was received, while team leadership and other significant role-based responsibilities were stripped from her by the very same individuals she had named in her complaint.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Frances said: “Every time I raised a concern, I was told to follow a process, but the process took months and did nothing. I sought help from senior civil servant leadership but they didn’t protect me.”
She added: “When the investigation resulted in no action and I was forced out of my role, I had no choice but to resign citing constructive dismissal.”
Jill Levene, legal counsel at the FSU, said: “Impartiality is the cornerstone of a well-functioning civil service. Eleanor’s treatment is a clear example of a civil service that has been captured by radical progressive ideology.”
Based on details advice, Eleanor is confident she has a strong case. Her solicitor is Peter Daly at Doyle Clayton and Counsel is Akua Reindorf KC.
Eleanor is hoping to raise £40,000 to contribute towards legal costs including: disclosure, preparing witness statements and reviewing the other sides’ documents and witness statements – as well as the trial itself.
Thank you for any contribution you can give, and please do share the link below as far and wide as possible.
