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Tribunal rejects social workers' appeal against earlier ruling that Haringey council acted reasonably in sacking them Two of Baby P's social workers have vowed to fight on after losing their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked. Gillie Christou and Maria Ward claimed they were unjustly fired by Haringey council in north London in response to a public outcry about 17-month-old Peter Connelly's horrific death. A Watford employment tribunal panel previously concluded that the local authority had acted reasonably in dismissing them because of serious failings in their care of the toddler. At a brief hearing on Friday at the employment appeal tribunal in central London, at which neither woman appeared, Mr Justice Wilkie announced the pair's appeal was dismissed. Christou and Ward are now preparing to take their case to the court of appeal. The pair's legal team claimed they had suffered "double jeopardy" because they faced two Haringey misconduct panels looking at the same allegations against them. The first concluded they should receive written warnings, but the second, held a few months later in the wake of a political and media furore over the case, resulted in them being sacked. Speaking after the hearing, solicitor Riz Majid, representing the women, said they planned to appeal. He said: "Maria Ward and Gillie Christou are disappointed by the result. We will be studying the judgment carefully with a view to going to the court of appeal." The women's lawyers previously argued that their case had been bolstered by a landmark court of appeal ruling in May last year that Haringey's children's services director, Sharon Shoesmith, had been unfairly sackedover the Baby P tragedy. Senior judges found the council and former children's secretary Ed Balls acted in a way that was "procedurally unfair" when Shoesmith was first removed from her post and then fired without compensation in December 2008. Their lawyers also argued that the original employment tribunal should have taken into account the fact that Haringey social services were "under-resourced and under-supported" at the time. The two social workers had argued at their original tribunal hearing that the council was wrong to institute a second disciplinary action that led to their dismissal, as the facts had not changed. But Haringey's lawyers argued that it would be wrong to treat the first disciplinary procedure as a contract between employer and employee; therefore the second disciplinary action should not be seen as invalid. Peter died in a blood-spattered cot in August 2007 after spending much of his short life being used as a punchbag. Between them social workers, police and health professionals made 60 visits to his home over eight months, during which time he suffered more than 50 injuries. Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the boy's death. Ward was Peter's nominated social worker at Haringey council from February 2007 until his death, and Christou was her team manager. The pair were sacked after an investigation which discovered there was a period in mid-2007 when they did not know the whereabouts of the child. In May 2010, a General Social Care Council (GSCC) disciplinary committee suspended Ward for two months and Christou for four months – on top of a 16-month interim suspension ahead of the hearing – for their misconduct in the Baby P case. But the GSCC also said it was unfair to consider what the social workers did without putting it in the context of Haringey's problems, which included staff shortages, excessive caseloads, and a lack of support and supervision from managers. Ward was responsible for 18 or 19 children, even though the recommended maximum was 13.
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